The Mission and Outreach Committee of the Episcopal Church in North Texas has awarded $28,500 in grants for Mission Within the Diocese and $7,893.50 in grants for Mission Beyond the Diocese.
The committee, chaired by the Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles of St. Stephen’s, Hurst; and including Dr. Jane Dennis of St. Luke’s, Stephenville; Mr. Keen Haynes of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Keller; and the Rev. Karen Calafat of St. Luke’s in the Meadow, Fort Worth, met in mid-May to go over grant requests. Ms. Gretchen Smith of All Saints, Fort Worth, also is a member of the committee.
The Executive Council of the diocese met on May 15, 2021, and unanimously approved the committee’s recommendations.
This year there is $34,657 available for Mission Within the Diocese and $5,198 available for Mission Beyond the Diocese. In the past, the committee has sometimes borrowed some funds from “Mission Within” to fund grants for “Mission Beyond,” and the committee chose to do that this year as well. Also, remaining funds can be carried over into future years with the approval of the Finance Committee and Executive Council.
.This year the committee asked to borrow $2,697 from Mission Within to fully fund the two Mission Beyond grants. They voted to
- Fully fund the requested $3,856 amount for Trinity’s Zambian Assistance Project
- Fully fund the entire roofing project All Saints partner Holy Cross School in Belize.
The committee noted, “This means awarding All Saints a grant totaling $4,037.50, not just the $2,000 they requested. Knowing that All Saints is currently facing unexpected challenges and financial burdens, and that this is the first time they’ve applied for a grant, we are happy to give out of our abundance to this endeavor.”
“What a gift to have a surplus of money to fund meaningful, effective, life-giving ministries,” Chair Liles said.
The committee also voted to fully fund the eight Mission Within the Diocese ministries.
The committee noted that the Mission Within the Diocese grants are meant to be used as seed money for new projects or to supplement the contributions generated by the congregations for outreach ministry.
“We decided to fully fund the projects because these ministries are critically important right now and there is significant involvement among the congregations’ members. That said, we understand these ministries should be working their way toward a self-sustaining status, with each year’s grant request being less of a percentage of the budget than the previous year,” the committee said in its report of their meeting.
Grants approved for Mission Within the Diocese
4Saints Food Pantry – Coach for Dream Team – $3,500
4Saints Food Pantry – Chaplain Ministry – $3,000
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Keller – Service Sunday – $2,000
St. Luke’s, Stephenville – Food Pantry Red Door Cupboard and Increased Food Distribution – $5,000
St. Luke’s, Stephenville – ECM Red Door Lunches / Student Lunches – $2,500
St. Luke’s, Stephenville – ECM Studies – Book Study – $2,500
St. Alban’s, Arlington – Outreach to UTA Students – $5,000
St. Christopher, Fort Worth – Laundry Love – $5,000
TOTAL REQUESTED – $28,500
TOTAL GRANTED – $28,500
Grants approved for Mission Outside the Diocese
Holy Cross Anglican School, Belize – Roof Replacement – $2,000
Zambian Assistance Project – Training for Speech Therapy – $3,856
TOTAL REQUESTED – $5,856
TOTAL GRANTED – $7.893.50
History of grants
In 2011 the Episcopal Church in North Texas voted to affirm the principal of the tithe. The Diocesan Mission and Outreach Committee was established to help allocate funds set aside in the annual budget for outreach. In 2012, convention voted to set a goal of budgeting 10 percent of the budget for charity by 2018. The diocese met that goal and has been fully tithing every year since then.