Agency update: San Antonio Mennonite Church

San Antonio Mennonite Church sits at the confluence of four neighborhoods south of downtown, ranging from the upscale King William area to the gentrifying Lavaca neighborhood and the less affluent Lone Star and Roosevelt Park neighborhoods to the south. Because of that location, those who work at the church see many people in need, including asylum seekers, domestic violence victims and others who live nearby or move through the area. But they have struggled to adapt their aging facilities to meet those needs.

About 40 Impact SA members got a look at the renovations at a luncheon and building tour March 11. While some work is still in progress, the large kitchen is nearing completion, and other projects are moving along well after initial delays caused by Covid.

The need is great, said pastor John Garland.

“We are on a corridor of suffering,” he said. “Just a mile from here is one of the most traveled routes for human trafficking. And we have been blown away by the amount of domestic violence we see.”

The church also helps asylum seekers from Central America and elsewhere who have been released from the family detention centers operated by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. They have nowhere to go and are “looking for a safe place,” Garland said.

The renovation work “couldn’t have been done without your grant,” church elder Mitzi Moore told the members at the luncheon. She noted that a $10,000 Support Grant the church received from Impact SA in 2018 allowed the church to do some preliminary renovations before receiving the $100,000 High Impact Grant the next year.

Garland said the condition of the old building has held the church back from doing some things it wants to do, such as increasing its partnerships with social service agencies who have offices there. Those partners include the PEACE Initiative, which addresses the needs of domestic violence victims; Conjunto Heritage Taller, a music group that teaches traditional Mexican music and instruments to people of all ages; Teach for America, which works with teachers, students and parents to foster educational equity; the Migrant Center for Human Rights, which provides pro bono legal advice to migrants; Interfaith Welcome Coalition, which provides services to asylum seekers; and Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, which offers a variety of services, including refugee resettlement and family reunification.

Rev. Dianne Garcia heads the church’s healing ministry, helping people with no place to go find a place to stay in their La Casa de Maria y Marta house where they can cook meals, do laundry and visit with others in a similar situation. Garcia said she is excited to see the Peace Building renovations that will be used for a variety of services, including an enlarged childcare center.

“This is a welcoming space,” Garland said. “We want to help the woman with all her belongings in a plastic bag and a baby on her hip. We say, ‘This place isn’t ours, it’s yours.’ ”