Nonprofits, churches part of the mix
For more than a decade, an old brick church on P Street just west of 27th was the focal point of Lincoln’s Vietnamese Roman Catholic community.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, serving more than 400 families with services in Vietnamese, outgrew that old, crumbling building in 2002 and moved to a much newer and larger building in northeast Lincoln.
Now, where the Vietnamese church once stood, is a gracefully designed building with wide soffits that houses the central offices and residential treatment center for CenterPointe, a program helping people with combined addiction and mental health problems, with five locations in Lincoln.
Topher Hansen, CenterPointe’s executive director, once was president of the Malone Neighborhood Association and has a personal interest in boosting the ambience and livability of the city’s older neighborhoods.
The building was designed by Sinclair Hille Architects in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style, intended to be a transition between the commercial and residential character of the neighborhood, Hansen said.
“I’ve always been a big Frank Lloyd Wright fan,” he said. “It breaks up the space; it’s not a huge monolith.”
Grace United Methodist Church at 27th and R streets is still a strong presence in the neighborhood. Founded in 1886, it’s a predominantly white church that now has an African-American pastor, the Rev. Wayne Reynolds, who wants to reach out to the multi-ethnic community.
“Grace is in the process of becoming one of the anchors of this community,” Reynolds said.
The church, with a core congregation of about 150, attracts new visitors every Sunday, checking out what Reynolds’ calls his old-fashioned, God-centered preaching.
“We’re trying to bring some spiritual new life, revitalizing and enhancing people’s lives,” he said.
Another nonprofit agency in the North 27th Street corridor is City Impact, a multi-church ministry to inner city children and families. City Impact recently held its “Gifts of Love” Christmas Store, where parents purchased gifts for about 1,250 kids at 70 percent off retail.
“We wanted to be a part of the community we’re reaching out to,” said Brad Bryan, executive director. “We’re visible and readily available for relationships in the neighborhood.”
Reach Bob Reeves at breeves@journalstar.com or 473-7212.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, serving more than 400 families with services in Vietnamese, outgrew that old, crumbling building in 2002 and moved to a much newer and larger building in northeast Lincoln.
Now, where the Vietnamese church once stood, is a gracefully designed building with wide soffits that houses the central offices and residential treatment center for CenterPointe, a program helping people with combined addiction and mental health problems, with five locations in Lincoln.
Topher Hansen, CenterPointe’s executive director, once was president of the Malone Neighborhood Association and has a personal interest in boosting the ambience and livability of the city’s older neighborhoods.
The building was designed by Sinclair Hille Architects in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style, intended to be a transition between the commercial and residential character of the neighborhood, Hansen said.
“I’ve always been a big Frank Lloyd Wright fan,” he said. “It breaks up the space; it’s not a huge monolith.”
Grace United Methodist Church at 27th and R streets is still a strong presence in the neighborhood. Founded in 1886, it’s a predominantly white church that now has an African-American pastor, the Rev. Wayne Reynolds, who wants to reach out to the multi-ethnic community.
“Grace is in the process of becoming one of the anchors of this community,” Reynolds said.
The church, with a core congregation of about 150, attracts new visitors every Sunday, checking out what Reynolds’ calls his old-fashioned, God-centered preaching.
“We’re trying to bring some spiritual new life, revitalizing and enhancing people’s lives,” he said.
Another nonprofit agency in the North 27th Street corridor is City Impact, a multi-church ministry to inner city children and families. City Impact recently held its “Gifts of Love” Christmas Store, where parents purchased gifts for about 1,250 kids at 70 percent off retail.
“We wanted to be a part of the community we’re reaching out to,” said Brad Bryan, executive director. “We’re visible and readily available for relationships in the neighborhood.”
Reach Bob Reeves at breeves@journalstar.com or 473-7212.
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