Presiding bishop visits Refugee Services of Texas

Presiding bishop visits Refugee Services of Texas

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry visited the offices of Refugee Services of Texas on Thursday, April 6, to meet with clients and staff as well as with Episcopalians who volunteer with the agency.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

See more photos in the diocesan Flickr gallery.

Several Episcopalians, including Ms. Eleanor Forfang-Brockman of St. Luke’s in the Meadow, and the Rev. Tracie Middleton, have been involved in setting up a class to teach English as a second language at RST. The PB sat in on a brief meeting of the class.

He also met David Diesslin of the Deena Jo Heide-Diesslin Foundation, and thanked him for the foundation’s matching grant of donations to RST up to $50,000. The offering at Saturday’s festival Eucharist raised more than $4,300 for RST.

Refugee Services of Texas (RST) was founded in 1978. It is a partner with Episcopal Migration Ministries. It is “a social-service agency dedicated to providing assistance to refugees and other displaced persons fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group – as well as to the communities that welcome them. RST provides services to hundreds of refugees, asylees, survivors of human trafficking, and related vulnerable populations from over 30 different countries of origin each year. Originating in Dallas, RST now has service centers in Amarillo, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston,” according to its website.

Also on Thursday, Bishop Curry commissioned and blessed the church plant team in Parker County. Read about the church plant and watch a short video of the commissioning. 

On Friday, April 7, Bishop Curry and Bishop Scott Mayer began the Learning to Love to Tell the Story conference at St. Christopher with Morning Prayer. After lunch Bishop Curry visited the 4Saints Episcopal Food Pantry. Listen to Bishop Mayer’s homily, see photos of the event, and read about and see photos from Bishop Curry’s visit to 4Saints.

Also on Friday, Bishop Curry kicked off the New Life Fund campaign at a dinner at Colonial Country Club. Read about the campaign and watch a video of his spirited address. 

On Saturday, Bishop Curry preached and celebrated at a festival Eucharist at University Christian Church. He raised the roof with his rousing sermon. See photos of the service and listen to the sermon.