Texas hurricane aftermath12/30/2023 ![]() They had received 160 pounds of donated Texas barbeque-brisket, sausage, ham and chicken that morning. I met her at the kitchen of Trinity Episcopal Church in The Woodlands, Texas where Molly, Dulce Salas and their volunteers prep and cook meals. Molly Carr is the human food service machine that makes this ministry without walls work. On this half mile long street, River Oaks Drive, with about 100 homes, everyone lost a lot and some everything. ![]() Very thankful.”Ĥ0 miles north of Houston in Conroe, Texas, The Abundant Harvest Food Truck serves meals to residents of the Needham Road community. But now the kids are happy because it is starting to come together and I’m happy. The children lost all the belongings, their toys. “I worked very hard to provide the necessities of life,” Norma said. It’s chaotic and difficult, but the work is getting done. Norma and her children, ages 8 to 17, have continued to live in the house through rebuilding. Her house lost its roof, floors, several feet of walls, and her family lost many possessions. It is the home of Norma Gallegos, a single mother of four who supports her family on her job at a local fast food restaurant. I visited one of MOSAIC’s rebuilding efforts in Pearland, just a few miles from St. She assembles volunteers, organizes their schedules, helps procure building materials and tries to keep everything on schedule. They hold events with names like “Messy Church,” “Yoga Worship” and “Dinner Worship.” And they rebuild houses for those who barely made it through Harvey. Andrews Church in Pearland, Texas, 23 miles south of Houston, developed such an appetite for service that three years ago its members formed an outreach mission church called MOSAIC. Literally, hundreds of church communities are working every day to serve those in need. Love Made Manifest: A House in Pearland and a Street in ConroeĮpiscopal Churches and Episcopal Relief & Development partners are doing amazing work all over the vast greater Houston area. ![]() Read the following short stories that Mike captured during this visit. Mike also witnessed the strength and power of ecumenical cooperation as congregations and church partners leveraged local relationships to meet the immediate and complex needs of diverse communities throughout Texas. During his trip, he gained a deeper awareness of how neighbors work together during recovery efforts. Native Texan and Major Gift Officer for Episcopal Relief & Development, Mike Smith, recently traveled to his home state to witness and document the devastating impact of the storm. Church leaders were mobilized to distribute resources for temporary housing and household goods, using church knowledge to prioritize those with the greatest need. Immediately after the hurricane, key stakeholders across impacted areas were invited to participate in informational webinars to help even more local partners respond. Prior to this event, the organization’s US Disaster team provided disaster preparedness training and resources for volunteer leaders in most dioceses around the Episcopal Church including the dioceses of Texas and West Texas. During major disasters like Harvey, Episcopal Relief & Development works closely with church partners to address immediate and long-term needs in impacted communities. ![]()
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