Small Corpus Christi congregation touches many lives

Oak Park UMC reaches
around world despite
declining attendance

 

By Claudia M. Williams
Staff Writer
If the average megachurch attracts nearly 5,000 worshipers weekly, then Oak Park UMC, Corpus Christi, is—attendancewise—the polar opposite.
If an advantage of a megachurch is that it can touch many lives, then the contrast with the 62-member Corpus Christi congregation stops right there.
In its 66-year history, Oak Park UMC has seen its average attendance decline from more than a thousand to about 35. Located in what once was, according to a nearby historical marker, an elite subdivision, the church now stands within a few miles of the oil refineries that drove many homeowners away.
Congregation size and location in an area the Corpus Christi Caller-Times said is “slowly succumbing to urban blight” has had little effect on what this small church can do. Oak Park’s ministry reaches to the new elementary school two-tenths of a mile away and Iraq 6,000 miles away.
Longtime church member Melvin Kronk, who describes himself as a “remnant” of the older membership, said the church’s multicultural and ecumenical programs have been instrumental in its outreach.
“Different people come to our activities, and that helps keep our name out before people,” he said.
Kattia Garcia, wife of Oak Park’s pastor, the Rev. Edward Garcia, said, “If you’re a small church and you want to reach out to the community, people have to know who you are. You have to find creative ways to tell them.”
A search of the Caller-Times community events calendar yields a list of eclectic programs the church opens to the community. Among them are concerts by professional musicians, book giveaways and a multicultural Christmas music celebration.
Not all events are intended to be fund-raisers, but according to Kronk, “We do get donations to use for neighborhood things.”
Connecting with other United Methodist churches, Oak Park receives donations of goods for its rummage sales and silent auctions done in conjunction with its multicultural music celebrations.
Nearby Oak Park Elementary School benefits considerably from the funds the church raises. Working with the school in January, the church provided uniforms for students and supplies for students and teachers.
The church chose January for the donations, Garcia said, because parents usually buy clothes and supplies for the students in the fall.
“In the middle of the year,” she said, “parents can’t do it, so teachers have to. And now the church does.”
Parents of school children appreciate Oak Park UMC for school-related donations. Parents of adults appreciate Oak Park for reasons that are much different.
Twice a year the church invites everyone in the Coastal Bend to a prayer service for local servicemen and women. The service honors not only the armed forces service members but also the Blue Star Mothers, women who have or have had children serving in the military.
Many worshipers come bearing gifts of candy, games, phone cards, sunblock and toiletries for troops in Iraq and donations to help offset the cost of mailing them.
“This started on a very small scale,” Garcia said. “Now the whole community is involved.”
A Corpus Christi TV station reported that Oak Park’s service helped Blue Star Mothers “cope with the pressure and emotion of having their children in harm’s way.”
Blue Star Mother Janie Cage said during a TV interview, “It brings a lot of comfort to us. It shows us that there’s a lot of people out there that care about our military and that care what mothers and fathers are, how we are going through coping with this war.”
Volunteers from the church and the community work with the Blue Star Mothers to compile and ship care packages to the troops.
Garcia said the church recently received a letter from a young soldier who wrote, “If it wasn’t for Oak Park, we wouldn’t get mail.”
The serviceman said he first thought the package from Oak Park UMC and the Blue Star Mothers came to him by mistake, but when he realized it was for him, he shared it with his whole platoon.
Soldiers have even sent money back to the Blue Star Mothers to help them pay for the shipping.
The church does sponsor some events specifically to raise funds. One such event dates back to 1939. That year, in what was then an upper-middle class, mostly Anglo neighborhood, the church started its Mexican Supper.
“You don’t see Hispanic fund-raisers in churches that are primarily Anglo,” Garcia said. “People look forward to this dinner every year. They come from all over the area, and they bring their friends.”
The church served 350 plates last year, she said.
Other Oak Park fund-raisers frequently involve food as well.
The United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women sponsor a number of fund-raising luncheons and dinners. For example, the United Methodist Men have spaghetti suppers and fish fries; the United Methodist Women put on multigenerational luncheons and style shows.
Garcia said every fund-raiser features live music performed by individuals and groups the church has come to know through its community connections.
Knowing what Oak Park UMC is offering to the community, the congregation is growing. Latinos now make up 50 percent of the congregation, up from around 35 percent as reported in the 2004 Southwest Texas Annual Conference Journal.
Young families are bringing children. People like Edna Garza Brown—who said she had not been a churchgoer for a long time and is now the choir director—are trickling in.
The United Methodist Interpreter Online called Oak Park UMC “a small church with a big heart.” To understand what that means, new member Brown said, “You almost have to experience these people.
“When I sing with them, I feel I am truly worshiping.”
The next prayer service for troops and their families will be June 12 at 3 p.m.