In an effort to engage face-to-face with parishioners in one of the most ethnically-diverse parishes in the Diocese of Fort Worth, congregational leaders of St. Joseph Catholic launched a weekend-long house meeting campaign that drew 546 people into conversation. After each mass, parishioners were invited to stay an additional 30 minutes to get to know others in their congregation; multiple conversations were held in the circular sanctuary.

Congregational leaders who form the parish development team used the listening campaign to jump start their parish development process to hear concerns and identify new leaders for the church. The intent is to "develop disciples to live out the mission of the church in the community." Leaders heard stories of unemployment and isolation. They also heard from parishioners who wanted to join certain ministries but had never been asked!

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Asserting that anyone under 18 years must have an attorney and should never be subjected to expedited processing, hundreds of bishops and clergy from every major religious denomination in Texas denounced proposed changes to the Trafficking Victims Act of 2008 and called on the White House for a better approach to the humanitarian crisis at the border.

In El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth and Dallas, religious leaders preached about the crisis at the border, organized relief efforts and held press conferences reminding the White House and Congress of the Judeo-Christian admonishment for nations to "show kindness and mercy to one another, not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner or the poor (Zechariah 7:9-10)."

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With 52 thousands of Central American children currently detained at the Texas-Mexico border, religious leaders of Allied Communities of Tarrant (ACT) banded together to call on their Congressional representatives to protect all the legal protections made available for such kids in 2008.

One parishioner, Lorena Hattarki, shared her story as a young girl fleeing cartel violence in Colombia decades prior: "My experience was very different... When I got off the plane, no one was there to say, 'Get out. Go back.'"

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