January is the month our congregation prays and contemplates what we need to do for our community.  We keep our eyes and ears open for ideas where we can make a difference.  There will never be a time when help is not needed somewhere; we just must find where we can best serve.

Our congregation is small and there are not many younger people.  We have recently been blessed with several younger folks and were so proud that the young couple was expecting their first child.  We knew the baby was a girl; we wanted to have a baby shower for the expectant couple.

What a joy it was to see the young couple open package after package of fun items for their baby girl…little outfits, blankets, diapers, toys, everything a new family would need to welcome their baby home.

There is no better Mission of the Month than when we can help someone in our own congregation.  Here are a few pictures.

We had another mission for December.  We are in the Northern Deanery along with one other church, Episcopal Church of Wichita Falls.  Our two congregations worked together to fill our UTO (United Thank Offering) boxes. The United Thank Offering is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through UTO, individuals are invited to embrace and deepen a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude. UTO encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings, and to distribute the 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion.

In our joint effort, we collected these boxes.

If you have children and have ever been in a car accident, you know how scary it is for you as an adult–so you can imagine the fear children must go through. If you have ever been in a fire and had to leave your home in the middle of winter and stand in the freezing weather while the fire department tries to save your house, you can understand the discomfort of the cold.
First Responders are special people–fire fighters getting up in the middle of the night to answer a 3-alarm fire; police answering calls to help those in horrible car accidents; whatever the crises, these fine people always answer the calls that come in.
The idea to collect teddy bears and/or other small stuffed animals and small blankets or throws was talked about in our church. A member called the Sheriff’s Departmnt and asked about donating these types of items and the Sheriff gave a resounding “Yes, please!” So, that’s what we did for the month of November. We collected all sorts of small stuffed animals and throws for the first-responders to hand out wherever needed. The Sheriff stated he would shrink wrap all the stuffed toys and throws to keep them clean when police and fire fighters toss them into their trunks or trucks to take along on their calls.
I can imagine a small, crying, child, cold and scared being comforted by a teddy bear as someone wraps him a warm throw. Here is a sample of what we collected for the Wise County Sheriff’s Department to hand out to first responders.

As we have done in the past, this October Mission of the Month was all about the furry babies.  There are so many unwanted, unloved, animals in the area that have no homes, they must make a temporary home at the animal shelters in each county.

We have the usual Blessing of the Animals on the church grounds close to St. Francis Day, giving God’s blessings to our pets and to all of God’s wonderful creatures.

This month we collected dry food, cat litter, bleach, Dawn liquid dish soap and other items that would help our Wise County Animal Shelter run smoother.  As usual, our members opened their hearts and gave what they could to make this mission a success.

In August, Hurricane Harvey left destruction in its path, destroying homes, knocking out electricity, wiping out whole neighborhoods.   People had to be rescued from their flooded homes and so many had no food or water.   Episcopal Relief and Development works with their partners worldwide to alleviate hunger, create economic opportunities, respond to disasters, promote health and strengthen communities.

We, as a congregation, decided to contribute to Episcopal Relief and Development focusing on those needing help after Hurricane Harvey.

Thank you to all who gave for this great cause.