Kelly Williams

I am a member of the Palmer Vestry and serve as Chair of its Outreach Council. 2020 has two dominant feelings for me.  I'm so happy with my family together at home, overeating chips and salsa and playing board games.  But I worry too about the kids missing school and then my concerns escalate to everyone in Houston, in Texas, and beyond, until I close all my news apps. It's not easy to see suffering and not feel helpless.

But there's hope!  Palmer's Outreach is going strong. We continue to reach out to the organizations we support, as they adapt and show us ways to ease suffering in our community, even from home. The Prison Assistance Ministry (PAR) has adapted to a socially distanced world and though currently on hiatus, plans to continue to provide meals and support to men released from prison.  A quiet but strong group of Palmer women have been sewing masks from their homes and getting them out into the community.  

And there are ways we can all contribute:

• If we're worried about kids in Houston getting enough to eat, we can assemble bags and bring them to Kids' Meals.
• If we're worried about asylum seekers at the border, we can make a donation to Team Brownsville.
• If we're thankful for the positive things like the affordable housing at New Hope, we can write letters to the residents there who are safe and sound but unable to socialize with one another during the virus.
• And the Emergency Aid Coalition, Star of Hope, and Iglesia Episcopal San Pedro's North Pasadena Community Outreach continue to work in the community; they are always grateful when we perform the simple act of donating money to their causes.

It should be no surprise that the dedicated people of Palmer continue in active ministry. We could all find ways to help on our own, but it's so much nicer to be a part of a community that works together. And I'm proud to serve with parishioners who are active in outreach ministry, including Catherine Beebe and Denise Zwicker, whose stories follow this introduction.

Catherine Beebe

I am a member of Palmer's Serve Sunday ministry and my family has joined other Palmers for the past four years to visit with the residents of New Hope Housing. New Hope is a nonprofit organization that provides housing to low-income citizens at eight locations in Houston, and three of those locations have invited us to host parties for their residents. Before COVID, we would take finger foods and drinks, our kids would draw with colored chalk on their courtyard sidewalks and run prizes to the happy winners of the Bingo games we hosted. Doing this four times a year since 2016, we have formed friendships, and I found that my feelings of insecurity about giving from a distance and the disparity of our situations have transformed into that of a humble entering into friendship, giving my gifts out of love and a sharing spirit.

I miss my new friends and their laughter at my husband Mark's Bingo calling jokes; I worry about their feeling isolated in this new COVID reality. I have been in contact with the program associate at the Brays Crossing location to know how they're doing and to inquire about what needs they might have. She tells me they have cancelled all programs that would gather the residents together, but food has been brought in by outside food programs. Palmer's April Serve Sunday this year included writing letters to the residents, and some of us have continued to do so monthly. On July 17, members of the Women's Bible study and the Palmer Parents of Young Children's group baked cookies, and we delivered 240 bags of cookies for the residents at Brays Crossing.

As we continue our relationship with our New Hope friends, we continue to write to the residents we have come to know and love and we pray for people in isolation. Remember, a simple hand written letter can bring the love of Christ.

Denise Zwicker

I am a member of the Palmers Assisting Re-Entry (PAR) ministry, founded by parishioner Cathy Troisi. Working with the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), we began in 2019 by preparing homemade dinners for recently released male prisoners who live in three Houston PEP transition houses in southwest, northwest and south Houston. We are a small, but very dedicated, group of supporters and volunteers, some of whom donated their economic-stimulus checks when they arrived earlier this year. My role is that of coordinating monthly dinners for the ministry, with dishes cooked and delivered by multiple PAR volunteers.

Before the pandemic, we ate dinner with the men, and we were beginning to develop real friendships with them. Based on our growing knowledge of their needs, we began to work on additional plans to support their economic and social needs, including microloans and family counseling. We were preparing to launch those plans when the pandemic struck Houston.

The pandemic required PEP to adjust its "group home" operations in March and April, and we could no longer bring dinners, but we were able to resume in May and June. Instead of enjoying a family-style meal and friendly conversation at the transition houses, we met at parking lots and loaded a single vehicle (masked and socially distant) with the food we'd prepared for each house. A single driver delivered the food, wearing a mask and not leaving the driver's seat. The men gladly unloaded the meals and thanked us heartily-from a distance. We also delivered take-out lunches to PEP's staff of 15 in Brookhollow, all of whom are former prisoners. Additionally, we were able to collect and deliver cleaning products and tools, outdoor furniture and other "shower" items to the houses in June. Some of the items were from Palmer Place apartments that, sadly, were being dismantled. We also donated Palmer Place furnishings to men who have moved on from the transition houses to their own, usually shared, apartments.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 broke out at one of the transition houses in June, and PEP has suspended our meals. But we'll be back when it's safe!