Good Samaritan Episcopal Church

The members of Good Samaritan Episcopal Church and the church itself support a number of community and charitable organizations and activities.

For the Love of the Lake

For more than seven years Good Samaritan volunteers have worked with “For the Love of the Lake”, a beautification and preservation non-profit organization dedicated to Dallas’ White Rock Lake. White Rock Lake is a historical landmark in the City of Dallas and serves as a natural habitat for various species of exotic birds. Good Samaritan has adopted a section of the White Rock Lake shoreline and, on the second Saturday of every month, our volunteers can be found picking up trash between Winsted Drive and the spillway, from Garland Road to the abandoned railway trestle on Winsted.  Good Samaritan has installed a bench with bicycle rack adjacent to Winsted Drive, overlooking the White Rock Spillway.  Our dedicated volunteers have received several Certificates of Congressional Recognition from the Congress of the United States.  Our work with “For the Love of the Lake” is just one of many ways in which Good Samaritan seeks to serve the larger community and be a living example of “organized religion in action”.

For more information about FLOTL, visit www.whiterocklake.org.

The Austin Street Centre sandwich night

The Austin Street Centre operates an overnight shelter for the homeless just east of downtown Dallas. The overnight census is typically 350 to 400 persons. Each night of the month, two or more organizations (primarily churches) provide an evening meal for the residents. Each resident receives two sandwiches (and usually a third at “second helpings”), a piece of fruit (donated by local grocery wholesalers), a hard boiled egg, two cookies, and a drink. Good Samaritan is one of the support organizations for the second Saturday of each month. The church members typically generate 400 to 450 nourishing and tasty sandwiches and contribute numerous bottles of soft drinks, deliver them to the Centre, and, working with the other organizations scheduled for that same night, serve them to the residents.

For more information, visit the Austin Street Centre Web site at www.austinst.org.

Kelly Hanna heads this program at Good Samaritan. She has prepared a very informative handbook entitled Sandwich Night 101 for those interested in participating in the sandwich night activity. If you would like a copy, email kellyshawnhanna@aol.com.

The Ferguson Road Initiative

The Ferguson Road Initiative (FRI) is a grassroots organization dedicated to the complete restoration and revitalization of the lower Ferguson Road corridor—Ferguson Road and the surrounding area (as far as the railroad track on the northwest side) from I-30 to Buckner Boulevard— encompassing 20,000 residents as well as numerous businesses, faith communities and schools. Their mission is “to transform the Ferguson Road corridor into a safe, beautiful, prosperous and proud community”. They will do this by inspiring hope through collaboration and developing and implementing a shared community vision.

FRI is achieving its mission through the creation of 6 Task Forces; Beautification, Public Safety, Education, Capital Improvements, Faith Outreach, and Economic Development. In 2000, FRI became a federally recognized Department of Justice Weed and Seed site. The resulting grant provides federal dollars to “weed” out crime and to “seed” the community with social, health and other human service type programs.

Good Samaritan is a key partner church of the Ferguson Road Initiative.

To learn more about FRI, visit www.fergusonroad.org

Parish Hall availability

The church makes its Parish Hall available throughout the year for the meetings of various civic, social,  and charitable organizations. No charge is made for the use of the Hall, although most users make a donation to the church. For information on using the Parish Hall or the church grounds (for either church members or external organizations), contact Father Bill at optionsbill2002@yahoo.com