Church Dedicates New Building
Forney’s First Presbyterian Church recently dedicated the church’s new Community Center, which opened this fall. The 6618 square foot building is adjacent to the main sanctuary building, which was completed in 2006. Fivecoat Construction, based in Kaufman, was the general contractor for the design-build project.
The Community Center has a commercial kitchen, a mission room for the church’s School Uniform Exchange, and a virtual-ready conference room. The bathrooms each have one shower for hosting small groups overnight. The largest room is Spellman Hall, a multi-purpose space suitable for worship, concerts, meals, meetings, and mission projects. Named after Mick Spellman and his sister Coreen, it is over 3300 square feet and can comfortably seat 150 people at round tables, and over 200 in auditorium-style seating. Its “live acoustics” makes it ideal for musical presentations. Two new stained-glass pieces are being designed and fabricated to be installed in 2024.
The building was dedicated on Sunday November 12th, beginning with a worship service in the sanctuary of the main building. Rev. Chris Lee, the Executive Presbyter of Grace Presbytery, gave the sermon. Special guest organist Julia Boudreaux joined pianist Mideum Chung for the popular organ/piano duet “How Great Thou Art” (available to view on the church’s YouTube Channel). At the conclusion of the worship service, members of the church carried a cross, bible, candle, communion chalice, and flowers to the new building and then posed for a group photo. The meal was catered by Cristina’s Fine Mexican Restaurant. Former pastor Rev. Kathy Collier assisted with the dedication liturgy. The people sang “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!” and the African American spiritual “Amen.” The room was filled with joyful singing and laughter, with the people excited to celebrate and give thanks to God for the beautiful and functional new space.
“We needed the space that the Community Center provides. But it’s not just for us,” Pastor David emphasized. “God has blessed us in so many ways. It’s important to share these blessings with others.” In fact, the first major event held in the building was “Sharing the Blessings,” the Thanksgiving meal provided to nearly 100 Forney area senior citizens by Sharing the Love Foundation. Additionally, the School Uniform Exchange is open every Wednesday afternoon from 2:00 to 5:00pm and helps several families each week. The building is available for use by local non-profits and school organizations for a small cleaning fee.