TLDR: We are a busy church with multiple activities. This blog will update you on various issues at the Diocesan and local levels. Please read for more.

The Hispanic Ministry Commission of the Diocese of Texas has been very busy responding to need around the 16 Spanish Churches of the Diocese. These are a few of the needs: A. Dual status families where the undocumented parent has been deported and the legal/documented parent is left behind to care for all bills, children, rent, etc. In these cases, the Commission’s most important priority is to provide emergency food and housing assistance. B. Dual status families where one of the parents has been detained and is awaiting trial or deportation. In these cases, they want to provide education about the family’s rights, as well as emergency assistance. C. Families in transition: These are people who have been in this country legally under one of several amnesty programs for Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians, etc. These amnesty programs are ending, and these folks are now having to hire legal counsel to request extensions or to appeal the termination of protected rights. In these cases, the Commission wants to assist with basic needs (food and such) left uncovered by legal bills.

To supply for these needs, the Commission has created a fund called “Immigration with Dignity.” They are asking all congregations to request donations from their parishioners to be sent to the Diocese with a MEMO designation of “Immigration with Dignity.” What I would like to do to simplify this process is to ask you to send a donation to “Saint Dunstan’s Rector’s Discretionary Fund” with a MEMO designation of “Immigration with Dignity”. We will send the Diocese a larger check. If you choose to send this donation directly to them, please address the donation to: Episcopal Diocese of Texas, ATT Millie Longoria, 1225 Texas Avenue, Houston, TX 77002-3504. MEMO “Fondo Migracion con Dignidad” (or “Immigration with Dignity.)

Questions received from small groups about our upcoming Capital Campaign: 1. You are building a commercial kitchen in the space currently occupied by the choirs in the Lennard Building, where are the choirs going? ANSWER: To the room currently occupied by my Bible study (304-305) and the smaller room (301) toward the door of the BEC to the large parking lot. The wall separating 301 to 304/305 with be taken down and the larger room will become the new choir space (same exact square footage as the space they currently use.) Both David Horn and the choirs are excited about this change. 2. How long will the restoration of the pews take? ANSWER: We believe this will be a six-month restoration offsite. In the meantime, we will worship in the Price Fellowship Hall at 7:45am, 9:00am, 11:15am (English) and 1:00pm (Spanish).  3. Will the project be financed if the full amount is not raised? ANSWER: We believe this will be a 4-million-dollar project. Of this amount, we are hoping to fundraise $3 million. We will request permission from the Diocese to borrow the last million in the following way: 500k from the Crum Foundation (A Diocesan Entity, 2% interest for 30 years, fixed) and 500k from Amegy Bank. If we do not fundraise 3 million, we will scale down our project because WE WILL NOT borrow more than a combined million dollars. This amount is manageable for our church to service. 4. You are taking over the old kitchen for new vesting rooms for clergy and acolytes, where will the Petal Pushers and Ushers go? ANSWER: The Ushers will be able to use some of the space of the Parlor. The Petal Pushers will have their own designated space in the room currently used for Acolyte vesting. 5. What will happen with the space where the old playground is currently located? ANSWER: We will have to curve the area to allow 18-wheel trucks in. The rest of the space may be used for the ministry. Perhaps a community garden? Perhaps a walking labyrinth? We will be soliciting ideas at some point in the near future. 6. How do we integrate both English and Spanish congregations? ANSWER: This is an important question. The simple answer is that we must do better, and we will. We are involving the Spanish congregation in this campaign. We will also plan a series of events for both services to come together. On April 13, we will celebrate jointly all the confirmands from both services at a reception put together by the DOK. Soon after that, we will have a grand potluck meal to coincide with the blessing and dedication of the new playgrounds. More information will be coming soon.

Executives in Search of Employment: A new member of our congregation is a Senior Partner at a firm that helps executives seek new employment opportunities. He has volunteered to assist a few of our parishioners who might want to enter into an Executive Search. If you are laid off, want to search for new opportunities, or want to change fields all together, he is willing to assist on a pro-bono basis. Space is limited to two or three people and slots will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. If interested, please sent an email to .

Dominican Republic: Although we are no longer taking names for the mission trip to the Dominican Republic, we were just notified by the organizers that we need some scholarship money for at least three people. A full scholarship is $1600, but we will accept any amount you wish to donate. Please write a check to the Rector’s Discretionary Fund with a MEMO designation of Dominican Republic Mission. If you have any questions, please call me directly.

Summer Camps: Camp Allen is filling up quickly for Summer Camps. If you have not registered your children, please do so as soon as possible. This year we hope to send four children from Kids Hope to camp and two others through the Rector’s Fund. If you would like to contribute to these scholarships, please write a check to the Rector’s Discretionary Fund or to Saint Dunstan’s with a MEMO designation “Kids Hope Summer Camp”.

Thank you for reading to the end of this informational blog. May our Lord continue to bless you,

Fr. Roman+