St. Francis in the News
March 24, 2012 - San Antonio Express News article on our International Community Garden.
WOAI did a story on the soccer field located on our property that benefits the church and the refugee families.
"SAN ANTONIO - A local church is helping children who've had to flee their homes overseas because of violence by building a field of dreams here. A kind of transformation has taken place over the past few days in one special part of San Antonio. As News 4 WOAI's Michael Garofalo reports, the final product was a ball field for refugee kids mostly from Nepal and Iraq who now call our city home. But the message is a whole lot deeper than that.
You might not know it, but for the last five years or so the United Nations along with Catholic Charities have moved a few thousand political refugees to San Antonio. Many of them are living near St. Francis Episcopal Church on the Northwest Side.
16-year-old Yosif Abduwah and his family are from Fallujah, Iraq.
“I saw a lot of bombs. A lot of people running with guns and shooting at Americans,” recalled 16-year-old Yosif Abduwah.
He lived in Fallujah for two years after American troops overthrew Saddam. His family finally left when a bomb destroyed their house.
“The reason it got worse in Fallujah – cause al-Qaeda used to be there,” explained Yosif.
The field being restored took a beating during last summer's drought.
“When we were playing - the field wasn't good. It was all dirt, so we got some injuries,” said Yosif.
But now a community effort, supported financially and with volunteers from Oak Hills Church along with refugee kids is giving this field a full makeover.
Desiree Ferice is just one of the youths from the church volunteering three days of their spring break to help out.
“It's like their huge hobby and pastime, so I am really excited,” Ferice told News 4 WOAI. “I know they are going to use this.”
Their efforts, including the brand new sod that was put down, isn't going unnoticed.
“We are so happy - we are excited to play!” said Yosif with a smile.
Jim Karlak with The Center for Refugee Services says some of the refugee kids were born and raised in UN refugee camps that had no plumbing or electricity. When they get here Catholic Charities helps them find a place to live and gives them a few months of support before they are on their own."
One way we give of ourselves is to open our doors to our community to use our church facilities. Here is an article about our church in the SA Express News on August 7, 2011 about the English as a Second Language program being held on Saturdays at St. Francis Episcopal Church.
St. Francis has been proud to be the host site of the San Antonio Food Bank Summer Program for the last 2 years. Here is an article about the program from the San Antonio Express News on August 3, 2011. Also, an article from the San Antonio Express News on July 27, 2010.
St. Francis is proud to offer our facilities to the San Antonio Choral Society. They will be holding auditions here in August. Here is an article about the society from the San Antonio Express News on July 29, 2011. Also, another article from the San Antonio Express News on July 22, 2011.
World Refugee Day 2011! For our second year in a row, we hosted a day of celebration of the refugees and their cultures. Here is an article about this event from the San Antonio Express News on June 19, 2011. Also, view this clip from San Antonio Living on WOAI on June 17, 2011.
St. Francis offers many ministries for parishioners and the community to come together. One of our newest endeavors is the Community Garden. This garden brings several churches and the refugee community together to learn how to grow vegetables and fruits that will grow in the San Antonio climate. Here is an article about this endeavor from the San Antonio Express News on February 16, 2011.
