Quarterly Assembly Meeting Held At Redeemer

The first 2012 quarterly meeting of the Dallas Assembly of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew was held at The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer March 3rd.

After a hearty breakfast served by our hosts at Redeemer, Thirty-five members in attendance saw an outstanding presentation from Patriot Paws founder Lori Stevens and her furry assistant Jazz.

Patriot PAWS is a non-profit organization, located in Rockwall, TX, committed to providing service dogs for wounded and disabled veterans. Stevens said it takes 12 to 18 months to properly train just one service dog, at a cost of about $30,000. She works through the Texas Department of Corrections in Gatesville, TX for initial training, which is completed at her facility in Rockwall, followed with special training with the veteran/recipient.

There are no charges for those selected to receive the dogs. It is only through tax deductible donations and volunteers that they are able to provide these dogs to disabled veterans in need. Patriot Paws will be the recipient of proceeds from the Brotherhood golf tournament and BStA members are encouraged to support them any way they can. More information on Patriot PAWS can be found at their website.

Jim Vineyard reported on the BstA Golf Tournament to be held at Canyon Creek on May 29th. Fees for the tournament, which includes a dinner afterward, is $125 per person or $450 per foursome. You can register online at the Brotherhood Assembly  website.

John Curtis gave a report on the recent visit of Bishop Jay Magness, Bishop of the Armed Forces, wo spoke at Holy Trinity, Garland on February 11th. Bishop Magness spoke of how we should be like a Navy – in our port Church for resupply and reinforcement – but at sea in our evangelism efforts. Like a Navy – we must spend our time at sea. The text of Bishop Magness’ speech can be found at this link.

Jeff Davis talked about the process of getting projects going for Hearts and Hammers. April 21st there will be a Crossfire project in East Dallas. This will also be a training session for those planning Hearts and Hammers projects. More details to follow. Additional info on Hearts and Hammers can be found at their website.

John Phipps reported on the status of our new website. He needs representatives of each parish to submit news of their Brotherhood activities, including meetings, church events, etc. John can be contacted via email.

Special guests also included representatives of the aptly named St. Andrews Church in Farmers Branch. This Church was actually founded by members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrews and thus named. During the chapter reports St. Andrews announced their intention to join the Brotherhood Assembly. Welcome aboard Brothers!

Jim Hall of Holy Trinity Garland introduced a subgroup – Saint Andrew’s Suds Society (SASS). This is an offshoot of the Oktoberfest Activities at Holy Trinity Garland that has become an annual event with other Parishes participating. It is hoped that this group can involve more chapters with special training and educational events as well as competitions. More information will be posted at our website.

The second quarterly meeting of the Dallas Assembly of the BStA will be Saturday, June 9th at 9:00 AM at Holy Nativity.