Hamilton Park UMC Fete, Farmers Branch Bond, Landfill Issues Make Community Headlines

Hamilton Park United Methodist Church, one of the most influential congregations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is celebrating its 60th anniversary throughout the month with a host of high-profile speakers rooted in the activism that has helped fuel its legacy and invigorate its members.The church is two years younger than its Hamilton Park neighborhood in North Dallas, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2015."Hamilton Park UMC remains a vital part of the Hamilton Park community because it has embraced the community in thought, word and deed," said senior church pastor Sheron C. Patterson, the first black women ordained as a pastor for the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church.Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College, kicked off the month-long observation as Sunday's guest speaker and brought about 25 Paul Quinn students with him, church spokeswoman Michelle Sisson said Monday.Sorrell will be followed by Ronald D. Henderson, a former senior pastor at Hamilton Park, this Sunday. Henry L. Masters, who led Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles for 10 years and is a former senior pastor at Hamilton Park, will preach on Oct. 22.And former state Rep. Zan W. Holmes Jr., pastor emeritus of St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in Dallas, will close out the celebration with his address to the congregation on Oct. 29.State weighs in on CamelotMeanwhile, in Farmers Branch, a long, painful process that has embroiled the city in a dispute with Lewisville might be coming to an end.The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a plan to expand the Camelot Landfill in Lewisville — a dump that is owned by Farmers Branch.  Continue reading...