Fort Worth, Texas, Anglican church breaks ground on $6M facility after 17-year search

The former site of a 24 Hour Fitness gym will soon become a spiritual home for hundreds of Anglican Christians in southwest Fort Worth. Members of Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church gathered on Feb. 2 for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the congregation’s new place of worship at 5001 Overton Ridge Blvd.

With hard hats, plastic shovels for children and a disco ball, the ceremony marked the end of a 17-year search for a permanent location for the church plant. The Very Rev. Chris Culpepper, rector of Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church and canon for church planting for the Anglican Diocese of Fort Worth, said the congregation’s approach was captured in his invitation to attendees. “I just told everybody, ‘Bring a shovel because we’re all in this together,’ ” Culpepper said, a message that reflects the theme of unity (Psalm 133:1).

More than 200 people attended the groundbreaking, according to the report. Tony Rutigliano, one of those attending, said he grew up nondenominational and Baptist, while his wife grew up in the Western rite Orthodox faith. When the family searched for a place to worship together, Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church offered a “happy medium,” he said. “The Anglican tradition is one that we both really appreciate,” Rutigliano said. “I have grown to really love the liturgical approach to worship and just the meaning behind that.”

The new site is near a mix of shopping centers and apartment complexes, which Rutigliano said gives the church chances to connect with its neighbors and invite them to future events. “I want people to drive by and go, ‘What’s going on today?’… Maybe we’re having a little concert, or a festival, or we’re, you know, hosting a food truck,” he said. “But just really the opportunity to reach out and grab the community around us and invite them in to participate, not necessarily for church but just to be loved on.”

According to Culpepper, the new 20,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in early 2026. Construction will begin on the east wing, which will house the kitchen, an interim nave and fellowship space, and on the west wing, which will feature offices and classrooms, according to the church’s capital campaign. The church will also include a playground, which Culpepper described as a highly anticipated feature for families. “We’ve been for 11 years without a place where the kids can really run around and play. So that’s another exciting piece of it as well,” he said.

The congregation’s history of relocation began in 2008, when members gathered for worship in different homes. A year later they began meeting at the Lockheed Martin Recreational Association. Nearly five years after that, the facility was torn down to build Waterside, a 63-acre mixed-use development of shopping and restaurants. “We had to discern whether God wanted us to go away or become more permanent,” Culpepper said. For the past 11 years, worshippers have met at the Mira Vista Commons business center in Benbrook.

Culpepper said he looks forward to how the church will grow after its final move in 2026. “It’s very much like finding your home,” he said. “We can start living here in ways that you can’t live when you’re moving around from place to place and the opportunity to get to know the community and explore opportunities for ministry.”

Source: Read the original report