On Sunday, March 17 before our 10 a.m. service, Mike Darst, of the Court Appointed Special Advocates for children of Wise and Jack Counties (CASA) gave a presentation to our congregation, highlighting their mission of being advocates for children who have no one to speak for them in the courts.

He spoke of how we could volunteer to give hope to a child. Court Appointed Special Advocates represent the best interest of abused and neglected children. CASA Advocates speak up for children in court and help ensure that the goals of safety and stability become reality. CASA of Wise and Jack Counties served 140 children in 2018, but more children are waiting for the hope that CASA Advocates provide.

If you are interested in volunteering, you may contact Mike Darst, training and recruitment coordinator at 214-632-6611 or mike.darst@casawise.org.

As we do every January, we try to revitalize not only ourselves, but our ideas on how we can be a help to our community.

So, we sit back and pray about what we can do. We always come up with many ways in which our “Little Flock” can be of service.

As our years increase, it seems as though we have to hold our books and newspapers a little farther away until our arms aren’t long enough!

For our December Mission of the Month, we chose to gather large print books, word puzzle books, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzle books, sudoku books, and take them to two different senior assisted living homes.

We also gathered small embroidery kits, yarn, knitting needles/crochet hooks, colored pencils, and other items that will help the residents keep their fingers flexible and moving. Many seniors used to do these types of crafts, but now that they are living in a different place, they might not have all the familiar items they loved.

Below are a few pictures of the things gathered.

Our November Mission of the Month was threefold:  First mission was to help plan and co-host the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth’s convention which was held at the Decatur Conference Center, Decatur, TX.   Our sister church in the Northern Deanery*, Episcopal Church in Wichita Falls, joined us in the planning of the worship service on Friday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m.  Person after person commented on the wonderfully catered food and the quality of the hotel rooms.

All of the furnishings my husband created for our church (portable altar, altar candle holders, lectern, Paschal candle stand, and baptismal font) were carefully carried out of our Church of the Resurrection, placed in our vehicles and taken to the Center.  We set everything up at the center and arranged the furnishings appropriately.   On Saturday, all was taken down, repacked in our vehicles, and returned to our church.

We assembled the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection table, covering our church board with cloth, finding/printing out pictures, and putting trim on it.  The theme of our table was our Missions of the Month.   A picture of our church building was placed in the center with hands reaching out showing our mission work throughout our community.  Our scrapbook of each mission was on display for anyone to look through.

Since we became a new church plant in 2015, many people in the diocese didn’t know where we were located.  Because of that, an open house was planned for any who wished to take a tour of our tiny building and to grab a hot dog with all the trimmings, chips, other snack items, and soda or water to eat on the veranda or to put in a to-go bag for the trip home.  We believe around 40 visitors came to see where we worship.  Pictures were taken, questions were asked, food was eaten, and a good time was had by all.

*Deanery:  Geographical section or area within a diocese. A dean presides at meetings of the lay representatives and clergy of the deanery.

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The second mission was to assist 4Saints Food Pantry which was in need of diapers, sizes 3, 4, 5, and 6.  Our members gathered the needed items and they will be delivered to the pantry.  Below are several pictures of diapers we collected, as well as a few of our members sporting new church t-shirts.  Over 55 lbs. of diapers were collected.

4Saints Food Pantry – 4301 Meadowbrook, Fort Worth, TX  76103

4 Saints Episcopal Food Pantry is an Episcopal food bank at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located in the Meadowbrook neighborhood of east Fort Worth, a food desert. The pantry board has members from the Fort Worth East Deanery, which includes St Stephen’s, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Luke’s, and St Alban’s

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The third mission was to deliver snack items to the residents living in Brookdale Senior Living, Weatherford.  The chips, cookies, etc., were greatly appreciated.

October is the month we always partner with our friends at First United Methodist Church in Decatur to have a traditional Blessing of the Animals as close to St. Francis Day as possible.  Our furry friends are beautiful creations of God and He has given them to us for our care.  We gathered around our St. Francis statue on Resurrection grounds for the blessings.

We also support the Wise County Animal Shelter in October and they conveyed to us their need for bleach, kitty litter, and puppy food.  Below are pictures of what we collected: 160.5 lbs. of puppy food; 269 lbs. of cat litter; 10 gallons of bleach and 6.4 lbs. of kitten food.  Thanks everyone.

For September, our congregation supported our bishop and his visit to Resurrection for the Confirmation of three of our congregants.  On September 16, Bishop J. Scott Mayer confirmed Janet Huff, Denise Bowen, and Brad Bowen.  After renewing our own baptismal vows, we watched as Bishop Mayer laid hands on the three confirmands.  Afterward, a reception lunch was provided.  It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy a little time on the veranda.

This summer was a hot, dry season and the wildfires here in Texas have been many, devastating over 70,000 acres.  Save for the fire station in Decatur, TX, all the fire departments in Wise County are manned by volunteers.  Having to work in heavy fire suits in 100 degree heat is enough to dehydrate even the veteran fire fighter.

Our Mission of the Month for August was to provide water and sports drinks to Boonsville/Balsora Volunteer Fire Department.  We packed up the drinks in Denise and Brad Bowen’s truck and delivered them.  We were greeted by Paul Wood, a member of the fire department.  He was grateful for the drinks.  We have been told before that during a fire in the 100 degree heat, one fire fighter can go through several bottles of water.  Also, electrolytes are lost in extreme heat and the sports drinks help to replenish them.

Here are a few pictures.

Joe Baish is a co-worker of a member of our congregation.  As you can read below, it is actually a miracle that Joe survived.   Because of this, Joe is our July Mission of the Month.

Joe was attacked on June 17,2018. He was beat and kicked within inches of his life.  He suffered a fractured skull, broken jaw,  broken nose, broken orbital bone and a fractured cheek bone.  He has suffered a collapse lung and has internal bruising as well. He had bi-lateral brain bleeds, for which he endured brain surgery.  The right portion of his skull was removed to relieve pressure in his brain.  He is currently on  life-support in the ICU, being monitored very closely by doctors.  As you may imagine, Joe faces a long road to recovery. That being said there is great cost associated with his care and the maintenance of his bills and needs. We ask people donate what they can to support him through his traumatic time.  Please, if you can or cannot donate, keep him in your prayers and thoughts.  We appreciate it, Thank you.

Update:  Joe has come a long way and is even driving a little by himself.  We thank our generous members for contributing to help with his care