The Methodist Children's Center in Linden opened its doors and dedicated itself to community service Monday.
The Rev. Scott Jones of Houston, bishop of the Texas Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, was present to congratulate and lead this center's commitment to pre-school education for youth six months to 2 years of age.
The center, which is large enough for 50 preschoolers, is Linden's only licensed early childhood center and primarily serves single moms. The center also offers tuition subsidies for underserved children.
Some 50 Lindenites turned out to dedicate and tour the center, which is a cooperative effort between the Linden United Methodist Church, the community of Linden and the Linden-Kildare Consolidated Independent School District.
The unique cooperative program is being organized for the Texas Annual Conference by the Rev. Jill Daniel, a Cass County native. The program is called "We Love All God's Children"
The next Methodist Children's Center grand opening will be in Redwater, Texas. The first Methodist Children Center had been opened in Kirbyville, Texas.
In his remarks, Bishop Allen said, "Too many of our Methodist Churches have only old people, so part of our challenge is to motivate ourselves to look around and find children in our communities whose lives we can change. This Linden congregation, community and school has said, 'We are going to do that.'"