Building a house of God

Members of St. Thomas Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church gathered June 21 at the church’s site just off Texas Highway 21 east of Caddo Mounds State Historic Site to break ground on a building project that calls for a sanctuary and community center under one roof. According to Pastor Kevin Nesmith, St. Thomas pastor, the new structure will be larger than the one heavily damaged in 2019 by a tornado that ripped through the area. Guest preacher Ron Rose, who read a passage from 1 Corinthians, reminded those present that “the wind took the building, but it didn’t take the house.” St. Thomas’s congregation numbers approximately 75 people, with the church dating back “at least 150 years,” Nesmith said.