2021 May Preston Hollow Advocate

THE PRESTON HOLLOW LIFESTYLE M AY 2 0 2 1

CHOICE SCHOOLS

A PERFECT PICNIC

CLASS OF 2021

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For a physician referral, call 214-947–1800.

THE VISTA

Lovely Living – Inside and Out!

NEW ASSISTED LIVING APARTMENTS We’re offering gorgeous views of White Rock Lake, Flag Pole Hill, and Downtown Dallas. Each apartment features a highefficiency washer/dryer combo and comes with underground parking. Schedule a personal tour to see our lovely interiors, top-floor dining room, sky garden and one-of-a-kind aquatics center.

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contents MAY 2021 VOL.20 NO.5

5 CLICK-WORTHY All the web news 8 PROFILE Jennifer Sampson 10 ENROLLMENT Students at Sudie Williams TAG 12 PRESTON HOLLOW PICNIC A few nibbles from the neighborhood 14 CLASS OF 2021 Ursuline seniors talk about past and future 18 KINESTHETIC LEARNING New Montessori school at E.D. Walker

The weather is perfect for picnicing at parks. Go to page 12 to see how to source your picnic locally. Photo by Jessica Turner.

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MAY 2021

c l i c k- w o r t hy

coming & going [+] DOUGHERTY’S PHARMACY opened last

month in its new location at the intersection of Preston Road and Interstate 635. Not only does it have a drive-thru, but also it has an old-fashioned soda fountain run by Marvyn Sacher, the owner of Neuhaus Café.

[+] A NEW TACO RESTAURANT is set to open this summer in Summertree Center. The Taco Joint, which has four other locations in Dallas, is moving into the old Picasso’s Pizza & Grill space at 12300 Inwood Road.

WE CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT...

Looking for our neighbor Victor Vescovo?

Chances are, he’s somewhere off the coast of Australia. A new series streaming on Discovery+ depicts his travels as he dives to the depths of all five oceans. The St. Mark’s alumnus partnered with submersible manufacturer Triton to develop, test and outfit the “Limiting Factor,” the vessel he used to do his dives.

He’s currently looking for a buyer for the system, hopefully a country or organization that will use it for science and the public.

Vescovo just recently became the first person to see the sunken U.S.S. Johnston, a WWII-era navy ship lost in 1944.

[+] J. RAE’S, a family-owned bakery that first opened in Fort Worth, is now serving customers at The Pavilion on Lovers Lane.

Stop by for chocolate chip cookies, coconut cupcakes, seasonal pies and more.

Search “dining” at prestonhollow.advocatemag. com for more.

arts awards The Business Council for the Arts, based in NorthPark Center, named Rebecca and Philip Silvestri the co-chairs of the 2021 Obelisk Awards, which recognizes companies and leaders in business and the arts for their support of arts and culture in North Texas.

Real Estate n 1,176 homes sold in Dallas in February n 1,534 new home listings in Dallas in

February Search “Vescovo” at prestonhollow.advocatemag.com for more.

Search “real estate” at prestonhollow. advocatemag.com for more.

MAY 2021

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SCENE & HEARD

NEW KICKS FOR NURSES Luka Doncicć donated 100 pairs of Air Jordan sneakers to staff at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The Mavericks guard and Preston Hollow neighbor also sent a video message thanking the health care workers for their service throughout the pandemic.

Search “Luka” at prestonhollow. advocatemag.com to read more.

LEADERS TALK DIVERSITY About two dozen CEOs met virtually at the end of March in the third North Texas CEO Forum to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion in their organizations. Preston Hollow neighbor and Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall was one of the attendees.

Search “CEO Cynt Marshall” at prestonhollow.advocatemag.com to read more.

GOLF PRO WINS BIG Jordan Spieth, a Jesuit alumn, made headlines last month when he won the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, putting an end to a losing streak that lasted 1,351 days. He tied for third at the Masters.

Search “Jordan Spieth” at prestonhollow. advocatemag.com to read more.

Soccer stars Both the girls’ and boys’ varsity soccer teams at W.T. White High School made it to the second round of state playoffs.

Their seasons ended March 30 after matches against Frisco Memorial and Frisco Centennial, respectively.

Search “W.T. White” at prestonhollow.advocatemag.com to read more.

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MAY 2021

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I N V EST I N G I N T H E F U T U R E Jennifer Sampson helps North Texans aspire, give and lead united Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photo courtesy of JENNIFER SAMPSON

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›

W

hen Jennifer Sampson was in elementary school, she spent summers in Arkansas at the Siloam Springs Baptist Church Camp where her grandfather, Dr. Lawson Hatfield, was camp director for decades.

Sampson watched Hatfield, a Southern Baptist minister, as he inspired campers to financially support Baptist mission work and programs.

During those early years of her life, Sampson’s parents and grandparents instilled in her the importance of servant leadership. Hatfield in particular was an exemplar of the “golden rule” message found in Luke 6:31: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Sampson took that to heart. As student body president at Arlington High School, she had a hand in the student council’s fundraising and volunteer activities. At Baylor University, she held leadership positions in her sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, and was connected to nonprofits in Waco. In addition, she learned about corporate philanthropy and social responsibility as a student in the Hankamer School of Business.

“But I really got more engaged personally after I graduated from college,” she says.

So engaged, that she turned philanthropy into profession. Now, as chief executive officer and self-proclaimed chief encouragement officer of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Sampson relies on her background in business to improve the income, health and education of North Texans.

For Sampson, who’s lived in Preston Hollow for eight years with her husband, Edward, and son, Hilton, philanthropy and finance are fundamentally related.

Prior to joining United Way in 2001, she worked as a CPA and manager in the audit and business advisory practice at the Dallas office of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.

It was at Andersen where she first learned about United Way and became involved with it as a donor and volunteer.

“When I was at Andersen, United Way was a part of the culture, the DNA of our firm,” she says.

Her experience in the business world is apparent in the language she employs to define philanthropy.

“Sometimes that (philanthropy) requires financial investment. Sometimes it requires volunteerism. Sometimes it requires a random act of kindness,” she says. “But to me, philanthropy is investing, whether it’s any of those things, in activities that help drive impact.”

Before becoming United Way’s first female CEO, Sampson was the organization’s CFO and COO. Though each of these roles included different responsibilities, her goals remained similar.

“I wanted United Way to be an organization that could deliver social return on investment, not just sprinkle goodness all over the community to great organizations that needed resources. I wanted to be able to prove that our investments actually drove measurable outcome that we identified in our three areas of focus,” Sampson says.

Last year, United Way announced its Aspire United 2030 goals. In terms of improving education, the organization has selected one challenge to tackle: 50% of North Texans do not read on grade level. The plan is that in the next 10 years, 50% more students in our region will be reading on grade level by third grade. And, United Way wants to double the achievement rate for Black and Latinx students.

“In our work, we believe that everyone should have the same opportunity to reach their full potential,” Sampson says.

To achieve this, United Way begins addressing educational issues in children even before they enter school.

Its home visits and parent education support program, which transitioned to virtual interaction, serves almost 15,000 parents of young children.

Another program, which was funded by Atmos Energy, provides free subscriptions to Vooks, a storybook streaming app. This helps parents and teachers build language and literacy skills for children up to age 6.

United Way also provides assistance to children in school. When the pandemic started, the organization ensured that students had internet access and equipment so they could continue learning at home.

But education isn’t just for kids. United Way is helping young adults land and keep living-wage jobs through Pathways to Work, a program that focuses on developing new skills and gaining credentials.

“When I think about my future, I want to ensure that we not only meet but we exceed these goals that we’ve set for the community,” Sampson says.

She has come a long way since her summers at the Siloam Springs Baptist Church Camp. Rather than spending days watching her grandfather inspire campers and churchgoers to give to charitable causes, Sampson’s days are usually dedicated to back-to-back Zoom calls with investors and others, starting around 7 a.m. and ending no sooner than 6 p.m.

Just as her philanthropic journey began during childhood, she encourages the next generation to be “just as generous, just as resilient as the generations before them.”

Her message to the next cohort of philanthropists is, “You’re never too young to get involved, to give back, to serve, to advocate, to invest.”

“We believe that everyone should have the same opportunity to reach their full potential.”

MAY 2021

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Seventy-five of 138 applicants to the fourth-grade class at Williams for the 2019-20 school year identified as white. Source: Dallas ISD.

TAG, YOU ’ R E I T Dallas ISD turns to magnet schools to bring families back to the district IN 2018, DALLAS ISD OFFICIALS predicted that turning Sudie L. Williams Elementary School into Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy (TAG) would attract more students. They were right.

Since the board of trustees approved the change, total enrollment at the school has doubled, from about 205 in the 2017-18 school year to 420 this year. At the time, community members protested the decision they perceived to be sudden, but the transition wasn’t out of character for DISD. The district was facing a problem: wealthier white families were enrolling their children in private schools, and DISD had not figured out how to bring them back.

DISD data from 2016 shows that 850 children zoned to Williams attended private schools in the area.

Changing Williams to a magnet school has affected the student body. There was an exodus of students, when those who attended the under-enrolled elementary but didn’t test into the magnet program were rezoned to nearby K.B. Polk Elementary.

But even before Williams became a TAG school, enrollment dropped when about 60 students who lived at a nearby apartment complex had to move after their housing was torn down.

As a magnet school, Williams requires students to submit applications. Keisha Crowder-Davis, the executive

Story and art by RENEE UMSTED

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Sudie L. Williams Enrollment, 2020-21 School Year

Hispanic students make up over 50% of the seventh- and eighth-grade classes this year. Source: Dallas ISD.

director of centralized enrollment and magnet programs in the Office of Transformation and Innovation (OTI), says 30% of the seats are awarded by merit, and the remaining 70% of seats are allotted by feeder pattern.

Working with the Racial Equity Office, the OTI has formulated a plan to encourage African American students and English-language learners throughout the district, including in the Lincoln, Madison, Roosevelt, Carter and South Oak Cliff feeder patterns, to apply to magne t programs. Students who meet the eligibility to apply are informed of their status by mail and by personnel at their schools. They are also assigned mentors to help with the application process.

Though the district may be working to get more students to apply, there is still a disconnect. Newer classes at Williams don’t look the same as the older grades.

Right now, 53.4% of fourth-graders – the youngest students at Williams – are white, and only 27% of eighth-graders are white. This statistic doesn’t carry over to the oldest

class. About 32% of fourth-graders are Hispanic, compared to 60.8% of eighth-graders.

Applicant data reveals more about the trajectory of the school’s population. Of the applicants for the 201819 school year at Williams, more than half of the fourth-graders identified as white and only about 30% listed their ethnicity as Hispanic.

But among sixth-grade applicants, more than 60% of students identified as Hispanic and about 16% of applicants identified as white.

“One of the things we are trying to solve for is why can’t we get certain students to apply to certain schools,” Crowder-Davis says.

The district plans to have conversations with families about why they aren’ t applying to different programs, including Williams, after the second round of the application process, Crowder-Davis says.

T he s tudent body at Williams seems to be becoming less diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, and in te rms of economic s tatus. In the 2018-19 school year, 86% of all DISD students were classified as economically disadvantaged, a

Texas-specific term that includes individuals who receive free or reduced-price lunches as well as other indicators of family need.

White students made up 5% of the total DISD population, and 63% of them lived in a lower-poverty neighborhood. Hispanic students, on the other hand, made up 71% of all DISD students, but only 19% lived in a lower-poverty neighborhood.

This year at Williams, 15.9% of fourth-graders are categorized as economically disadvantaged, but 52.7% of eighth-graders are categorized as economically disadvantaged.

DISD doesn’t know why the applicant pool at Williams is lacking diversity, even after staff members have tried to streamline the application process and make access equitable and fair, including by ensuring the selection committee itself was diverse.

“Is there anything that can be done at Williams to try to encourage more students of color or economically disadvantaged students to apply?”

Crowder-Davis says. “That’s the ongoing initiative that we are really, really working on.”

MAY 2021

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food

Styled by JEHADU ABSHIRO | Photography by JESSICA TURNER

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MAY 2021

A V E RY P R ESTO N H O L LOW PICNIC Take takeout to the park, and fill your picnic basket with favorites from neighborhood spots.

Grilled Chicken & Mozzarella

5. THE GEM ORGANIC FOOD & JUICE BAR

Panini with Sweet Potato

24 Karat Magic: spinach,

Hash

celery, cucumber, carrot,

1. TRUE FOOD KITCHEN

2. CINDI’S NEW YORK DELI Kosher Salami on Rye with potato salad 3. SOUTHPAWS GRILL Berries & Spinach Salad 4. FLATTERY CAFE

parsley, turmeric, ginger, lemon 6. GRAZING BOARD Fresh mozzarella, Calabrese salami, Del Duca prosciutto capocollo, blueberry goat cheese log and California cheddar

Nutella Cake

MAY 2021

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class of

2021 There was plenty of discussion about the class of 2020 and how their graduation was upended by the pandemic. But the class of 2021 has experienced an entire year of the “new normal,” – not to mention an interruption due to a wild winter storm – all while trying to make the most of their last days in high school. Here’s a snapshot of what life has been like for a couple of our neighborhood seniors.

Story by RENEE UMSTED Photography by JESSICA TURNER

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when life gives you lemons, paint a parking spot

W

hen the class painted their parking spots at the beginning of the year, senior Sophie Anderson paid homage to a book and a brand she and her friends love to wear during cross country practice. Using white, she painted When Life Gives You Lululemons on a pastel yellow background.

L a s t ye a r, A n d e r s o n w a s supposed to lead the rest of Ursuline Academy’s ambassadors at graduation, welcoming parents and grandparents and directing them to their seats.

But because of the pandemic, the ambassadors didn’t attend the graduation.

Many of last year’s events were canceled as a result of COVID-19, but Ursuline has worked to make this year as close to normal as possible.

Anderson and her classmates still had their Senior Birthday Bash and Senior Latte Day, when Ursuline provided brewed coffee and plenty of syrups and creamers. Her classmates were particularly excited about the Starbucks creamers, though Anderson prefers tea.

Other events still took place, with modifications. Food served during the senior breakfast was pre-packaged, and the whole school was able to participate in intramurals, though it wasn’t as rowdy and spirited as it has been.

“There wasn’t that cohesive, all four grades together. Everyone’s

dressed up in their colors, so it’s these distinct splotches of green, yellow, red and blue,” Anderson says. “It’s such a great bond. We didn’t super have that this year just because we were all separated.”

Seniors also had their retreat, when they watched She’s the Man on the lawn while enjoying snacks from food trucks and a coffee bar serving specialty drinks like mochas and hazelnut lattes.

“They (Ursuline) really try to do what’s best for the girls and try to make sure everything happens and in the safest way possible or doesn’t happen if it’s not safe,” Anderson says.

The same seems to be true of other institutions, specifically the colleges to which Anderson applied. Prospective students haven’t been allowed to visit campus, so schools have made most of their admissions events virtual.

“I’ve done an ungodly amount of virtual tours, visits,” Anderson says. Those virtual tours took the form of informational sessions, breakout rooms and pre-recorded videos.

After taking the ACT once, writing 23 college essays and submitting nine college applications – she likes odd numbers – Anderson has decided to attend Fordham University in New York as a pre-med student starting next fall. Though she’s never been on campus, she’s not worried about it.

MAY 2021

“I just know it’s where I’m supposed to go,” she says.

For Anderson, it’s a gut feeling, the same one she felt when she realized she wanted to attend Ursuline. And she knows the importance of having that feeling; as an ambassador, she often asks prospective students whether they can picture themselves attending the school.

The future pre-med major plans to travel to New York City and “creepily walk around the walls” of Fordham since she can’t actually go on campus.

During the summer, Anderson says she’ll try to get a job in retail, but she won’t be able to get an internship, since many of them still aren’t available. She also wants to spend time with her friends before they head off to college. Maybe they’ll go to the beach again, have a round two of their spring break trip to Florida. But they’re still tossing around ideas, like taking a day trip to Austin or renting a cabin in East Texas for the Fourth of July.

Whatever they decide, they will undoubtedly remember this year, their year to be seniors, to graduate, to prepare for, get excited for and stress about college, as something special, something different.

“I think our grade really just came together in a way it hadn’t before,” Anderson says. “Just because of that shared experience and that deeper appreciation for what we had before.”

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saved by the bell: covid, college and classes

o

ther high school students might have taken the summer off after they lost their internships because of COVID -19. But not Courtney Bell. Never one to let her circumstances distract her from her goals, she decided to do research and continue learning on her own when she wasn’t able to work with a cardiologist in McKinney like she had planned.

That’s just one example of how Bell, who’s involved in the biomedical club at Ursuline Academy, responded to the unprecedented past year.

Unlike many other high school juniors, Bell was fortunate enough to be able to tour a couple colleges she was considering, Loyola Marymount University and Santa Clara University, in late February and early March 2020. Some Ursuline alumnae showed her libraries, dining h a l l s a n d e ve n s o m e p o p u l a r student spots off campus.

“It was really crazy to see how empty the colleges were, because it was maybe a handful of students on campus compared to how many they have whenever school is in session and they’re fully in person,” Bell says.

Then there were social events and traditions at Ursuline that Bell missed out on after the transition to virtual learning.

She still hasn’t worn the dress she bought for prom last year.

And the move to distance learning itself was an adjustment. Teachers at Ursuline successfully taught students how t o u s e M i c r o s o f t Te a m s a n d other digital tools, but as good as technology is, Bell acknowledges talking to someone on a computer screen isn’t the same as talking in person.

“That whole in-class situation is kind of transformed whenever you’re online and just looking at people through a screen,” Bell says.

After a few weeks of online-only instruction at the beginning of the year, Ursuline began allowing students to attend classes in person part of the time, using a hybrid format.

“I le f t feeling the mos t engaged I’ve e ver felt in a class after so long of being online and just having those virtual classes, and so it really was a boost, I would say, academically, psychologically as well,” Bell says.

Ursuline has worked to put on some of the events seniors anticipate, such as the winter formal, the Snowball. The school also pushed back the powder puff game, which normally t a k e s p l a c e i n N o v e m b e r, t o this spring.

E a r l i e r i n t h e y e a r, B e l l , who’s a student council memb e r, h e l p e d s o m e f i r s t - y e a r students acclimate to their new school and begin to form

connections with each other in an event called Froshfest. She asked about 20 seniors to get involved, including in a panel discussion where they answered questions and gave advice to the youngest class.

“Those are the things, too, that really help the seniors as we’re getting ready to graduate, just have those great memories of high school that we’ve had e ver y single year jus t so that this year doesn’t seem less than or too different than the rest of our high school experience,” Bell says.

B y Ma y 1 , a f t e r n a r r o w i n g down the six schools she was admitted to, Bell had to decide between Santa Clara and Fordham University. She’s considering a variety of factors, including the safety and culture of the campus and surrounding areas, diversity, student activities and, in line with her foc us on her future, the format and success rates of the pre-med program and the availability of job and internship opportunities nearby.

After she graduates, she wants to use the summer to spend quality time with her friends and family. And she’ ll be preparing for college – picking out dorm decorations and maybe landing an internship or an opportunity to shadow a doctor.

“We don’t know about travel yet,” Bell says. “But we will see.”

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MEETING THE DEMAND E.D. Walker will host Dallas ISD’s newest Montessori school

CLAUDIA MARQUEZ dedicates much of her weekday time toward her role as a teacher at Ji m m i e Ty l e r B ra s h e a r E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l . B u t o n we eke n d s , t hat role is re ve rs e d . Sh e be comes a s tu d e n t a n d d e v ote s Satu rd ay af te rn oon s and S un d ay s t o s t u d yin g.

Marquez, who’s been working for Dallas ISD for t h e p a s t f ou r ye ars , is on e of abou t 16 e d u cator s p a r t i c i p at i n g i n a Mon te s s ori train in g p rogram

paid for by the school dis tric t. Marquez says the course load and time commitment of the training is simil ar to that of a mas ter ’s pr ogram.

“For me, it ’s so wor th it that I’m on board with a l l o f t h i s . I k n o w i t ’s go i n g t o b e a t ra n s i t i o n , b ut it ’s going to pay off,” she say s.

DISD needs more ins truc tors to s taff the ne w in- demand Montessor i school s, such as the o n e at E.D. Wal ker El ementar y, wher e Marq uez w ill

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photography by JESSICA TURNER

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b e wo r k i n g n e xt ye ar.

When it opens, the Montess o r i A c a d e m y a t E . D . Wa l k e r will help satisfy the need for more programs of its kind in the district, and especially in No r th D a lla s . Wa l ke r alon e will be a b l e t o t a ke 240 s tu d e n ts in p re s c h ool t hr ou g h s e con d grad e in the academy, and that number will grow each year up to 440 a s t hi r d , f ou r t h a n d fif th grad e s a re ad d ed .

Brian Lusk, the chief of strategic initiatives for DISD, says the proven success of other Montes sori schools in the dis tric t helps f ue l d ema n d f or t he programs .

G eorge B. Dealey, which opened i n 1 9 9 3 a s o n e o f t h e d i s t r i c t ’s o r i g i n a l Mo n t e s s o r i s c h o o l s , i s ri g h t d ow n t he r oad from Walke r. L a s t y e a r, i t r e c e i v e d m o r e than 200 applications for only 66 s e at s . “ The instructional approach is different and unique in the Mont e s sor i mod e l ,” Lu s k s ays . “It ’s a child-centered approach where s tudents have choice and voice.”

Wa l k e r i s n e s t l e d i n a n a r e a w h e r e m a ny f a m i l i e s s e n d c h i l dre n t o p r i vat e s c hools , an d th e

d is tric t b el ie ves the y may b e att r a c t e d t o t h e Mo n t e s s o r i p r o gram. “ T h e r e ’s a l s o a m a r k e t s h a r e that we de finitely could tap into for families who would be int e r e s t e d i n t h i s ty p e o f m o d e l ,” L u s k s ays.

W i t h Wa l k e r, D I S D w i l l h av e s i x Mo n t e s s o r i s c h o o l s , f i v e o f them located nor th of I-30. T he d i s t r i c t h a s p l a n s f o r a s e ve n t h s ch ool in Pl easant Gr ove.

To house more students, Walke r b e ga n c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a n e w ad d ition in 2019, in addition to renovating the existing middle s c h o o l . W h i l e a l i b r a r y, g y m , s tate-of-the-ar t STEM labs, and visual and performing arts rooms we r e b u i l t , t e a c h e r s we r e u s i n g portable buildings and moving a r o u n d a s d i ff e r e n t c l a s s r o o m s n e e d e d im pr ovements.

A s h le y Tool e, who is finishing up a whirlwind first year as Walke r ’s p r i n c i p a l , h a s b e e n l e a d i n g the school, virtually meeting a n e w s taff and over seeing a camp u s th roughout a thor ough r enovation pr ojec t. “ I j u s t t h i n k i t ’s s o a m a z i n g that Dallas invested in this school

LH

the way that they did,” Toole says.

Students wil l b e admitted t o Wa l k e r, c l a s s i f i e d a s a t r a n s formation school, on a lottery sys tem. T here isn’ t any entrance cr iter ia, b ut s tudents s til l m us t a p p l y. U l t i m a t e l y, t h e d i s t r i c t wants to maintain some diversity a n d e q u i ty b y h av i n g a s t u d e n t population of which 50% have a l ower socioeconomic s tatus an d 50% do not.

W i t h i n t h e l o t t e r y, c e r t a i n groups will receive priority. First priority goes to families from n e a r b y A n n e Fr a n k E l e m e n t a r y, which is over capacity. T hen, students in the Hillcrest, Thomas Jefferson, W.T. White, Conrad or Nor th Dallas feeder patterns will be considered. Next, any families throughout the district are included, followed by students outside DISD. “ I ’m j u s t l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o working with a great team of motivated people, and hope fully the community catching on an d e n r o l l i n g t h e i r k i d s ,” M a r q u e z says. “Because I r eal l y do fir m ly belie ve that this is a great me thodology for them to share with their chil dr en.”

EDUCATION GUIDE

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of our readers say they want to know more about

private schools.

Educating in Dallas for over 100 years.

to advertise call 214.560.4203

New Gym Coming Soon!

2021-2022 6121 E. Lovers Ln. (@ Skillman) / Dallas, TX 75214 214-363-1630 ziondallas.org

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19

WORSHIP

By MATTHEW RUFFNER

Making room for one another Wo r k i n g to ge t h e r a s o n e i n a p ost- COV I D -1 9 wo r l d

W

e’ve been friends for over a year now. Our writer/reader relationship began in the midst of social distancing, working from home, homeschooling and the novel Zoom meeting. I recognize our friendship is a one-way conversation. I do hope my words and reflections have brought a sense of comfort, connection, and encouragement to you during this season of wilderness. As vaccine availability increases by the day and we begin to re-enter the world again, serious and universal questions await us, my dear friends. They are the questions found on the other side of the wilderness: Who am I now?

What am I going to leave behind in the COVID-19 wilderness? What lessons will we bring with us as we “re-enter” the world? What residual grief will I carry from this time?

The wilderness has changed us all.

All of our faith traditions reveal the universal truth: that people enter the wilderness as one version of themselves, and the challenges and hope of the wilderness change people. Simply put, the version of yourself that went into COVID-19 will be different from the one that re-enters the world in ways you can identify and ways you have yet to discover.

Not only did the COVID-19 wilderness invite us to examine our lives more deeply, the harsh reality is, it also more deeply divided us. We were divided over social distancing, masks, race, an election, re-opening strategies and an insurrection at the Capitol. COVID-19 revealed fractures in our relationships and families. As changed people, how are we going to

20

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make room for one another?

The apostle Paul gives us an excellent metaphor: “Now the body is not made up of one part but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body....The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’

And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’”

The world has taught us to cut one another off if we disagree on substance and consequence matters.

There is another way, and frankly, we need to remember this good news now more than ever. We are ALL members of the body; we need one another now more than ever. We can no longer cut one another out. We are members of the same body.

Friends, as we return from the wilderness, we need to make room for the grief we carry. We need to make room for the differences that have been revealed. We need to make room to hear one another, see one another and forgive one another.

We are a changed people. May all that we have learned in the wilderness shape how we return to one another.

With great hope, Matthew

REV. MATTHEW RUFFNER is the Senior Pastor at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church.

He is a husband to Sarah Ruffner and a father of two. You can follow Matthew on Instagram at @thisismatthewruffner and visit PHPC. orgto watch the church’s live stream and listen to sermonsand churches listed here.

For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

MAY 2021

WORSHIP BAPTIST PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

Bible Study 9:15 / Worship Services 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500 ROYAL LANE BAPTIST CHURCH / 6707 Royal Lane / 214.361.2809

Christian Education 9:45 a.m. / Worship Service 10:55 a.m.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Michael L. Gregg / www.royallane.org WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100 /

PastorGeorge A. Mason, PhD / Worshiping virtually for now / YouTube premiere Sundays at 8:30am / wilshirebc.org

PRESBYTERIAN PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 4124 Oak Lawn Ave Sunday Worship 9:00 & 11:00 A.M. To all this church opens wide her doors - pcpc.org

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AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

By JANE MANASTER

More alike than not A n e i g h b o r h o o d b o o k c l u b b r i n gs wo m e n of d i f fe re n t fa i t h s to ge t h e r

A

good friend took me to meet the Daughters of Abraham. Their meeting that evening was held at the MAS Islamic Center of Dallas. I followed those entering in front of us, leaving my shoes in a cubby in the hall, choosing a plateful of Muslim-inspired snacks, then sitting at a long table beside two strangers who fast became friends.

The Daughters, as we call ourselves, is a group of Jewish, Christian and Muslim women who get together monthly, rotating our meeting place between three houses of worship.

Our purpose is to gain personal awareness and individual growth; the group is neither political nor deliberately scholarly. Women of all ages and backgrounds invite friends to come and get to know others, then add their email contact to a growing list.

We enjoy no leadership hierarchy or subscription, just gather together on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m.

Our meeting places are Temple Emanu-El, MAS Islamic Center and several different Christian churches in the Dallas area.

The organization was launched in 2001 when Janice Lord of Fort Worth, prompted by the tragedy of Sept. 11, explored a way for women to come together to freely express their feelings and thoughts about it and endeavor to find a path toward mutual understanding and ultimately a peaceful interfaith dialogue.

Now there are chapters all over the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington Metroplex, and the sense of welcome and friendship is tangible in each one. Daughters of Abraham meetings offer an opportunity for the development of personal relationships among women of differing backgrounds, both cultural and religious. No one denies the differences of their faiths, but the focus is on similarities, and as authentic

friendships developed, the differences seemed to matter less and less.

Members of DofA are sometimes asked to visit with local organizations, civic organizations and religious school classes.

An unofficial leadership team composed of a member of each of the Abrahamic faiths gives an informal explanation of the purpose of DofA, talks about her personal

“No one denies the differences of their faiths, but the focus is on similarities, and as authentic friendships developed, the differences seemed to matter less and less.” connection with the group and answers questions from her individual perspective.

It is important to convey that everyone in DofA presents her opinions from her own life experiences and does not presume to speak for all who share her religion.

Every December, our group decides the topics for discussions that will take place throughout the coming year. Just last month, our Christian coordinator, the Rev. Dawn Anderson, shared a list of topics our chapter had discussed since the founding of the Dallas Chapter in 2012.

The variety is amazing.

As well as the predictable subjects, directly related to our religious backgrounds, we include several that in another setting might have proved controversial. We have

MAY 2021

shared our views on the stereotypes and misconceptions of each other’s religion and medicine (which included ethics, euthanasia and organ donations), and we also talked about gender roles, though these differ less from each than they did a couple of generations ago.

For 2021, a few of the topics that have been chosen are “Social/Racial Justice,” “Our Purpose/Why Are We Here?” and “COVID, Faith and Grief.”

Some meetings are more lighthearted as we describe our festivals like Passover, Ramadan and Easter; our weddings (some brought their commemorative photo albums); and the traditions for naming our children.

Snacks have always had a special appeal, often related to our religion’s traditions.

Many bring homemade snacks. Others grab a packet of chocolate chippers as they hasten in from the office. We don’t hesitate to ask for the recipes of any particularly delicious, previously untasted delicacy. It’s not competitive, but the homemade contributions are always favorites.

The atmosphere is always congenial, even when we tackle topics that may worry us personally or within our religious settling, for example sexual harassment, death, afterlife and burial rituals, divorce and singleness. For many of us talking about these topics is cathartic.

It is often difficult to avoid talking about politics, but we do our best to stay true to the purpose of Daughters of Abraham, finding a way through respectful and enriching dialogue to develop personal relationships.

Our lofty goal is to discover and understand that we are indeed more alike than we are different.

The website is daughtersofabraham-tx. org. We may be followed on our Facebook page.

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