Heartbreak over the loss of an Arlington pastor, celebration of a new chapel at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Christians and Muslims gathering at a Keller church, debates about Mormonism, and the continued growth of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth were among the top local religion stories of 201l.
Minister slainIn March, members of NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington mourned the death of their popular pastor, the Rev. Clint Dobson. Dobson, 29, a graduate of Baylor University, won a top preaching award when he attended Truett Theological Seminary.Dobson was found slain and his ministry assistant severely beaten in the church, near Cowboys Stadium. The assistant recovered and continues to work as ministry assistant for NorthPointe.Arlington police said robbery was the apparent motive.Steven Lawayne Nelson, 24, of Arlington has been indicted on charges of capital murder and attempted capital murder. Prosecutors sought an indictment on the same charges for Anthony Gregory Springs, 19, of Arlington, but grand jurors no-billed him.The Rev. Linn Self, interim pastor, said in a recent post on the church website that the congregation is "snatching victory from the jaws of defeat" by continuing its ministries.Unity serviceMore than 2,500 people attended a service called Building Bridges with Fellow Texans at NorthWood Church in Keller.The event brought together Christians and Muslims and featured pastors and imams talking more about what their faiths have in common than their differences.Congregants stood in unison to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge of Allegiance, and a woman in a hijab sang The Star-Spangled Banner.NorthWood Pastor Bob Roberts was surprised by the number of friends who showed up."We had a goal of 1,000 Christians and 1,000 Muslims," Roberts said. "We ended up with 1,500 Muslims and 1,000 Christians."The event did no go off without controversy, however.Dorrie O'Brien of Grand Prairie, a Tarrant County Republican Party precinct chairwoman, said the idea of Christians and Muslims making friends or having fun together is "repulsive and impossible," and she doubted that 1,000 Muslims would show up at the Keller church.She was wrong.Mormon 'cult'Debate erupted in October after the Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, called Mormonism a "cult" after a speech in Washington, D.C., as he endorsed Gov. Rick Perry for the Republican presidential nomination.He called Perry "a genuine follower of Jesus Christ" and suggested that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was not a traditional Christian since he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Despite those comments, Jeffress said he might vote for Romney if he is the nominee. He said his comments were not radical among conservative Baptists. He noted that the Mormon faith is listed under "New Religions and Cults" on the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board website.Seminary chapelA new chapel with an impressive tower opened this month at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.The 3,500-seat chapel is also a performance hall and has a stage large enough for a 90-piece orchestra.A loft behind it has room for a 200-person choir.A computerized 96-channel sound board is the visible part of a cutting-edge audiovisual control center that can handle 10 camera locations.The first graduation ceremony was held Dec. 16 at the chapel, named for J.W. "Jack" MacGorman, retired distinguished professor of New Testament. He began teaching at the Fort Worth seminary in 1948.Catholic growthThe Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, one of the fastest-growing dioceses in the country, announced plans to invest $50 million to add parishes and schools and renovate and expand existing ones to help accommodate the growing number of worshippers.The number of Roman Catholics in the diocese is expected to increase from 710,000 to 1.2 million by 2030.Stretching across 24,000 square miles, the diocese covers 28 counties, including Tarrant, Denton, Wise, Parker and Johnson.The newest church in the diocese is the 2,000-seat Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church in east Arlington. The church, a converted Food Lion grocery store, is the largest-capacity Vietnamese Catholic church in the U.S."We're experiencing a lot of growth, which is exciting," said Peter Flynn, the diocese's vice chancellor for administrative services. "We're bucking the trends of other dioceses across much of the country."Worth notingRabbi Andrew Bloom, who served 21/2 years in the Israeli army and as a combat medic in an artillery unit in Lebanon, became the new rabbi of Fort Worth's Congregation Ahavath Sholom in August. The congregation also retained interim Rabbi Gary Perras as associate rabbi.Travis Avenue Baptist Church, which actually sits on West Berry Street south of downtown Fort Worth, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011.Fort Worth Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann was appointed by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the new delegate for the pastoral provision that allows married Anglican priests to become priests of the Catholic Church.Arborlawn United Methodist Church in Fort Worth opened its $12 million sanctuary in September with a free public concert of American music honoring victims and heroes of 9-11 on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack.More than 30,000 people attended a prayer rally in Houston led by Gov. Rick Perry. About 15 members of Fort Worth's First Congregational Church went to protest Perry's participation in the event, sponsored by the American Family Association.The Rev. John Keene, 90, a longtime Fort Worth Episcopal priest who marched in Selma, Ala., during the 1960s civil-rights movement, died in May.The Rev. Robert Lee Sanders, 81, longtime pastor of Lake Como's Pleasant Mount Gilead Baptist Church, died in December.The Rev. Tommy Teague, 58, pastor at North Richland Hills Baptist Church, died in June while on a church trip to Israel.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
