For November we were asked by CASA to provide some Christmas gifts for teens. Usually, the younger children get plenty of gifts, but the teens don’t always receive much. We provided hoodies, coats, duffle bags, cosmetics, and other gifts we thought teens would like. Here are a few pictures:
Because Wise Hope is an organization we help during the year, I received a call from their director, Janice Thompson, asking us to attend their Candlelight Vigil in Decatur. They also hold vigils in Bowie and Jacksboro. Janice asked me if I would speak at the vigil on the importance of small non-profit organizations giving back to the community. Several of our members attended and it was very nice. I was also asked to publish my speech which you may find below. October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month. We support Wise Hope and all the work they do in our community.
Wise Hope Candlelight Vigil – October 10, 2023
7:30 p.m. – 306 W. Main St., Decatur, TX
Thank you, Janice, and all of you from Wise Hope, visitors, and guests, for having me this evening. It is an honor to be here. I must say first of all that I am not a speaker, so I hope you will bear with me for just a few minutes.
My name is Ellen Whitley, and I am a member of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection…the little white church just down the street at the corners of Church and Hale. A lot of people around here call it the wedding chapel, because it was one at one time. It’s also been an Episcopal Church 3 times, so we hope the third time is the charm. We’re small. Our roster of members is maybe about 30. So, we’re tiny…but we’re mighty. Don’t think that being small or being just one person, that you can’t make a difference. Shakespeare wrote in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Tho she be but little, she is fierce.” We as a church feel outreach is an important part of who we are. You don’t have to be big to do something to help others. Our Mission of the Month consists of doing something once a month for an organization needing help. During a whole month we gather needed items for a chosen charity. Little by little we do it in small purchases throughout the month. It doesn’t seem like much. But, by the end of the month, we always collect a good number of items to give. We call ourselves “The Little Church That Can.”
Giving back to your community is not just a Christian thing to do. It is a human thing to do. We are all brothers and sisters of the same God. There is a Jewish phrase, Tikkun Olam, which means “Improving or Repairing the world.” They feel it is their duty to do this. You can find “Love your neighbor” or some form of it in every religious faith you look into. We are in this small place in Wise County, Texas. Look at Wise Hope. Look at what they do to help those who need protection and have nowhere else to go. What an honorable thing they do. What a wonderful way of showing love. As our Presiding Bishop says, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God!” One person or one family at a time is helped by this organization. What would these families do without them? Where would they go? What a blessing to have Wise Hope in Wise, Jack, and Montague Counties. They give and will continue to give as long as there is a need.
Some of the organizations in this county my church helps during the year are the veterans, seniors, especially their Meals on Wheels program, CASA, children’s advocacy program that helps children through the court systems, animal shelters, hospital staff, especially the ICU and ER nurses, just to name a few. All these organizations do unto others as we would have others do unto us. This is the golden rule. That is what giving back to your community is all about. In our Baptismal Covenant we are asked:
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
And we answer: I will with God’s help.
Every single one of us is capable of doing something for our neighbors…be it a smile, a word of encouragement, getting their mail, offering a ride. All these things are little…and we can all do them. It doesn’t have to be a gift of money, or even items, or anything big, but giving of yourselves, by volunteering if you can. Let your love shine through in whatever you do.
I’d like to close with a version of an African quote that really speaks to my heart. I believe it is something we can all think about when we are called upon to reach out to our neighbors: “If many little people in many little places do may little things, they can change the face of the earth.”
Thank you again for having me, and God bless you.
Ellen Whitley
In September the congregation wanted to support our local Meals on Wheels program. Because they have been struggling some ever since COVID, we gave a nice monetary gift.
In October we again had our Annual Festival Day featuring our St. Francis Blessing of the Animals. Along with our sisters and brothers in Christ from the Methodist Church, we had a group of pets to be blessed as well as some fun things for the children to do. The First United Methodist Church provided the crafts for the children and Resurrection provided water and snacks for everyone. Also during October, we always collect for one of our local animal shelters. Again, we got many items for the Bridgeport Animal Shelter. Here’s what we collected this year.
In June we collected different kinds of sock for our local Veterans group, and they were very well received. You don’t think much about socks, but these folks were excited to get so many different kinds…all sizes, men’s and women’s, compression and diabetic socks, etc.
In July and August, we gathered water, sports drinks, and Liquid IV for our brave firefighters. This year we gave our donation to the Runaway Bay Volunteer Fire Department. Everything was gratefully appreciated.
Remember how many glasses we collected last time for the leper colony in Hyderabad, India? It was over 100 pairs. We did the same in July and August, with the help from friends and families. Jill McClendon presented our donation to Dr. Babbili and his staff. He will take his team to India and with the help of ophthalmologists there, they will regrind the lenses to fit particular needs. Also, the sunglasses will help protect delicate eyes. Thank you all for your generosity.
We gathered all kinds of SOUP for 4Saints Food Pantry. Here are some pictures of what we collected (and some items were still in cars). Y’all filled up the whole back pew and on the floor and under the pew. So many folks volunteered to tote everything to Jill’s car so she could deliver them to 4Staints.. Thanks for doing such an amazing job. I believe the challenge has been met!
Our mission for April was Refugees Services of Texas which needed funding due to extreme budget shortfalls as a result of re-homing more refugees than originally anticipated. For those who donated to this cause, thank you. We will also add funds to whatever was personally donated and send them a nice check.
Below is a note from Jill McClendon:
It’s a “God thing,” again!
Our winter Mission of the Month project, raising funds to retire medical debt, has come to a conclusion with amazing results. I knew we had exceeded our goal of retiring $500,000 in medical debt in our surrounding counties. However, when I received our final report, I was surprised to learn that we were able to retire more than $1,600,000.
Please offer a prayer of gratitude to our Lord, that we were able to provide financial relief to more than 1,000 people. And Thank You to all of you for your participation and generosity. Jill
Below is an article that ran in the Wise County Messenger regarding our mission to help relieve medical debt in North Texas:
A small church in Decatur is partnering with a national nonprofit to provide medical debt relief to North Texans.
Through a RIP Medical Debt campaign, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection has raised funds to pay off more than $535,000 in medical bills to date.
“That is over $500,000 we are going to take care of for these people,” said Ellen Whitley, a lay member at the church.
Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured residents in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Even with insurance, medical costs have heightened and deductibles and copays have increased.
The donations gathered by Episcopal Church of the Resurrection are used by RIP Medical Debt to buy debt profiles for pennies on the dollar on the secondary debt market. The campaign helps people in Dallas, Tarrant, Rockwall, Denton, Kaufman, Ellis, Hunt, Delta, Collin, Parker, Wise, and Johnson counties.
The people who benefit from campaigns are often parents or caregivers that are working to provide for their families, Whitley said.
“It has been on [the hospitals’] books for so long but people can’t pay for it,” she said. “[The hospitals] don’t want to waive it but it is still on the books so they sell it to RIP Medical Debt.”
For every dollar raised, $100 of medical debt is taken from the debtor. In many cases, a donation of $8.87 will completely remove the debt associated with a single account.
“They get a letter letting them know that their bill has been paid,” Whitley said.
Whitley said she and her late husband, Marquis, started the church in their dining room in 2015. Over the years, they began renting a small church building located at the corner of Church Street and Hale Avenue. From the beginning, the couple knew that they wanted the church to be defined by its generosity.
“We felt in our hearts that [outreach] was what the church was supposed to be about and we felt like God planted us here,” Whitley said. “We wanted to be a part of the community and we wanted to just reach out and help where we could.”
Their founding mission has become a reality thanks to their church members. The congregation of around 25 people regularly discusses new organizations they can give to and how they can help people experiencing difficulties.
With several members living in Fort Worth or other surrounding areas, the church spent time considering how they could give back despite their small congregation. Vestry member Jill McClendon suggested they devote time and donations to a different organization each month. In the last year, members have come together to provide resources to organizations and agencies including the Wise County Animal Shelter, local fire departments, CASA and the Children’s Advocacy Center.
The church typically collects donations for one month at a time, but their medical debt relief effort will run through March.
Visit wcmess.com/medicaldebt to donate to their campaign.
Also, during February, we are gathering items for Wise Hope Shelter and Crises Center. The items needed are:
Paper/Plastic Products: toilet paper
paper towels
Kitchen size trash bags
Quart Ziplock bags
Gallon Ziplock bags
Cleaning Products: Dishwasher detergent (pods only)
Laundry detergent (pods only)
Toilet bowl cleaner
Bathroom cleaner
Liquid dish soap
Lysol liquid
Lysol disinfecting spray
Cloth Products: Kitchen towels
Kitchen dishcloths
Wise Hope provides the following services: Domestic Violence Hotlines, Domestic Violence Shelters, Domestic/Family Violence Legal Services, Public Awareness/Education for Domestic Violence Issues, Specialized Information and Referral for Spouse/Domestic Partner Abusers.
Wise Hope Shelter and Crisis Center assists victims of family violence and sexual assault by providing education, assistance and accompaniment throughout the survival process. Services include: 24-hour shelter, 24 hour crisis line, public education, resource referral, counseling, legal advocacy and more. Information and referral is available for the batterer.
Office Hours: Monday – Friday
8:30 am – 5 pm
Other Times by Appointment.
March allowed us to help another organization, as well.
Meals on Wheels was another Mission of the Month for March.
Meals on Wheels Wise County provides meal services to homebound seniors and others — and that need is growing as Wise County is growing. Their meal service enables seniors to enjoy a hot meal delivered to their place of residence, as well as the opportunity to interact with the volunteer bringing food to their door. In many cases this is the only human interaction they have that day.
We were informed that funds were needed to keep Meals on Wheels up and running.
I am proud to say the hearts of our congregation are big and they donated money for this mission. Resurrection will also add funds, so a nice-sized check was sent to them.
January – We generally step back and see where we are and what we would like to do next. So, prayerfully we will see where help is needed and go from there.
February – 4Saints Food Bank asked for all kinds of canned goods, cleaning products, diapers, etc.
March – Wise Hope Shelter and Crisis Center was in need with cleaning products and we collected quite a selection of items.
April – Disable American veterans, Chapter #70, Decatur, TX asked for the following items for their vets: toothbrushes and toothpaste, trial-sized shampoo, soap, wash cloths, feminine products (there are a few women), individual tissue packs, canned food, especially protein, that can be opened without a can opener, tuna pouches, peanut butter (small jars), individual servings of baked beans, etc.
May – The Mission of the Month for May is the Moses Project. The incarcerated men in the Bridgeport Correctional Facility are sewing many items to present to new parents. We purchased items for newborns as well to give for the men to include in the bassinets they make. Even crib sheets, towels, little toys, etc.; nothing too large. Diapers were needed in sizes Medium and Large. I found out that Medium diapers are for babies 17 to 22 lbs., and Large diapers are for babies 23 to 33 lbs. They were unable to accept used sewing machines and any new sewing machines they need are purchased wholesale. However, they were still in need of another commercial sewing machine. We provided the funds for them to purchase the much-needed new sewing machine.
June – Wise County Committee on Aging. We provided all sorts of Bingo prizes for their Seniors. They were thrilled with all the fun prizes collected.
July – Refugees Services of North Texas Amazon wishlist.
August – we supplied, water, sports drinks, Liquid IV to local Volunteer Fire Departments in Wise County.
September – Children’s Advocacy Center in Bridgeport. We supplied many items for their Rainbow room to help their clients who may have nothing when they come to the Center. We provided food, diapers, cleaning products, baby items, etc., and they were very appreciative.
October – Wise County Animal Shelter was in need of puppy/kitten food, dog food (dry), Dawn detergent, bleach, kitty litter. At our new Annual “Festival Day” Fr. Tony also dedicated and blessed our Little Free Library. Children had their faces painted, enjoyed an easy bird feeder craft, and selected books to take home with them.
We also helped with the First United Methodist Church’s Trunk or Treat, dressing in full Harry Potter costume and handed out lots of goodies to the children. Harry Potter was our theme:
During October, we also supported the Atreyu Howard, our AV whiz, by going to Decatur High School and watching him play Prince Charming in “Into the Woods, Jr.” It was held on two nights and several of us were able to go. It was such a good musical and we are proud of Atreyu.
November – We focused on CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates for children. These advocates are paired with children, and they assure that the child’s best interests are being represented at every stage of the court case. CASA had a toy drive for their children on December 3, and Santa handed out all the gifts. For our small congregation we gathered many gifts. Below are a few pictures.
In December our latest Outreach Project is helping needy families, in our surrounding counties, retire their medical debt. This will serve as our Mission of the Month for December, and perhaps beyond. We are working with “RIP Medical Debt,” a charitable organization that buys up medical debt from collection agencies and uses our donations to cover the costs. They have a 100% rating from Charity Navigator.
— Every dollar you donate pays off $100.
When we raise $5,000, we will pay off $500,000 in debt! Please follow the link below to donate. You may
donate electronically or send a check with Episcopal Church of the Resurrection’s name on the memo line. Here is that information
to mail a check:
RIP Medical Debt
28-07 Jackson Ave, 5th Fl
Long Island City, NY 11101
https://ripmedicaldebt.org/…/an-episcopal-outreach-to…/?
Thank you.
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We have several Missions of the Moment.
This has been a good year of giving by our thoughtful and caring congregation. Our church was started on the premise that it would be focused on outreach. This is what we try to do each month of every year. Thank you all so much for your generous, loving hearts. The more we give of ourselves, the more will come back to us.
Mission of the Minute – 2021
Mission of the Minute is an ongoing gathering of items for the following:
Mission of the Month – 2021
Due to COVID we were unable to gather during the first part of the year and didn’t get back to in-person worship until May.
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