AN UPDATE FROM BISHOP MAYER

The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Mayer Former Assisting Bishop - North Region

The year 2022 was transformative for the new North Region of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas (EDOT) as we learned once again that love can overcome fear and grief. It can stand side-by-side with discernment, and service can have immense healing power.

The year began with the people of the former Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (renamed the Episcopal Church in North Texas) coming to terms with the reality that their viability as a diocese had been swept away by the February 2021 refusal of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear our appeal in the litigation ongoing since 2009. This let stand the decision of the Texas Supreme Court awarding Episcopal Church property and our name to people who left the Episcopal Church in 2008.

The resulting months-long discernment process led us to approach Bishop Doyle and other leaders of the Diocese of Texas with the possibility of reunion. Soon bishops were talking to bishops. Chancellors were talking with chancellors. All of us were praying that God’s blessing be revealed in our work. And it was.

In early summer, both dioceses approved the reunion in special meetings of their convention/council. In July, General Convention’s unanimous vote of approval confirmed our reunification with the Diocese of Texas. The grace-filled welcome of Bishop Doyle, the staff, and the people of the Diocese of Texas has been balm to hurting but faithful hearts in the North Region.

Through all this upheaval and change, worship, ministry, and mission continued unabated. Having served this area for more than seven years–first as provisional bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth/ Episcopal Church in North Texas and then as assistant bishop for the North Region–I introduce these ongoing and growing ministries of our resilient and faithful congregations.

Continuing their ministry with 4Saints Epiccopal Food Pantry are St. Luke’s, Fort Worth; St. Martin-inthe-Fields, Keller; St. Stephen’s, Hurst; All Souls, Arlington; and Trinity, Fort Worth. (The pantry is housed at St. Luke’s and is a partner of the Tarrant Area Food Bank.) When 4Saints had to move because St. Luke’s lost its building in the wake of the litigation outcome, it relocated to Texas Wesleyan University and never missed a day of food distribution. The pantry served an average 100 families through 2022 and now serves approximately 125 families. About 200-300 families are served at a truck distribution each month.

St. Luke’s in the Meadow, Fort Worth, continues its weekly racial justice study via Zoom. St. Luke’s also supports Eastside Ministries and is very active in the mission of 4Saints Episcopal Food Pantry. The congregation and the food bank will move together to a new location in 2023, remaining there while a capital campaign is conducted to build a permanent location in east Fort Worth.

St. Stephen’s, Hurst, lost its building back in 2008 at the time of the schism. Parishioners worshiped in various locations until moving into their current, growing location in 2014. The message of radical welcome has resonated, particularly among people who know the pain of exclusion and discrimination by the church. As more and more members of the LGBTQIA+ community joined St. Stephen's, the church discerned the need for a ministry to support transgender folk and their families. In 2018, they partnered to create a transgender support group. This support group focuses on affirming, welcoming, sharing resources, and answering questions.

All Souls, Arlington, formerly St. Alban’s, discovered that many students at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) experience food insecurity. The needy include international students not permitted to work due to their student visas. With the help and continued support of All Souls, the university established a permanent, on-campus food pantry. All Souls also ministers to Arlington ISD’s Crow Leadership Academy by providing money for school uniforms and listening to and encouraging emerging readers. Parishioners partnered with the Crow Math Instructional Specialist and parents to provide a holiday market for all 600 students. Additionally, All Souls supports the local homeless shelter.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Keller, honors its patron saint (who sacrificed his cloak to a homeless man) by giving to the needy. An annual parish winter clothing collection of coats, hats, scarves, and gloves benefits the homeless served by Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County. The congregation also supports Fever United, a youth soccer program. Weeknights, hundreds of kids learn and play soccer in the parish’s fields.

Trinity, Fort Worth, continues to award grants to nonprofits that welcome and serve all people and promote Christ’s love through service and community. These grants support 4Saints Episcopal Food Pantry, All Church Home for Children Child and Family Services, protecting children and preserving families through 17 programs, including a shelter for youth. Another grantee is the Center for Transforming Lives at the YWCA which provides safe housing for homeless women and children, early childhood education, and financial coaching. More grantees include Habitat for Humanity; Burleson’s Harvest House; Pathfinders; the Day Resource Center of Fort Worth; and Navajoland.

Trinity is a collaborating partner in Opening Doors for Women in Need, a faith-based nonprofit providing services for women and their children rebuilding their lives, especially women released from prison. Funds go towards educational and life skills programming, as well as Christmas gifts. Trinity helps sponsor the women and children’s facility at the Presbyterian Night Shelter for the homeless by donating cleaning products and kitchen supplies for clients moving into a new home. Trinity continued its Zambian Ministries by bringing professional therapy training services to the disabled in Zambia.

All Saints, Fort Worth, lost its building and rectory in the litigation aftermath and is now worshiping in the chapel at All Saints’ Episcopal School. It is also the only remaining congregation still dealing with the litigation regarding property. In the midst of this stress, ministries continue to grow. Last year, All Saints added weekly Sunday Solemn Evensong to the worship schedule; reached every continent on the globe with their Daily Office podcast; and opened a new Godly Play classroom for children. Outreach and mission grew tremendously. In 2022, All Saints fed more than 14,000 hungry children at four Fort Worth ISD schools. It founded the Amazing Grace Children’s Home and Schools in 2005 in Awasi, Kenya and continually serves as Amazing Grace’s sole supporter. In 2022, All Saints committed to supporting 26 additional orphans and continues its 17-year relationship with Holy Cross Anglican School in Belize. In 2022, All Saints sent a 15-person mission to serve at the school.

St. Christopher, Fort Worth, lost its building and is worshiping in a local Lutheran Church. Its unique Laundry Love ministry sets it apart. The ministry partners with groups and local laundromats to do laundry for the needy, low-income or no-income. The laundromat becomes a sacred space.During the pandemic, parishioners supplied clients with laundry baskets of laundry detergent, laundromat cash cards, cookies, and gifts for children. In-person ministry resumed July 2021. St. Christopher sponsors Hopewallah, a medical mission to lepers in Hyderabad, India by sending medical supplies and funding work of doctors: “Dr. Andy” and Latha Babbili, church members.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, Granbury, has been a supporter of Hood County Habitat for Humanity for decades, and that relationship continues. Members volunteer and support Mission Granbury, which oversees a county-wide food bank, the shelter for women and children, and veteran’s assistance. Congregants volunteer at court appointed special advocates for children in nearby counties. They also support Joseph’s Locker, a food and clothing outreach ministry. Good Shepherd members volunteer as drivers and helpers to deliver meals for Meals on Wheels. Yearly during the Christmas holidays, congregation volunteers provide toys for children in Hood County (2,000 gift bags and 600-plus bicycles). In Chiapas, Mexico, Good Shepherd is a major supporter of Hogar Infatil, an organization which serves street children.

Our church plant in Wise County, the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Decatur, has continued its Ministry of the Month outreach program whereby a small congregation makes an impact far beyond its size. Among the groups they have supported in significant ways are 4Saints Episcopal Food Pantry; volunteer fire departments in Wise County; Wise Hope Shelter and Crisis Center; Disabled American Veterans, Chapter #70, Decatur; Wise County Committee on Aging; Refugees Services of Texas; Children’s Advocacy Center in Bridgeport; Wise County Animal Shelter; and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. In addition, congregants supported the Moses Project, where incarcerated men in a nearby prison sew items to present to new parents.

Resurrection finished out the year by helping families in our surrounding counties retire their medical debt. They did so by working with RIP Medical Debt, a charitable organization that buys up medical debt from collection agencies and uses donations to cover costs. With a 100 percent rating from Charity Navigator, every dollar donated pays off $100. By raising $5,000, they will pay off $500,000 in debt.

St. Luke's, Stephenville, proudly proclaims itself a place of "worship, reflection, and peace.” Congregants are challenged to live into this vision. They have an active Education for Ministry (EFM) group, one of the greatest grounding tools they have realized. In years past, St. Luke's has hosted EFM mentor training. The other grounding tool they have found is laughter. St. Luke’s has a food pantry that partners with the Tarrant Area Food Bank to provide for 150-plus families, twice a month. The congregation also addresses food insecurity at Tarleton State University (neighboring the church). St. Luke’s also hosts Monday night ”U R Loved Library,” student networking in the parish hall.

St. Catherine's Episcopal Church in Hamilton County (formerly St. Mary's) has chosen a new name representing its new spirit in mission and ministry. In 2022, St. Catherine's adopted a new logo and signage reflecting this identity.

St. Mary’s, Hillsboro, was locked out of their historic building following the 2021 end-of-litigation. The church eventually secured a former drive-in bank that faces a main street in Hillsboro, providing a highly visible location. It is the oldest continuing Episcopal parish in the North Region, founded in 1872. Parishioners celebrated their 150th anniversary spring 2022 with a reception at their building at 301 South Waco Street, Hillsboro. Members regularly pack food for school children on the free lunches and breakfasts program, making more than 200 “snack packs” at a time. Over that time, school children have been fed for 10,000 weekends.

Faith Episcopal Church (FEC) is a new name for the Episcopal Church of Wichita Falls. Following the loss of their building in 2021, parishioners worshiped at Faith Lutheran Church with the Episcopal Eucharist on Sundays at 8:45 a.m. A longtime supporter of Interfaith Outreach Services, FEC now has five members volunteering weekly in various roles. They donated more than a ton of food items in 2021. Interfaith Outreach Services provides appropriate temporary assistance to the needy in Archer and Wichita Counties.

The clergy and people of the North Region have continued their work on racial reconciliation and justice. Almost all individual congregations participate in study groups on how to be effectively antiracist. Several clergy work with the county-wide Circle of Clergy, a group founded by Black clergy concerned with the growing racial upon the 2019 death of Atatiana Jefferson by white police officers. They worked actively to keep the community peaceful during-and-after the officer’s trial, the first onduty police officer in Tarrant County history to be convicted of manslaughter of a civilian.

The people of the North Region are grateful they were given seat-and-voice on key diocesan governing bodies by the Episcopal DIoceses of Texas. They know from experience the value of the shared governance embraced by the polity of the Episcopal Church. They experienced not only the grave harm that can result when governance gets out of balance, but also the grace-filled growth that can happen when the laity, deacons, priests, and bishops work together to bring the Good News to the world.

As the people of the North Region move into 2023, they are exploring ways to participate more fully in the life of the whole Diocese of Texas and to continue their participation in the church beyond diocesan borders. Displaced congregations are moving ahead, creating exciting visions for new locations and expanding ministries as a reality. All the congregations are actively exploring ways to work within the Diocese of Texas, with new partners and resources. They do indeed believe that we are better together.

On a personal note, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Bishops Doyle, Fisher, Ryan, and Monterroso and other leaders of the Diocese of Texas during this transition. As the bishop “next door,” I look forward to watching the North Region grow and thrive alongside the Diocese of Texas. May God bless this work.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

John 13:34