The St. Thomas Outreach Committee recently presented Parkland Hospital with an Outreach Grant. The love of St. Thomas continues to flow out into the community reaching the lives of the children and families at the hospital.
Dear St Thomas Family, This has been such a sad week for our world. As I have read through so many descriptions of the terror in Orlando and the responses of those who are outraged saddened and discouraged, I find my own soul weary from the knowledge that hate still has such power in our world, in our communities, even in our church. Almost a year ago we all celebrated the Supreme Court decision that we never thought would come. We all rallied around the cry that “Love Wins.” I know many of us wonder this week if that is really true. So many times we walk by faith and not by sight so I want to encourage all of us to continue our walk in faith in the midst of sorrow, to honor our grief, to express our anger but to not let it stop there or immobilize…
A letter from Samira Izadi, Executive Director Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am sure you have been following the news on the refugee situation in Europe. Today, we were informed that United States will be receiving 10000 Syrian refugees starting October 1. Texas is the largest hub for refugees in the nations. While we can agree or disagree with the decision, as Christians who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we have the unique calling and power to bring the redemptive presence of Christ into this situation. No other religious group has this calling and power. Gateway of Grace is currently serving five refugee families from Syria and a total of 1600 refugees per year. It is the largest refugee ministry in north Texas serving refugees from nine different countries and six different religious backgrounds. We have seen transformation of lives by meeting the practical, emotional and spiritual needs of…
Together We Can Feed Our Hungry Neighbors By Mtr. Virginia Holleman The Vestry of St. Thomas has approved our entering into a partnership with Crossroads Community Services to provide nutritious shelf-stable, refrigerated and fresh foods to our neighbors who are food-insecure. Food-insecure means these are families who do not have reliable access to enough affordable and nutritious food for the month. Generally speaking, these families have enough financial resources to make it through three weeks each month, but the last week finds them at the bottom of the basket so to speak, having to “make do” with cheap, filling though often marginally nutritious food. St. Thomas will become a Community Distribution Partner with Crossroads. There are a lot of hungry people in our neighborhood but we’re going to start small. Fr. Ray Ball will meet with the counselor at K. B. Polk Elementary School to select five families. Once we…
General Convention Approves Marriage Equality Dear St. Thomas Family, What an amazing week this has been! Last Friday the Supreme court made it legal for all Americans to marry the people they love, a decision to be celebrated. Then as Our General Convention met in Salt Lake City, we elected Michael Curry as Presiding Bishop, the first African American to lead the church in this role. There are many issues being deliberated at General Convention which I hope will lead our Church to grow more deeply into love, justice and compassion. Just last evening The House of Deputies approved without ammendment what the House of Bishops had already approved. Resolution A036 revises Canon 1.18 titled “Of the Solemnization of Holy Matrimony.” Among many edits it removes references to marriage as being between a man and a woman. They also passed A054 approving continued use of “The Witnessing and Blessing of…
A Wonderful Morning! Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage Nationwide “The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 this morning that it is legal for all Americans, no matter their gender or sexual orientation to marry the people they love.” Dear St. Thomas Family, I know that this day has been long awaited and is an occasion of great celebration. I rejoice with you in this victory for equal rights and look forward to further conversations with you. You may also know that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is in session right now and is considering a canon revision to the definition of marriage, so this is good news also but a change to the Book of Common Prayer will most likely not occur for some time. For more information and conversation about what is happening at convention regarding this, I refer you to two blogs, one by Tobias Haller (blog.tobiashaller.net) and…
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Rev. Joy Daley and a number of St. Thomas parishioners joined together at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration for a NOH8 photo shoot. Celebrity photographer Adam Bouska came to the Dallas area to capture the fight for marriage equality and take a stand against discrimination and bullying of all kinds. The NOH8 campaign makes a statement without saying a word; guess you can call that a picture perfect protest. Featured on News Fix CW33 | March 14, 2015 | by Selena Hernandez Read full article >
One of the movies nominated for best picture this year was Selma which recalls the time in the not so distant past when the country was divided over the fight for equal rights as Martin Luther King, Jr. gathered people together to make a choice, to take a stand. The movie doesn’t cover his whole life but a period of 3 months, a moment in time about the work leading up to the Voting Rights Act. In one clip from the movie we see MLK say forcefully “It is unacceptable to use power to keep people voiceless” And though this man was nonviolent he did take action to raise consciousness to push against the accepted oppressive norms. This action led to violence as forces within this country resisted the walk to freedom as people were clubbed and beaten for standing up for their rights. Ironically the bridge where the marchers…
As I thought about the wilderness I remembered a time several years ago when I was out in East Texas walking. I was in a wooded area which was enclosed and familiar to me I was passing by trees and streams that I had seen many times before. I was thinking as I walked, trying to understand a situation at work so you would have thought that the familiar surroundings were a good place to do that but for whatever reason I wasn’t content with the setting and felt compelled to go beyond the usual boundaries of my walk to look for a break in the fence enclosing the area and I found one, so I crossed the road and began to walk on a path I had never seen before. I needed a new perspective I was in the wilderness of sort, seeking enlightenment The road was open before…
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