Fain Presbyterian Church
2201 Speedway
Wichita Falls, Texas 76308
Phone: (940) 767-2527
Fax: (940) 767-1188
E-Mail: fainpres@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.fainpres.org
Fain Presbyterian Church is a positive, Christ-centered congregation which seeks to serve the Lord in each of its endeavors. We are a spirit-filled, loving family of believers. Fain Church is blessed with a dedicated experienced staff and a solid financial base.
Fain members have many opportunities for worship, study, and fellowship. On Sunday mornings, contemporary and a traditional worship services are held at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., respectively. Worship service for preschoolers is held during the late service. Chancel choir, the hand bell choir, and young acolytes enhance the traditional service, while a praise team and band lead the early service. An adult Sunday school class meets at 9:30 a.m. in the library. Two kinship groups, which are small Bible study and nurture groups, meet weekly.
Special services of worship are important in Fain’s life as well. Our Maundy Thursday service is rich in drama and meaning. The Chancel Choir presents cantatas at Easter and Christmas. The Easter Sunrise service is inspirational and well attended. On Christmas Eve there is a service of readings, carols, and candle lighting.
Everyone is warmly welcomed at the front door and by ushers in the foyer. Visitors are cordially invited to participate in the worship service and education program. We are known for our caring, loving, and involved members and for our service in many volunteer and mission fields in the community. The members are enthusiastic about the many opportunities to witness to the grace of our Savior.
The Church holds weekly Wednesday night suppers, providing a time of fellowship and great food. Adult and children’s classes and Chancel Choir practice follow the meal. The Youth groups also meet Wednesday evenings for study, prayer, and activities that enrich their lives. Presbyterian Women meet monthly for Bible study and fellowship and schedule workdays throughout the year.
Fain Church was founded in 1891 as a Presbyterian Church in the United States congregation. Fain celebrated its 1991 centennial with a number of special activities. A missions endowment fund was established during that time, with all proceeds going directly toward mission work and mission support.
Fain Church is governed by a unicameral system, the Session. Session members chair a variety of working committees: worship, music, nurture, visitation, discipleship, and administration. Six new Session members are elected each year to serve a three-year term.
The Neo-Gothic church building was built in 1948 with funding from the Fain Foundation. The debt-free structure is, without question, one of the most beautiful churches in the city. The sanctuary seats 300 on the ground floor and another 75 in the balcony. Beautiful stained glass windows enhance the majesty of the soaring sanctuary. The raised chancel area has a central pulpit. The organ and the choir are behind the pulpit. The entire chancel area is beneath a central cross. A lovely lawn dotted with live oaks, magnolias, and elms along with seasonal flowers frame the entry. A playground and a lighted parking area are located in the back.
Fain is located in a beautiful and affluent neighborhood across the street from a stately elementary school. This school has a diversity of students from across a broad socio-economic scale. This has given us the chance to enter a Partners in Education program with the school. Mentors volunteer their time to give extra guidance to students and offer them opportunities to relate to adults outside their own families.
The church’s south wing includes two floors with the Church Office, a nursery, choir room, classrooms, and a library. The west wing includes three floors, with a youth center in the basement; kitchen, parlor, fellowship hall, and sunroom on the ground floor; pastors’ offices, resource center, and classrooms on the second floor.
Boy Scout groups meet in the basement during the week, and dedicated Fain members have been involved in the scouting program for more than a half century. The church building is often used for meetings of other community organizations. Presbyterian Children's Home Services have an office in the building.
Members of Fain are employed in a wide range of professions in Wichita Falls and the surrounding area. Most of our retired members have active service vocations as well.
Our members live in all parts of the city, but the majority are able to reach the church within 15 minutes. Families from Sheppard Air Force Base enrich our membership. Although their tours of duty may be short term, many become actively involved in the life of the church. Fain is readily accessible and open to any who wish to attend.
PROGRAMS
Church school is the primary focus of our Christian Education program. There are age-graded classes for children from preschool through adult following the weekly Wednesday night dinner. Other opportunities for education include summer Vacation Bible School for children, officer training, confirmation classes, and summer camps for our youth such as Fun in the Son, Buffalo Gap, Great Escape, and Mo Ranch.
In addition to the Wednesday night meetings, the youth are active in leading worship, attending summer camps, and partially funding their trips through special projects.
Two kinship groups meet weekly at the church. A typical fellowship might include refreshments, a Bible-based study, and a time to address prayer concerns.
Fain’s music department boasts a Director of Music who is a member of the music faculty at Midwestern State University. He directs the chancel choir and the MSU choir as well as the city choir. Fain’s bell choir is directed by a music major who attends MSU.
Several special nurture programs include designating our senior members as our “Cream on the Top,” and we honor them at seasonal parties. Session holds a goal-setting, planning and prayer retreat yearly.
We welcome new visitors and have a variety of ways for them to learn about our church including a pastoral or member visit, and a new members’ class. They are invited to church functions and are encouraged to become part of a kinship group.
THE CITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD
Wichita Falls, known as the “city that faith built,” was established in 1882 as a railhead for the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. Following the discovery of oil in the early 1900s, the city enjoyed dramatic growth in population and today is the largest city in northwest Texas.
Housing and Health Care Facilities - Wichita Falls has affordable housing with many subdivisions and apartment complexes, including downtown condominiums and apartments. The city also has many facilities offering senior citizens a full range of care, from assisted living to convalescent care, as well as retirement communities.
Wichita Falls’ medical facilities include two regional medical centers, a surgical center, a physical rehabilitation center, a rehabilitation hospital, a state mental hospital, and several large multi-specialty clinics. It serves as the medical hub for the northwestern Texas and southern Oklahoma area, known locally as Texoma. Wichita Falls has two hospice programs which offer home care for the terminally ill as well as ongoing support for their families. In addition, Hospice of Wichita Falls offers a Hospice Care Center.
Elementary and Secondary Education - The Wichita Falls Independent School District serves approximately 15,000 students. The facilities include seventeen elementary schools, four junior high schools, three high schools, one career center, two student adjustment centers, and one early childhood center. Accelerated and enrichment classes are offered in all junior and senior high schools while special provisions are available at all levels for the gifted and talented, the slow learner, the exceptional, and the vocationally-oriented student. City View ISD serves the northwest corner of the city.
Private schools in Wichita Falls tender quality education at the preschool, elementary, junior high, and senior high levels, as well as day care for those families desiring private education. Wichita Falls is the home of the only state accredited preschool program in North Texas: The School for Little People. The city has a Catholic school system providing classes at all levels and an Episcopal school affording programs through the tenth grade. In addition to these two private schools, Bright Ideas is accredited and offers classes for both elementary and secondary students.
Higher Education - Midwestern State University (MSU) is a fully accredited four-year university with a student population of approximately 6,000. MSU has close to 40 undergraduate degree and 20 master’s degree programs among which are outstanding programs in nursing, business, geology, and environmental science, and a long tradition of liberal studies. MSU’s Division of Continuing Education offers non-traditional, internet-based, distance education. Vernon College, Wayland Baptist University and the University of North Texas offer classes and degree programs in the city. The Wichita Falls campus of Vernon College provides programs in occupational and continuing education and credit courses for entry level employment and upgrading/retraining.
Recreational and Cultural - Wichita Falls is a community devoted to the family. There are more than 40 city parks, a public swimming pool, three municipal golf courses, River Bend Nature Center, Ruby Priddy Butterfly Conservatory, and many tennis courts. It also has an outstanding soccer program, a Little League baseball program, a YMCA sports program and a major softball complex. Area lakes provide opportunities for fishing, boating, camping, and other outdoor activities.
Many cultural opportunities are available for the citizens of Wichita Falls. The city is proud of its ballet theater, its symphony orchestra, a youth symphony and a chamber orchestra. Backdoor Theater and the Wichita Theater offer live performances. The Museum and Art Center, which is affiliated with MSU, sponsors national art exhibitions and features a planetarium. Productions by national tour groups and appearances of well-known artists are held at the Municipal Auditorium. The Kemp Center for the Arts offers a forum for galleries of local and visiting artists and has a lovely sculpture garden. Public sculpture is prominent throughout the community.
A new state-of-the-art Multi-Purpose Events Center attracts state and national conventions, exhibits, and shows. The Kay Yeager Coliseum hosts the local Wildcats Hockey Team, a multitude of concerts and a variety of other venues. The Bridwell Agriculture and Exhibit Center has a constant stream of weekday and weekend shows, displays, and competitions.
Several seasonal activities bring the Wichita Falls community together and bring visitors to our city. In August, Wichita Falls hosts the “Hotter-N-Hell Hundred,” which is the largest organized bike ride in the United States. Approximately 10,000 riders participate each year. Special highlights during the Christmas Season are the “Fantasy of Lights” display on the lawn of Midwestern State University and River Bend Nature Center‘s “ElectriCritters” display. Each spring the Texas Oklahoma Junior Golf Tournament is held in Wichita Falls. This is the largest junior golf tournament held in the United States.
Shopping and Dining - Wichita Falls is the major shopping center for the area. An enclosed mall with more than 80 stores is convenient to most citizens of Wichita Falls and the surrounding area. Other shopping centers and many restaurants, offering a variety of dining choices, are located throughout the city. Because Wichita Falls is about 120 miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and from Oklahoma City, its citizens can take advantage of a wide array of shopping, dining, and recreational opportunities.
Business and Military Communities - Known historically as an agricultural, ranching, and oil production center, the Wichita Falls area has a diversified economy. Retail trade, government, military, and manufacturing are the current employment leaders. Important manufacturers include PPG, Delphi, St Gerbain and Alcoa. Unemployment is low in Wichita Falls, resulting in minimal labor-management strife. The James V. Allred Unit, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility houses around 3700 inmates and provides employment and ministry opportunities for our community. Kairos and Horizon programs are very active there along with other more common prison ministries.
Wichita Falls is also the home of Sheppard Air Force Base, which has a Technical Training Center, and a pilot training program for countries represented in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Sheppard is the largest employer in the Wichita Falls area, and adjacent to the base is a municipal airport with commuter service to Dallas/Fort Worth. Many military retirees from all services choose Wichita Falls as their home.
Links for further information:
www.fainpres.org www.wichitafalls.org (convention and business site)
www.cwftx.net (city site) www.timesrecordnews.com (local newspaper)