“We want to showcase their history. We want to remember that we stand on their shoulders and remain standing only because they endured, ”she added.
Those being honored at 3:30 p.m. at the church are Elizabeth Huguely, Lincoln Norwood, Minnie Chattman, Matthew Stephens, Allie Mae Nesbit, Pauline Watson and Edna Vick.
The public is welcome to attend the event. The church is located at 502 Pontiac St., Dayton. Call (937) 223-7041 for more information.
North Huber Heights Baptist to dedicate Fellowship Center
Members of North Huber Heights Baptist Church are excited about the upcoming dedication of their newly built Education and Fellowship Center.
They’ll celebrate at an 11 a.m. service June 27 followed by a community open house from 1 to 3 p.m. In addition to touring the facilities, visitors will learn about the church’s service to the local community, Sunday school classes, vacation Bible school and international ministry for children.
The church began in 1963 as a mission of Huber Heights First Baptist Church, then became independent in 1964, buying the William Trimbach farm on the corner of Harshmanville and Taylorsville roads. After holding services in the 100-year-old farmhouse, a chapel was built in 1967.
The new addition adjoins the original chapel building. Church membership has grown from the original eight families to 164 members, with an average Sunday attendance of 75.
The Rev. Marvin Engle, along with the church’s previous pastor, Tom Bowman, will be officiating at the building dedication. North Huber Heights Baptist Church is located at 6193 Taylorsville Road. For information: nhhbc@sbcglobal.net, or call (937) 233-1697.
University of Dayton professor publishing new book this month
A new history of urban Catholic schools in America written by Thomas Hunt, a teacher education professor at the University of Dayton and fellow in the University’s Center for Catholic Education, is being published this month.
“Urban Catholic Education: Tales of Twelve American Cities” is co-authored by Timothy Walch, director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
According to Hunt, communities shared two common goals: to preserve the faith of Catholic children and to prepare them for productive lives in American society.
“The effect of Catholic schools was felt most strongly in the cities,” Hunt said. “But how did certain factors affect the educational opportunities for Catholics in those cities?”
Factors examined in the book include the ethnic mix of the community, the size and growth of the Catholic population, the position of local bishops and the attitude of the local population.
Hunt says his research found urban Catholic schools were adaptable. When students graduated from a parish school, they had to be able to survive in the public school system, so curriculum was designed to match, “The schools did not want parents to have to choose between Catholic faith and making it in the future,” he said.
Because urban Catholic schools were neighborhood schools, they also reflected the community of the people who supported them. Decisions were not made by a superintendent downtown but by the clergy and to a large extent the parents, whose involvement and support was critical to the success of the parish school.
Urban Catholic schools also helped preserve religious identity.
“They were safe havens for a religious minority that, rightly or wrongly, didn’t feel welcome in the public schools,” Hunt said. “It became a question of identity.”
The authors were inspired to write the book after reading a 2008 Fordham Institute Report stating that more than 1,300 schools — mostly in cities — have shut down since 1990. The new book is available from Alliance for Catholic Education Press, www.nd.edu/~acepress.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or mmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author
