A new branch on a giving tree: St. Philip the Apostle Parish donates to Eastland parishes

L-R: Patsy Davis, bookkeeper of the Eastland County parishes; Patricia Gonzalez, director of stewardship and social outreach at St. Philip the Apostle; Fr. Joseph Pudota, SAC. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Collins) 

RANGER —St. Philip the Apostle Parish has a reputation of being a generous parish — now that reputation has spread four counties away.

From exceeding the goal of the Annual Diocesan Appeal to raising funds for construction of a new church, St. Philip parishioners give unsparingly to support their parish and community.

Now, their abundant giving is helping other parishes and communities in the diocese. St. Philip parishioners donated $5,500 to the four parishes served by Father Joseph Pudota, SAC: St. Rita in Ranger; Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Cisco; St. Francis Xavier in Eastland; and St. John in Strawn.

Fr. Pudota said the check is “a big amount for small parishes.” Many projects and necessities came to mind when told of the donation, and he decided to use the sum to subsidize friendship meals hosted by St. Francis Xavier Church in Eastland and Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Cisco.

Give Local

The Christmas gift was a few months in the making.

Each year before Christmas, the Flower Mound parish sets up several giving trees for parishioners to select and purchase items to be distributed to local charities.

This year, St. Philip’s giving trees included some perennial favorites, such as the local Christian Community Action charity, families served by St. Philip’s social outreach, diocesan seminarians, Catholic Charities Fort Worth, and the Christ Child Society.

But Patricia Gonzalez, director of stewardship and social outreach at St. Philip the Apostle, wanted to make the annual Christmas drive “a little more meaningful” and help a diocesan parish in need.

She contacted Wendy Collins, director of stewardship and parish relations for the Advancement Foundation for the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, who recommended the small rural parishes of Eastland County.

“We are not pioneers; I know other parishes have done this, but our parish got behind it,” explained Gonzalez, who said the parish also added the local pregnancy resource center Loreto House to its Christmas drive this year.

Community Reach

On Dec. 19, Gonzalez and Collins hand-delivered the check to the pastor, Fr. Pudota, who called the gift “divine intervention” and expressed his appreciation to St. Philip parishioners; their pastor, Father Raymond McDaniel; and Wendy Collins at the Advancement Foundation.

Fr. Pudota explained the friendship meals are held two times each month and welcome everyone. Parish volunteers cook, serve, and clean up after the meals, and donations cover the expense of the food.

Gonzalez and Collins hope to attend an upcoming friendship meal. Gonzalez added, “Everyone needs to know that our diocese is not just our own parish or maybe our own little area,” noting the diocese is diverse and geographically large.

Gonzalez said, “A parish that has the resources has the responsibility to share those resources with other parishes if and when we can. If we are helping other organizations in the community, we should also be thinking of how we can help our fellow parishes as well,” said Gonzalez.