St. David’s Episcopal Church engages with our downtown neighbors and the great Austin community as we live out our baptismal covenant. We seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and we strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. Our active community engagement ministry offers many opportunities for advocacy and direct service if you're looking for ways to help.
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The national Episcopal Church has an initiative called Becoming the Beloved Community. The program is designed to increase Episcopal parish, diocesan, and agency engagement in four primary fields: telling the truth about our churches and race, proclaiming the dream of Beloved Community, practicing Jesus’ way of healing and reconciliation, and repairing the breach in institutions and society.
The members of St. David’s Episcopal Church stand together at a moment of deep moral urgency
to call for the reform of our nation's immigration enforcement policies. As Episcopalians and
followers of Jesus Christ, we are bound by our Baptismal Covenant to strive for justice and
peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being. At this pivotal moment,
we find this sacred promise under threat as aggressive and reckless immigration enforcement
operations are fostering a culture of fear, dehumanization, and community disruption.
With a historic number more than 20 of fatalities occurring within the enforcement and
detention system between October 2025 and March 2026, we join the chorus of faith
communities demanding justice, accountability, and rigorous oversight of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and
Border Protection (CBP).
We call for reform out of a profound concern for federal operations targeting our vulnerable
community members and migrant neighbors. We firmly oppose the indiscriminate mass
deportation of individuals who are vital, law-abiding contributors to our congregations and
society. Furthermore, we reaffirm that all houses of worship must remain protected "sensitive
locations" where all may seek God’s grace without fear of arrest or surveillance. We grieve for
the parents and children being forcibly separated—an action that shatters families and directly
contradicts the biblical mandate to care for the stranger in our midst.
In response to this crisis and emboldened by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s declaration that
“death and despair do not have the last word,” St. David’s commits to meaningful action. We
pledge to:
• Provide continued humanitarian support and pastoral care to our migrant neighbors and
communities impacted by reckless immigration enforcement.
• Advocate by urging elected officials to reject unchecked immigration enforcement
funding in favor of humane legislative reform to address immigration and immigration
enforcement.
• Offer our presence as a visible witness of love over fear for our migrant siblings and
communities impacted by reckless immigration enforcement.
• Pray consistently for those living under the shadow of separation, for the safety of all law
and immigration enforcement officers, and for our national leaders to be guided by mercy
rather than rhetoric.
We are St. David’s Episcopal Church Austin, and we will not remain silent as violence escalates
and while any in our community are forced to live in fear.
154 Episcopal bishops issue message calling for immigration policies respecting the dignity of all – Episcopal News Service
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas Calls for Justice After Detention of Clergy Member Employed by the State of Texas - EDOT
Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe: Support emergency migration ministry – The Episcopal Church
The Ninth Bishop of Texas: An Embodied Christian Call to De‑escalation, Dignity, and Truthfulness in Immigration Enforcement
Pictured above is the 2019 St. David's Border Team, which was formed to carefully plan, implement, and evaluate a series of intentional trips to the US/Mexico border by St. David’s parishioners with food prepared by our hospitality ministry along with personal care toiletries and children’s educational materials donated by the parish. This endeavor was organized by Halley Ortiz and Anthony Chapple.
The topic of immigration has ramifications at our city, state, national, and global level. In response to this, members of St. David’s have already found ways to serve as Christ has called us. St. David’s provides opportunities and resources to help you get involved. Contact Director of Community Engagement & Advocacy Dianne Hardy-Garcia if you have any questions.
St. David’s Immigration-related Projects
Choose the sub-fund: Sponsor a Family - Go & Do Likewise
“It is a Christian obligation to vote, and more than that, it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls.“
-Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
St. David’s Racial Justice Committee encourages everyone to get ready to vote by checking:
1. You are registered
2. Registration matches your current address
3. What identification you need to bring to the polls
4. How to register for vote-by-mail, if eligible.
All this at texas.gov/living-in-texas/texas-voter-registration/
Let’s make this the parish who votes!
The Next-to-New Shop, a ministry of St. David’s church that began in 1959, has been a part of the city landscape as the only not-for-profit consignment/resale shop in Austin. A core part of our mission is to give our profits in equal parts to St. David’s for the restoration of the Historic Church, and to St. David’s grants committee. To date, these profits have yielded more than three million dollars in community engagement outreach grants. Next-to-New is operated by a small staff with a large number of volunteers. We offer consignment, or you can give in-kind as a donation. The volunteers, board, and staff at Next-to-New, and our grant recipients thank you for your continued support.
We are located at 5435 Burnet Rd. You can find more information on our website and Facebook page. The large bin in the church lobby is a great place to drop off donations for our shop.
Volunteer at Next-to-New
Trinity Center Austin grew from the concern of parishioners of St. David’s Episcopal Church for people experiencing homelessness, their downtown “neighbors,” who were living in shelters or on the streets near the church. Trinity has a small but dedicated staff of only six people and relies on volunteers. We greet each other as neighbors instead of as providers and clients. We treat our neighbors with dignity and respect. We feel very proud of the manner in which our staff and volunteers “lead by acceptance,” resulting in neighbors who feel acknowledged and understood, have a sense of ownership of Trinity Center, and consider it their community center. Trinity provides clothing, showers, direct assistance for IDs, mail services, bus pass distribution, phone and computer use, and breakfast to-go.
Trinity Center is located in the St. David's building at 304 E. 7th St, Austin TX, 78701. Learn more on Trinity Center's website and see the latest news on the Facebook page. The large bin in the church lobby is available for donations of clothing and toiletries for our neighbors.
Volunteer at Trinity Center
