Hmmmm. What a quandary. “Love thy neighbor,” a notion at the core of the Christian ethos, seems to be interpreted differently by so many different people. What is the mission of a church? To serve the spiritual and sometimes earthly needs of its congregation? Well, that’s a universal given, a reasonable goal. But how to manifest this? Is it a church’s duty to grow, sometimes even beyond its own grasp? Is it a church’s duty to amass wealth and power for the sake of this mission? Do ends justify means? The Hyde Park Baptist Church’s plan of expansion (and building of a mega-parking garage) is the topic of a Neighborhood Protest. The citizens of Hyde Park would perhaps be a bit less aggravated if more than a handful of the superchurch’s congregation were actually from Hyde Park — but that’s not the case. The majority drive in from outside (perhaps from areas a lot less charming than Hyde Park?). So it’s easy to view the church’s parking garage mandate as just one more encouragement to have people drive in from points beyond. Now, here’s where issues get sticky. Should a church focus on its neighborhood — and limit itself and its reach, to serve and respect those in its immediate vicinity? Should a church, which at its core is evangelical, not be allowed to pursue congregants from any area of a community? Should a church give a damn about its place in the neighborhood it inhabits?
We love Hyde Park. Not just because we are near-neighbors, residing just to the east, but because the laid-back charm of the old established (read: lots of big trees and tricycles) neighborhood is one of the things that lured us to Austin some seven years ago. See, we came from an area that was quickly being planned and gated and Arvidaed to the point that everything in our county began to taste like a tacky theme park (sort of like what Circle K, errr, we mean C, tastes like to much of Austin, for example). No, Hyde Park’s allure is specifically that as a community, it flies in the face of things such as gated theme park communities, superchurches, and the mallification of America. Hyde Park is Main Street U.S.A. without all of the marketing surveys and consulting fees. It didn’t need a mandate from outside. It is what it is because the people who live there value their community’s appeal enough to go out on a limb and preserve it. This kind of organic preservation doesn’t happen through some retrofitting downtown Smart Growth revisionism. Hyde Park is because it is. Learn more about this, even if you don’t live in Hyde Park. The ramifications of this story will be far-reaching in this city. The benefit for the Alliance to Save Hyde Park is this Sun, Nov 14, 8pm at Esther’s Pool, 525 E. Sixth. The Evening of Magic, Music & Comedy at Esther’s Follies promises an evening of fun and frolic while focusing on what is turning out to be a microcosm of one of Austin’s hottest issues in the late 20th century. Hyde Park just wants to maintain its neighborhood’s character; now the community is being forced to fight to save it. 320-0553. This weekend marks the seventh time that Austin’s Resource Center for the Homeless‘ art class, volunteers (such as Heloise Gold, Bill Jeffers, and Christi Pate) and supporters (such as Women & Their Work and area restaurants) are providing the space and forum for area homeless artists to show and sell their wares. Art From the Streets is Sat-Sun, Nov 13-14, noon-5pm, at ARCH, Fifth & Rio Grande. Most pieces will sell for $25; proceeds go straight to the artists. 440-0839. No, silly, not the governmental body — the avenue. Congress Avenue is the spot this month for some entertaining ways to help others:
This article appears in November 12 • 1999.