Lydia Hiatt is a teacher at Boyd Elementary School in Wise County. She stated that there was a need for school supplies for the next semester of school–after Christmas. A list of supplies was given to the congregation and before you knew it, things began to appear in the box we provided for the collection.
Below are a few pictures of the items collected for the school children.
Deborah Dery was instrumental in wanting to serve the homeless in the Wise County area. Her idea was to get warm items such as socks, scarves, hats, throws, etc., as well as personal hygiene items to people who were living on the street. She checked with several agencies as well as law enforcement and was told that there was not a shelter in Wise County set up to handle that.
She decided that she wanted to work with W.A.R.M. (Wise Area Relief Mission) to gather food items for the food pantry. We also accumulated plenty of socks, hats, and gloves for children and adults as well as homemade scarves and throws. We were told that these items would be distributed as folks needed them.
As you can see, many items were gathered.
In October, Angie Whitley asked that we fill shoe boxes with items for children in third world countries who have very little and would be overjoyed to receive even a toothbrush or a box of crayons. So, our mission was “Operation Christmas Child,” in conjunction with Samaritan’s Purse. There were three different boy and girl age ranges from which to choose–2-4 years old, 5-9 years old, and 10-14 years old. How fun it was to shop for items to fit into our shoe boxes. We all purchased plastic shoe boxes with lids that snapped on. These boxes can be used for carrying water or for storing items. We tried to have one particularly special item included to really leave an impression, along with school items, gum, toothbrush and toothpaste, wash cloth, bar soap, Legos, pencils, crayons, etc. The list goes on and on. All in all we collected 18 boxes….not bad for our small congregation. Angie then delivered the items to the specified drop location.
We found out later that our boxes were headed to a community in Ecuador.
Gently used eye glasses of all kinds were collected by Jill McClendon for a leper colony in Hyderbad, India. Dr. Babili, of the Diocese of Forth Worth, will travel to India with a medical team during the Fall to help save the sight of people in need. Dr. Babili’s father was the Bishop in India who founded the leper colony.
Several dozen pairs of glasses were collected and donated.
Pat McGowan organized the collecting and delivering of items needed for the Wise County Animal Shelter. She was told their only needs at the time were for bleach, Dawn and kitty litter. We collected 399 oz. of bleach, 480 oz. of Dawn Dish Soap and 219 lbs. of cat litter. She said it was a great success and the shelter was grateful for the donations.
The Episcopal Church of Wise County is organizing its September “Mission of the Month,” The Wise Hope Shelter and Crises Center which provides safety, strength and hope for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Women and children leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs–sometimes in the middle of the night. Therefore, personal hygiene items are vital. Shoes and socks for children are needed, as well as pajamas. Also, small toys for boys and girls, or hair clips and brushes for girls. Little boys enjoy hotwheels or Legos; little girls enjoy My Little Ponies or Pound Puppies. If you would like to donate, please check out their wish list on www.wisehope.org for items needed. Ellen Whitley organized this month’s mission and she and husband, Marquis, delivered a carload of things to the drop-off site.
Many people believe if they donate money to a cause they can then forget about the charity, mission, or people who might be receiving the funds. But, giving is more than that. Giving from the heart means to put yourself in their place and perhaps even try to feel what they are feeling. I know that if something touches me, I will do what I can to help. Time and talent are two other ways to give; time being the hardest for most folks to give, especially in this day and age of everyone racing everywhere without stopping to breathe. Of course, if you have a particular talent, giving of that talent where needed is such a blessing to others. When you combine time AND talent on any one particular mission, the sky is the limit on what can be accomplished. That is why God has seen fit to give different talents to different people.
Open up your hearts by sitting quietly and letting God speak to you. Ask Him to show you where He needs you to be. Believe me, opportunities will arise where your talents are needed. Then you must be willing to give some of your time to accomplish your goals. You will be amazed at how good it makes you feel to reach out and touch someone.
The Episcopal Church of Wise County along with The Episcopal Church of Wichita Falls provided a ramp for Marsha Van Etten de Chant of Wichita Falls. Mother Amy Haynie bought the materials needed and Marquis Whitley built the ramp in his workshop. With the help of Deborah and Fred Dery, Ellen and Marquis Whitley delivered the ramp and installed it on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.
Praise God from whom all blessing flow…..If y’all could have been with us today you would have felt the Holy Spirit! The calla lilies at the foot of the altar were actually crying! Each leaf had a drop of dew hanging from its tip and I immediately felt they were tears…..tears of joy! The mission Church of the Ascension was lit up with glory as we celebrated the renewal of worship in that building. The owner of the building even told me to change the sign out in front of the building to show The Episcopal Church of Wise County–because he said, “your people will want the service times posted.” We never even asked him.Twenty people worshipped today and we sang our hearts out. We were honored to have Father Bruce Coggin celebrate and preach and his sermon was wonderful as he told us about Jesus’ ascension and how his disciples may have reacted to such an event. Also, we are supposed to go on doing what Jesus has taught us and touch others as we have been touched by Him. Very inspiring and comforting. We had four folks drive from Wichita Falls to be with us, several from the Decatur area, and a few others from Peaster and Weatherford.JD Todd brought 6 blessed prayer shawls for us to have and to use for those who are ill, in need of special prayers or even for warmth when the church is a little too cool. What a wonderful ministry this is and we are very thankful that JD shared these beautifully crochets shawls with us.Mark made an an announcement that Bishop High will be with us on May 31 for Holy Eucharist and Confirmation…..Mark’s Confirmation! We are so excited! You might not realize it but we will have had Holy Eucharist 3 times in May. May has 5 Sundays; we had Canon Janet on the first Sunday, Father Bruce today, and we’ll have Bishop High on May 31. WOW!I am attaching a few pictures for you to see the work in progress and then how the church looked with the altar prepared and ready for Holy Eucharist.Thank you all for your prayers and support of our journey. Like I mentioned to Bishop High, “When God starts to work when His timing is right, He doesn’t mess around, does He? We are so thankful.”Love,For His Sake,Ellen
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