Dear Transfiguration,

Beginning Sunday, March 13 we will welcome a remarkable mission congregation of the Diocese of Dallas to begin worshipping on our campus. The Church of the Holy Faith is comprised entirely of Bhutanese refugees, and until recently they have been worshiping at Holy Trinity on Hillcrest. Space constraints led them to begin looking for an alternative meeting place, and the Vestry and I quickly realized what an incredible opportunity this is for us to seek and serve Christ in even more persons.

I’ve had the privilege of getting to know the lay pastor, Amber Ghale, over the last couple of months, and the Vestry and I have met with several of the congregation’s leaders. They are a remarkable group of people who have endured tremendous hardships over the past several decades, yet retained a palpable sense of peace and joy. Until I was approached regarding this opportunity, I was unaware of the plight of Bhutanese refugees. Beginning in the 1980s the Bhutanese government began a process of ethnic cleansing, resulting in the forced eviction of tens of thousands of “Llotsampas,” or Nepali-speaking, traditionally Hindu people. Ultimately, roughly 100,000 Llotsampas crossed the border into Nepal, where the United Nations has maintained a camp for them for nearly 20 years. During that time, many thousands of these refugees have been resettled around the world, and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex is home to an estimated 6,000, including our new friends from Holy Faith. You can watch a video about the Bhutanese refugees here.

Several refugee families who are now part of Holy Faith became Christian while still living in the camps in Nepal, after coming into contact with Christian missionaries. When they moved to Dallas, their previous lay pastor met Mother Samira Page, the Director of Gateway of Grace (a ministry to refugees). She, in turn, introduced him to Bishops Stanton and Lambert, and in 2012 Bishop Stanton formally established the Church of the Holy Faith. Today they consist of about 50 people, nearly half of them children, and most are from the same core group of families who first converted back in Nepal.

Bhutanese CongregationBeginning March 13, Holy Faith will meet in the Niles Building on Sunday mornings (typically from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.), and their primary service is Morning Prayer said in Nepali. Some of their older children may eventually join our Sunday School classes, after they get adjusted to the new location, but they will have their own small nursery for infants and young children in Niles (due to language barriers and the distance between our nursery and the Niles Building). About once a month a member of the Transfiguration clergy or Mother Victoria Heard (formerly on the bishop’s staff) will celebrate the Eucharist with them, and we hope our two communities will worship together three or four times a year.

Here is some more information you may be interested to know:

  • The Diocese presented Holy Faith with a van two years ago, which enables them to travel together from their community in Vickery Meadows to church.
  • Their insurance and modest expenses are paid for by the Diocese of Dallas. This is a partnership with a sister church, so we are not charging rent.
  • The Vestry is working to appoint 3-4 people to serve as liaisons to Holy Faith. They will work with the lay pastor and church leaders as mentors, companions, and primary contacts.
  • The adults are still learning English. The children are growing up bilingual.

I invite you to come to church on Sunday, March 13, ready to welcome our new friends from Holy Faith. They will join us for the 11:15 service that day, and they will share a traditional song and dance as the offertory. They will also join us for the Liturgy of Palms on Palm Sunday, March 20, at the 11:15 service. Beyond that, you will have occasions to encounter them around the coffee stations, as they’ll come up for refreshments and fellowship on Sundays.

I am amazed at the way God has formed and led us in recent months, ultimately leading to this opportunity to welcome this congregation. Even as we’ve yearned to do more to love and serve refugees arriving in our area, God has brought a community of refugees right into our midst. I am confident that we will walk alongside them with compassion and love for however long they meet on our campus. I know we have much to offer them, but I am equally sure they have much to offer us.

Please pray for our new friends from Holy Faith, who are an inspiring manifestation of the goodness and redemption of God, and pray for our church, that we may be Christ to them.

Humbly yours,
The Rev. R. Casey Shobe
Rector