Join the National Episcopal Church Women Service Project Efforts for the Plaza de Paz Respite Center
At the National ECW Board Meeting held in February 2023, the board voted to host a service project supporting the Diocese of West Texas’ Immigration & Refugee Ministry, Plaza de Paz Respite Center. The service project runs until the end of the calendar year: December 31, 2023.
The service project supports the Diocese of West Texas’ Immigration & Refugee Ministry, Plaza de Paz Respite Center. Located in San Antonio, Texas, Plaza de Paz provides day-time welcoming services for families and individuals seeking asylum. Services provided include meals, assistance with travel arrangements, personal hygiene care, emergency housing, and transportation within Bexar County to the airport or bus station. We are asking all Diocesan and local ECWs to contribute to this ministry by supporting the Center’s Amazon wish list. Please consider making a purchase from this wish list that will be shipped directly to Plaza de Paz. Just make sure when you make your purchase that you change the shipping address to the center’s address which will appear on the screen. It’s just that easy! Visit the National ECW webpage for the direct links to the wish list.
Shipping Address: Select D’s gift registry in your shipping destination and Amazon will delivery your purchase to the Plaza de Paz Despite Center.
Plaza de Paz Respite Center is also looking for volunteering at the Plaza de Paz San Antonio Respite Center and/or you can register your ministry group or congregation to donate meal kits.
Each day, individuals and families seeking asylum flee their home countries to escape violence, religious persecution, and war. In 2019, the Diocese of West Texas formed Immigration Ministries to help with humanitarian needs for those seeking asylum.
On July 27, 2021, the Plaza de Paz Respite Center opened as a collaborative effort between the Diocese of West Texas and the Southwestern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Located in San Antonio, Texas, Plaza de Paz provides day-time welcoming services for families and individuals seeking asylum. Services provided include meals, assistance with travel arrangements, personal hygiene care, emergency housing, and transportation within Bexar County to the airport or bus station. The Center receives referrals from both Department of Human Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
When a family or individual seeking asylum is released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody as part of the immigration process, they travel to join sponsors or family members throughout the United States. If a family or individual does not have family or sponsorship contacts in the U.S. however, they do not have access to housing or basic necessities, leaving them incredibly vulnerable upon their release