Using a traditional Rogation service, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori blessed a new community garden at St. Thomas’ Church, Dallas, during a visit to that diocese April 28. About 140 persons from the dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth attended the blessing. The group met in the parish hall for an informal question-and-answer session after the ceremony, which followed a two-hour session with diocesan clergy in the morning.
 
Clergy and laity from the Diocese of Fort Worth comprised a little less than half of those attending the reception. Their questions dominated, with some pleading with the Presiding Bishop for “help to get us out of the wilderness we now find ourselves in.” Fort Worth is one of several dioceses that are likely to consider leaving The Episcopal Church when their conventions are held this fall.
 
Bishop Jefferts Schori assured her questioners that a plan similar to the one employed in San Joaquin has already been prepared. When the Fort Worth delegation declared that they have been forgotten in this battle, the Presiding Bishop replied, “Have you been watching San Joaquin? They were not forgotten and now show dynamic signs of new life. You will not be forgotten, either.”
 
Throughout much of the question-and-answer session retired Bishop Sam B. Hulsey of Northwest Texas stood in the back of the parish hall. Last January Bishop Hulsey held an organizational meeting for clergy from the Diocese of Fort Worth, offering continuing care to those who wish to remain with The Episcopal Church, an action to which Bishop Jack Leo Iker of Fort Worth objected. Since then Bishop Hulsey has visited a handful of Fort Worth congregations.
 
St. Thomas’ new garden is located where the former rectory once stood. Three years of constant work prepared the ground for the garden. There are 16 neighborhood tenants, each committed to donating a tithe of their produce to any community group that feeds the hungry. Two large pantry plots are growing food to be donated to the North Dallas Shared Ministries and Resource Center of Dallas. The first harvest will occur in late summer.
 
Cheryl M. Wetzel
 
We invite your response to this article through a Letter to the Editor. Email your letter to tlc@livingchurch.org. Please include your name, city and state.
 
To find more news, feature articles, and commentary about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion not available online, read The Living Church magazine each week.  Click here to start your subscription.