The House of Neighborly Service was founded two years later as Divine Redeemer’s settlement house and community ministry. In 1929, architect Harvey P. Smith, who oversaw the renovation of the historic San Antonio Missions, designed a Mission Revival-style building for both the church and settlement house. According to the congregation, this multi-functional building demonstrated Divine Redeemer’s identity as a “congregation committed to ministry and to partnership.” Due to the expansion of the church and House of Neighborly Service, the congregation commissioned a new sanctuary in 1948. Church members sold tamales and dresses in order to purchase the roof tiles for the sanctuary, which they laid themselves.

Today, the congregation of Divine Redeemer remains almost 90 percent Latinx, mostly of Mexican origin, and leads services in English and Spanish. Education is Divine Redeemer’s highest outreach priority, and its multi-level educational youth outreach program provides K-12 families with tutoring, personal development, community service opportunities, and assistance with college applications. Students enrolled in the program have a 100 percent high school graduation rate. In collaboration with the House of Neighborly Service, Divine Redeemer runs activities for senior citizens, a day care for at-risk children, emergency food assistance, gardening programs, and a community thrift store.

A National Fund grant of $250,000 with $500,000 in matching funds raised by the congregation will support a total restoration of the 1929 building. Work will involve restoring the exterior to prevent ongoing water infiltration; upgrading all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to meet code; creating three restrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; reconfiguring and improving office spaces; and expanding the kitchen facility. The congregation expressed that these repairs will create a “safe, functional and accessible facility for the hundreds of individuals who come here every week to be served and for the staff that give their heart and soul to that service!”

Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church courtesy Divine Redeemer