The 30-minute documentary, Jubilee, depicting the changes in a 62-block area “that had been forgotten by the city of Dallas,” debuted on Wednesday, April 28 at a special conference, Called to Serve: The Episcopal Church Responds to Domestic Poverty.
Produced by the Office of Communication of The Episcopal Church, Jubilee chronicles the transformational work at Jubilee Park in East Dallas, through the Jubilee Park and Community Center which now provides an array of educational and social services to Dallas residents living below the poverty level. It also highlights the transformational effect on its sponsoring parish, St. Michael and All Angels.
Mike Collins, director of digital media for The Episcopal Church, noted that Jubilee is the first in a series of documentaries heralding the work of Jubilee Park and Community Center.
Jubilee
In Jubilee, church members and community residents alike talk about the difference Jubilee Park and Community Center has made in their lives and in their spirituality, calling it “missionary work in our own back yard.”
With as much laughter as tears, the people of Jubilee Park tell their own very personal stories as a church member, service provider, teacher, architect, board member, services recipient, neighborhood resident, or child sharing their aspects of rebirth, rejuvenation, and “how transformation is possible.”
The relationship started 12 years ago when St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church was celebrating an anniversary and, “rather than another statue,” the church decided to mark the milestone on a different course, explains the Rev. Dr. Robert Dannals, rector.
St. Michael and All Angels, with 7200 members and one of the largest congregations in The Episcopal Church, wanted to focus on a community in Dallas that also centered on children”s needs.
A dozen years later, among the results, thanks to Jubilee Park and Community Center, are an early childhood education center with 171 students called Davids” Place, a farmers market, a secure environment, personal enrichment programs such as an exercise program, and much more.
The biggest and most compelling result, however, is that a neighborhood has developed and grown in an otherwise neglected, forgotten area.
The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Jubilee: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/video/jubilee/
St. Michael and All Angels, Dallas, TX: http://www.saintmichael.org/
The Episcopal Church: www.episcopalchurch.org
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