Lori Paladino Mission Trip to Texas
Our second St. Matthew group of parishioners headed to Rosenberg, Texas to beautify homes impacted by Hurricane Harvey last summer. First stop: inside Church for prayer. Second Stop: LaGuardia Airport. Destination: Our sister parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe! God speed Louie, Becky, Gabe, Johnny, Brian, Christina, Jimmy, Bill & Fr. Tomi!
Mission Trip to Rebuild Homes in Rosenberg, Texas
“Christian Leadership at its Best!”
From Msgr. Walter:
“This is Christian leadership at its best. People driven by doing good. We drove down the supplies directly after the impact. And now. Ten beautiful folks. A few weeks ago, not one of them knew each other. Their ages ranging from 30-60 years. And yet, each one of them saw my little announcement in the bulletin that said: People Needed to go to Rosenberg, Texas to Help Rebuild Parishioners’ Homes Damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Each of them filled out the little form in the bulletin, came to one meeting with me…took time off from work, and flew down to Texas to spend five days rebuilding homes. Taping, floating, putting up Sheetrock. Manual labor. Fr. Sunil joined them on Saturday and rolled up his sleeves, all working side-by-side. And he told me that at Sunday Mass in Our Lady of Guadalupe, these amazing folks, so warmly received by the parishioners, were given a standing ovation… hearts filled with gratitude.
And when they returned home to St. Matthew yesterday, what did they say? “We didn’t want to come home.” They wanted to stay and keep working. Keep working to help a group of strangers reclaim their homes. So many long hours. But you know what? This group has now become like family to each other. Just magnificent. An inspiring group of people, driven by doing good. Christian Leadership at its best! From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you, Noelle Figeiras, Manuel Madrid, James Cahn & Christina Fleischmann, Grace Brady, Bill Hunt, Jim Weeks, Dana Murray & Edwar Villegas! Next phase of our efforts…Fr. Tomi will travel down to Rosenberg next Spring with our Youth, to paint and plant. And we’re hoping to send down another crew – we have a wait-list of people who have already signed up to go down to help. To help strangers because what we have been given by Him, we share. Just marvelous. Just inspiring to us all.
St. Matthew Church Texas Relief
This is What it Means to be a Follower of Jesus Christ
“We work together for your joy.” 2 Corinthians 1:24
Hurricane Harvey (August 17, 2017 – September 2, 2017) was the worst U.S. disaster since Hurricane Sandy. Our prayers and material support were urgently needed to help rebuild lives. As part of the ongoing effort to bring relief to victims of Hurricane Harvey, Msgr. Walter and Parishioner Mark Betz drove two large rental trucks filled with supplies down to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the church’s adopted Parish in Rosenberg, Texas. “I’m heading down the road with a filled cabin – filled with God’s goodness and the magnificent Community of His great people. I’m taking your love, your prayers, and your offerings. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.” Read More…
