Oh yeah, 2nd is HUGE. I just now went to their website to see if they still do the Christmas parade, but nope. I put "Christmas" in their search box and got nothing relating to Christmas at all! It was all about "College ministry" on all the largest campuses. (They have so many that they have to distinguish the largest from the smallest!)
I don't know which shopping center they're annexing, but it's probably the one by the parking garage, where Antone's used to be and some other things--maybe a Rice Epicurean or plain Rice Food Market? No, that's not right. That would be the west side of Voss and just south of Woodway. Would you believe they have a shuttle bus just to get the sanctuary--or any of the other outbuildings?
I haven't been by there in a while, either--but all the other corners are extensive commercial properties.
I used to like the Wednesday night free suppers; more casual and friendlier, which wasn't saying much.
When that corner was populated, it was a Piggly Wiggly store. Did Antone's completely disappear from Houston? Oh jeez! Memories... We moved to Houston in '57, had house built in Briagrove (not Park, plain Briargrove). I remember when the closest grocery store was the Weingarten's which would now be catty cornered across the street from the Galleria if it was still there. Then there was the Lewis & Coker situated on Westheimer in front of Tanglewood.
I knew Second was darned big because last time I drove by they had some kind of presence near San Felipe and Voss where the original Church was on Woodway. Lots of traffic around that whole area attending Second. I had also read about another satellite church they were establishing out along 10.
Dr. Riley was Pastor while I attended Second. I remember one evening he and his family were at our home visiting. His son was graduating from high school and somehow the prom was brought up. Not being the shy one in the family I asked Dr. Riley if his son was going to be allowed to dance at the prom. Dr. Riley told me "We've done our best to instill values and moral, now it will be his turn to decide what he chooses to do."
My poor parents! The things they had to put up with when I was involved. I loved to go visiting when I was a child. It never occured to me then I wasn't always invited. I thought nothing about dropping in for a chat with the architect who designed our house or the orthopoedic who took care of the broken bones in our neighbourhood, etc. Mom was always called and she'd come retrieve me. I'd have been mortified if my son had pulled the same stuff I did.