Presiding Bishop Visit 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 29, 2008

Contact: Harry Anderson
Phone: (360) 320-9877

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori Will Bless Parish’s Community Garden, Tour Restored Facilities and Speak at Reception on April 28

The Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas The Apostle announces that the Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, the Most Rev.Katharine Jefferts Schori, will visit the Dallas parish on Monday April 28.

During her visit, the Presiding Bishop will participate in a blessing service for the new Saint Thomas Community Garden, tour the newly restored and rebuilt Saint Thomas church buildings and speak at a reception for church and community members. The garden blessing and reception will take place beginning at 2:30 p.m., and members of other parishes and general public are invited to attend.

“We are honored that the Presiding Bishop has accepted our invitation to visit our parish in Dallas, and we eagerly look forward to having her with us on April 28,” said the Rev. Stephen J. Waller, rector of Saint Thomas.

“Our Community Garden is growing food to fight hunger right here where we live,” Rev. Waller said. “It reflects the Millennium Development Goals of our national church to eradicate hunger wherever it occurs. Our community garden as well as our recently restored and rebuilt church facilities reflect our commitment and growth as a parish of thinking, tolerant Christians engaged in life with our God, our families and friends, and the broader community within the best traditions of the Episcopal Church.”

The Saint Thomas Community Garden is located on a formerly vacant lot adjacent to the church at the corner of Inwood Road and Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. Church members have created two large “pantry plots” on which they are growing vegetables that will be donated entirely to local food banks and organizations fighting hunger in Dallas. In addition, the garden has 16 private plots maintained by individuals who have agreed to give at least 10 percent of their harvest to local food banks.

About the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church: The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, 53, took office as the 26th Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church on Nov. 1, 2006. Before she was ordained as a priest in 1994, Bishop Jefferts Schori had a career as a professional trained oceanographer. She also remains an active, instrument-rated private pilot. She became Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada in February 2001. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in biology from Stanford University, a doctorate in oceanography from Oregon State University, and a master’s degree and honorary doctorate in divinity from Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

About The Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas The Apostle: Organized in 1950, The Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas The Apostle is a diverse congregation of thinking, tolerant Christians whose mission is to welcome all people into one family without reservation, with an emphasis on our heritage as Episcopalians within the Diocese of Dallas. The church is located at 6525 Inwood Road in Central Dallas.


[NOTE TO EDITORS: Media representatives are welcome to cover the garden blessing and reception. For details, please contact the church office at 214.352-0410 or Harry Anderson at 214.351.3743.)