Bridge Church under 35W in Waco, Texas

This Bridge Church under a bridge on 35W in Waco, Texas, piqued my interest, especially since I wrote the fun essay on how 35W Interstate Highway came into being....well, MAYBE it's how it happened!

The crashing of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis, just a few blocks away from our friend Emily's house, which all happened when our children were up in Minneapolis, also made me start thinking longer and harder about 35W interstate.

However, here are a few paragraphs about the Bridge Church Under the Bridge in Waco, Texas. Enjoy.

For 15 years, everyone's been equal at Church Under the Bridge

Saturday, September 15, 2007

By Erin Quinn

Tribune-Herald staff writer

They call themselves “trolls.” Those who attend Sunday morning church under one of the busiest interstates in the nation.

Each week, 300 or so trolls fight the elements to worship.

The unpredictable, falling pigeon poop. The often riotous flow of traffic overhead. The rain, snow, heat and freezing cold.

Here, there’s no need for Sunday best. Or to be a member. Or to fill a collection plate.

In fact, there’s no one to answer to. All you need is an open mind.

For these trolls, church convenes at 11 a.m. each Sunday under Interstate 35 at Fourth and Fifth streets — the Church Under the Bridge.

Under that bridge, everyone is the same.

There, for two hours on Sunday morning, they are not Kenneth with a mental illness or Lindsey the Baylor University freshman far from home. Here, they are all just trolls under a bridge, honoring God.

Next Sunday will mark 15 years for the unconventional church whose name is also a perfect metaphor for the bridging of all parts of Waco — from the impoverished to the wealthy.

The Rev. Jimmy Dorrell, who is also the executive director of Mission Waco, founded the church. He and his wife, Janet, decided to go to the bridge and talk with the five homeless men who lived there.

Thanks to KLOVE radio station for this bit of news alert.

Read our daughter, Anna's, Open Letter to KLOVE.

Anna has some helpful pointers for them. She hears lots of this station because it is my favorite radio station and is on almost all the time.

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