Introducing The Neighborhood Bridge to Third Unitarian Church in Austin

Mary Darnall and Dan Doody recently presented the vision and the mission of The Neighborhood Bridge to the congregation of the historic Third Unitarian Church in Austin.

Third Unitarian Church has been a presence on Chicago’s West Side since 1868, and its current building was erected at the corner of Mayfield and Fulton in Austin in 1936. The congregation has long been actively involved in the Austin neighborhood, establishing the Austin Scholars Award Program (ASAP) 50 years ago that has provided financial assistance to more than 400 Austin area high school seniors attending college, hosting a community pantry and garden (located across the street), and engaging with many other community partners, including Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU).

Sensing there might be a connection between the missions of Third Unitarian and The Neighborhood Bridge, long-time congregation member Betty Harris suggested Mary and Dan visit on February 25th.

Forum member Johanna Ryan began the Call to Worship and Chalice Lighting, saying, “When we light the chalice in worship, we illuminate a world that we feel called upon to serve with love and a sense of justice. It’s a call we share with people of many beliefs, in our communities and the world over.”

She later introduced Mary and Dan, noting that as the local Catholic community embarked on a reorganizing process, “the last thing they wanted to do was close the St. Catherine-St. Lucy complex on Austin Blvd., which had become a center for social services and also had a thriving grade school whose student body is entirely African American, 85% of whom reside in Austin.”

Using a PowerPoint presentation, Mary and Dan explained how the call to use the campus of St. Catherine-St. Lucy evolved into The Neighborhood Bridge with the mission of connecting the residents of Austin with human services in the area to help meet their critical needs. Mary stressed that the most important word is “connecting,” providing a bridge to make these services accessible to the people who need them.

Dan noted that the initial focus will be on the 600 families of the five partner schools in Austin: St. Catherine-St. Lucy, St. Angela, Chicago Jesuit Academy, Catalyst Circle Rock, and Christ the King College Preparatory School. He also told the congregation that the search for an Executive Director has begun, with the goal of launching initial services in the fall as school reopens.

Although the idea of The Neighborhood Bridge originated with the Oak Park Catholic parishes, Dan stressed that it has to be a community effort, with support, financial and otherwise, from foundations, the government, and the private sector. He reported that fundraising has gotten off to a good start, adding that an initial $325,000 is needed for two employees and startup costs.

Just as important, Mary added, is the continued need for volunteers in the areas of grant writing, marketing, bookkeeping, IT, and human resources.

During a question-and-answer period about how the two entities could work together in the community, Dan reported that The Neighborhood Bridge has applied to be an implementation partner of Austin Coming Together (ACT), an organization providing backbone support for a network of over 50 nonprofit, faith-based, public, and private organizations to help families in Austin.

One congregant also had suggestions about partnering with community colleges and meeting with the new Oak Park Township manager, Evan Michel, to brainstorm.

In response to several questions about the Migrant Ministry, which began at the St. Catherine-St. Lucy campus in response to a humanitarian crisis and has since moved to St. Edmund School in Oak Park, Mary clarified that the two missions are different, and both are important. Dan stressed that the people who have been working on The Neighborhood Bridge for over a year have kept their singular focus on the needs of the people of Austin and are dedicated to its success and remain committed to a fall launch.

At a reception after the service, Mary and Dan visited with the congregants, including Betty Harris and Roberta Wilson, who launched Third Unitarian’s ASAP college awards program in 1974.