If you’ve lived here any time at all, you’ve noticed all the churches in the Brentwood/Crestview area—more than a dozen of them. Many were established more than 60 years ago, as the two neighborhoods were being built. Crestview United Methodist, left, celebrated its 60th in November 2013. Faith Lutheran celebrated its 65th in September and October 2015.

For longtime members John and Judy Carlson, Crestview Methodist was more than a place to attend Sunday service. Since their church was founded, they were active members, made lasting friendships, and attended many happy events there. And, as John said when we interviewed him in September 2009:

Church has been a vital part of our lives. I don’t know where we’d be without it. It’s also been a place where if you hit a low spot in life, if you hit rock bottom, there always is someone there to pick you up and be there for you.

While membership is decreasing at some of the churches, most continue to be actively involved locally and in the wider community, in addition to holding services and other programs for their own members.

During Fall 2011, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Crestview collected and delivered 3000 boxes of clothing and household items to survivors of the devastating Labor Day fires in the Bastrop area, southeast of Austin.

One of Crestview Methodist’s ongoing community efforts is the Rachel Project, which makes comfort bags for children being transported by the police. It’s named for Georgetown resident Rachel Cooke, who has been missing since 2002; Rachel’s grandparents are longtime members of the church. The mosaic detail at right is from the Wall of Welcome. (More about Rachel’s disappearance and 2018 updates in the case in the Austin American-Statesman.)

Area churches also provide meeting and office space to nonprofit and community groups and offer child development and educational programs for children and adults.

Some local churches have tiles on the Wall of Welcome, including First Cumberland Presbyterian in Brentwood. In September 2009, we interviewed then-pastor Mark McNeese at the wall. In the video clip below, Mark talks about the tiles made by two church elders, Louis Jeannet (who passed away in January 2010) and Jim Thrower (who passed away in 2018), and why he believes the mosaic wall is important.

In 2003, when a group of us neighbors created the Violet Crown Festival to help raise funds for the wall, our vision for the “heart of the festival” was clear: to bring together all elements of the community—individuals of all ages, schools, neighborhood associations, community groups, businesses, and churches. Many churches responded to our invitation, and since then local church members have coordinated children’s activities, held cakewalks, provided food, loaned tables and other needed items, demonstrated quilting, and served as general volunteers. Their contributions have been invaluable to the success of the event.

Beginning in 2008, Rob and I searched for neighborhood venues where we could screen our films A Community Mosaic (2008) and We Planted 115 Trees (2011). Several churches—including Austin Bible, Crestview Baptist, Crestview Methodist, Faith Lutheran, Liveoak Bible, and St. Louis Catholic—graciously provided free space and, when they could, equipment.

In “More Than Sunday-Go-To-Meeting, Part 2,” you’ll find more about the churches, longtime members who were part of our oral history project, and the churches’ Wall of Welcome mosaics (detail of wall, right).