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FORT WORTH — Membership is down, the building is old and even some of its strongest supporters now belong to other congregations.
But La Trinidad United Methodist Church is as well-loved by worshippers as it was a century ago when it was a megachurch known as La Primera Metodista. "People there just feel like part of my family," said Eunice Lopez, whose father became the minister in 1952, when the name had changed to Iglesia Metodista La Trinidad. Services were in Spanish, and seats were filled with families who worked at the nearby Swift and Armour meatpacking plants. "It brings back a lot of memories."The most recent name change came in 1968. The address has changed three times, first from 2137 Commerce St. into the north side building where Lopez’s dad preached opposite Joe T. Garcia’s restaurant, and finally to the current location at the corner of Gould Avenue and Northside Drive. Some 44 years after taking over the dilapidated former Church of God chapel, the congregation has shrunk from a peak of about 350 to about 65 members.Lopez herself now belongs to a different local Methodist church but continues to attend La Trinidad regularly to keep up with friends she went to the church with when they were youngsters. "It’s still alive. It’s not shrinking in program or outreach," said the Rev. Daniel Flores, La Trinidad’s pastor, adding that the church is not only self-supporting but gives 14 percent of its gross to the Rio Grande Conference. "I hope that we can stay another 100 years."Flores is, however, working to reach a wider audience. Sermons are often delivered in what Lopez calls a "flip flop" style, alternating between English and Spanish. It enables those who speak only Spanish or only English to understand. The inclusiveness manifests itself in other ways, too. "The church was founded on the basis of a community service outreach," Flores said. "We do a lot of programs here that are not ours, but we host them. . . . The institution’s been here long enough that when they come here they don’t see the label on the door."La Trinidad hosts the Chicano Luncheon, an 18-year-old community forum that takes place on the first and third Thursdays of each month at noon."This is a great place for politicians to come and get a pulse on the community," Flores said. . . . "We’ve had debates here. . . . That’s when it gets exciting."David Martinez, pastor of El Buen Samaritano United Methodist Church on Fort Worth’s east side, praised La Trinidad’s community involvement, the BMX ramp next to the church that gives neighborhood kids a place to ride their bikes and its lay leadership. There’s also an English as a second language class and a math class in the works. Martinez said, "They do a lot of stuff that impacts the neighborhood."Flores acknowledges that La Trinidad may not become big."The subsequent generations, they did very well," Flores said. "They’ve all mainstreamed. They really didn’t want to come back to the barrio."Lopez, however, keeps coming back to the little church. "We’re not members," said Lopez, a retired Fort Worth school principal, "but our heart is still there."JOHN AUSTIN, 817-390-7874
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