0:12

Hey there, Diocese of the Rio Grande. I know, you know, Mike Wallens, who is the vicar of St.

0:17

Paul's in Marfa and also kind of.

0:19

The priest of the big band. Yes.

0:22

That's safe to say in many ways. So Mike, tell us about the, the extent of the ministry here and, uh, all the things you do, and then we'll talk a little bit about the stuff we've done this week together.

0:35

Okay. So, uh, out here we have five congregations that, um, I serve along with Katie Hudak, who's, uh, the curate of the big bend.

0:47

And the, the sort of the, the central, uh, my home base, I'll put it that way.

0:54

My home base is here at St.

0:56

Paul's Episcopal Church in Marfa.

0:59

And then we also serve St. James Episcopal Church in Alpine, Texas.

1:05

And St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Fort Stockton, Texas.

1:09

And those three churches we do every Sunday.

1:13

And then on Saturday nights, we are in Lajitas at the Chapel of Joseph and Mary.

1:20

And then, uh, on Wednesdays, which works out better for everybody's schedule in Terlingua, we are in Santa Ynez.

1:28

In addition to that, uh, we do, we have an active ministry here along the border.

1:34

Um, working closely with the border patrol in both, um, working with asylum seekers.

1:42

So for example, Right now, um, people are bused in from Del Rio to the, um, station in Alpine.

1:53

And we get a call and we go there and find out what people might need.

1:59

And we have a coalition that's been built up, uh, made up of churches and private businesses and individuals.

2:10

Who then, when we get a call, we go either to the Alpine station and, um, find out what the needs are and, and within two hours they try and do this turnaround.

2:24

And then, uh, or the Border Patrol will turn different individuals or families over to us so that we can help them figure out how to get to where they want to go.

2:36

Uh, usually it's with another family member or some community they're familiar with.

2:42

In addition, then, we also do pastoral care for the Border Patrol.

2:47

There's a lot of moral wounding that goes on with the Border Patrol agents, and most of our work is with the local Border Patrol in the big sector.

2:58

Sometimes we'll do some Zoom pastoral care, but for the most part we're based here.

3:05

In addition, then, we have a, which you'll hear about in just a few minutes, we have a It's a very active youth ministry program that was partially funded by the UTO grant a number of years ago.

3:21

And, uh, we, the goal was to set up a youth ministry that goes down the 67 corridor from Marfa into Ohinaga, Mexico.

3:33

And, um, and so we are currently active in that, that youth ministry is also spread into Sol Ross University in Alpine, as well as into Terlingua and Lajitas.

3:48

So that sort of gives you an idea of everything that goes on out here.

3:54

It's amazing. And, uh, and, and it's.

3:57

Um, I mean, so much of this is thanks to you and your willingness as a priest to serve beyond just one congregation.

4:06

And also, over the, over the years since we've been working together, St.

4:11

Paul's has really shifted, each of the congregations has shifted from kind of an identity that we're on our own, even going back to there was a time when they were networked working on outreach ministry.

4:22

But still each congregation kind of had its own identity and now they still have their own identity.

4:28

We're not closing any of the buildings, but they're collaborating together.

4:33

Tell us about that process. Cause I think particularly as we talk about a diocese going forward, as we face financial challenges, I think the big bend is a real example to us.

4:44

Of the ways in which a team of clergy serving multiple places without yoking those congregations necessarily.

4:52

Actually making sure that the, the teaching of the gospel, the, the, um, the growing of those churches and then outreach ministries, ministries in the general area, the congregations naturally kind of help each other out and work together in that sort of a way.

5:10

Tell us how that process has been for you because you came here as a priest just for here.

5:14

Exactly. And, um, the Holy Spirit sort of pushed me and I stumbled along and, and there was there in St.

5:24

James, for example, the The vicar that was there retired.

5:30

And, um, I was asked to sort of fill in until they found someone and they, it just didn't work out for a number of different reasons.

5:41

So then I started there and, um, also through ultra Vez, which is a.

5:49

Um, a store that provides, uh, clothes, slightly or used clothes for people and other things in that part of the border in Terilingua.

6:03

Um, there was a congregation called Santa Ginés.

6:07

Um, and it's, it's predominantly Hispanic and they haven't, the first thing we did was, uh, according to Marcy Reed, who's lived there for, I don't know how, um, we decided to start with Our Lady of Guadalupe and, uh, they hadn't had that celebration in over 40 years.

6:31

There's no Roman Catholic church there.

6:33

And so we had about anywhere, I think it was 75 to a hundred people in the ghost town, the little boys were doing this machete dance and they just love twirling those machetes, dull of course.

6:48

And, um, and the folklorical dancers danced and then we processed up to the church and, and recounted the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and said prayers and.

7:01

Um, then had a little banquet afterwards.

7:05

Um, so that grew then.

7:08

Um, I have done several weddings prior to that in Lahitas and they have a chapel there.

7:17

It's part of the golf resort. Actually, I don't play golf.

7:22

And, um, And so when I talked with Sandy Price, who oversees, um, that chapel and weddings and all sorts of stuff there, uh, we decided to start offering services.

7:37

And so people come in, um, and prior to my being there, um, Uh, Kay Jennings was going down there once a month.

7:47

So we decided to increase that to once a week.

7:51

And so the attendance varies depending on the season of the year and, and what's going on.

7:59

Fort Stockton had a priest who would come down twice a month from New Mexico, uh, Father Black.

8:07

And I don't know who was before him.

8:09

And then he developed, um, condition and unfortunately died.

8:17

Um, and so then we started going up there to Fort Stockton and all these are different congregations with different, you know, in Fort Stockton, it was, it's primarily ranchers, but there's a number of people who are very involved in the town there in, uh, Terilinguids, primary Hispanic.

8:40

Um, and we are developing a college ministry in Alpine as well as, um, just being, keeping the doors open for people to come.

8:52

And then Marfa has a, a, a lot of art community people and ranchers and a Hispanic community.

9:01

And out here. It's, um, 60, 40, as far as the Hispanic population in Anglo on the border, it's 80, 20.

9:12

And so that's, I just stumbled along.

9:16

It's just one other thing. And so we.

9:20

The five congregations decided to get back together, and so we meet once a quarter in a different location because everybody wanted to see the other churches and everything.

9:32

And so we have Deb Sampson come in, and we meet once a quarter, and the first thing she had us do.

9:39

To help us share with one another about who we are as different congregations is we had to decorate these cereal boxes and, um, talk about what's in it.

9:53

So, um, for instance, where the ingredients would be for St.

9:57

Paul's, we said, uh, love Eucharist, kindness, caring, joy, coffee, cake, peace, music, scripture, people.

10:06

Morning prayer online, sometimes sharing grace, hope, laughter, and compassion.

10:12

That's our ingredients. And so, and so we meet once a quarter and, uh, and people have really grown together and understand one another.

10:24

And that's where, if there's a need in a particular area or congregation, we talk about it, we figure out how to support one another.

10:34

And we do it. It's wonderful. And so each, these are not yoked congregations in any formal way.

10:39

There's not one bishop's committee or vestry for the whole thing.

10:43

It's very important, particularly for me as a bishop, thinking about this as a possible model for the future.

10:49

Each congregation retains its own building and its own integrity and its own identity.

10:55

We're just connecting them together by The clergy rotating around and by these quarterly gatherings where each gets to know the other and then moments of collaboration just kind of present themselves and the ministry continues to expand and What we're finding is Well, I'll also say that the diocese is a partner in this as well Yes the trustees of the diocese have purchased the vicarage here in Marfa and are contributing that to As well as, uh, a little bit of extra money to support having the curate here.

11:32

And that allows two full time paid clergy to look after these five congregations.

11:38

That's a three year experiment that is, that is going well.

11:43

And it means we're not, we're, we're doing a better job of taking care of you.

11:46

Because you're not doing it all by yourself, right? And there are, you know, in an area like this, there are sometimes clergy who retire here.

11:54

And so from time to time, there will be retired clergy who may wish to join that team.

12:00

But I think, particularly having five congregations as spread out as they are here, having two paid clergy, Has really made the difference in the sense that in each place, we're confirming and receiving people.

12:14

In each place, the congregations are growing.

12:17

We are, and but we also, but we also come together like for confirmation classes, Episcopal 101.

12:26

We, uh, the preference is in person, but Clearly that can't always happen.

12:32

And so we, we offer them both online and in person, uh, at the same time.

12:40

And, uh, it's developed some really nice relationships between individuals and churches also.

12:49

And so while you've been out here, of course, we've had confirmation and receptions in each of the churches with the people from that congregation.

12:59

So no one has to go all the way to Fort Stockton or all the way to Marfet.

13:04

And that's been wonderful.

13:07

The Fort Stockton congregation was meeting at, out at one of the ranches and we, we confirmed and received six people in the living room with the whole congregation sort of crammed in there.

13:18

That was wonderful. And then yesterday, We, uh, confirmed three at Santa Inez in Tlingit, and then today we're at St.

13:27

Paul's and Alpine. It's just been, it's been a wonderful, it's been a wonderful time.

13:32

Yeah, it's, it's, it's a lot of fun out here.

13:35

It is. Well, in that spirit of collaboration, it may be just sort of part of our identity as a diocese, because you're not just collaborating with the Episcopal churches around the area.

13:46

Like, particularly with the, the first place we went together on this visit, was to, to meet the youth ministers.

13:55

And that's not just an Episcopalian thing.

13:58

That's a much broader kind of ecumenical engagement.

14:03

Tell us about how that got started and, and all about it.

14:07

When, when I first came here, um, I was approached by some people in, in Marfa saying, and this was the result of a, a teenager's death by, got too close to the train tracks and, um, we're not sure if it was suicidal or just not paying attention.

14:32

Um, anyways, there's nothing out here for youth.

14:36

And so. We formed a committee made up of people from different churches and some who don't go to church but are very strong believers.

14:46

And decided to partner with, uh, Young Life and, uh, also through, as I said, a grant from UTO were able to provide seed money.

14:59

And so, uh, Connor Travis, and at the time he wasn't married, but now his wife, Caroline, um, are here.

15:08

And Vicente in Presidio was hired with some of that seed money.

15:14

Um, and we met with, uh, Vicente and his fiancee, um, yesterday in Terilingua, and that ministry has developed so that the goal of Young Life, and what we do is, is go out on the fringes and talk with teenagers and befriend teenagers who, you Um, no one pays attention to and that then they come into the fold, so to speak, and then other people hear about fun and ministry and pastoral care and, um, it just grows from there.

15:55

Uh, it's, they've also developed a, um, a, uh, single parent, a teenage mothers group.

16:05

Um, and so they provide that type of support.

16:09

And from there, uh, a college ministry developed, because as the teenagers graduated, they, most of them can't afford or don't, can't leave this area because they have jobs.

16:22

So they go to Saul Ross University.

16:25

And so that carries over there.

16:27

And then, um, Everybody's related.

16:31

It seems like everybody's related almost to one another.

16:34

So, a cousin heard in Terilingua about what was going on here, and say, why can't we have that there? And so then they, it grew.

16:43

And, um, And going into Ohinaga, there's a lot of crossing, a number of teenagers will go to the high school in either Terralinco or Marfa.

16:57

And so, um, then we pick up, um, opportunities for youth ministry down in Mexico.

17:05

Yeah, the, the, I think a lot of people Don't who don't live on the border don't understand how fluid the border is in the sense that there there have been families who have been here before the United States existed and they're farming on both sides of the river and so Generations have not seen that border as an international border But just a river and and so there are there are people who are u.

17:31

s. Citizens who are living in Oinaga who are attending high school here because they're U.

17:38

S. Citizens. And that's the way that is. And they cross every day, all that time.

17:41

So the, the blending of the young people is, uh, it's, it's on both sides of the border all the time.

17:50

That's just sort of the way, the way it goes.

17:52

And give us a, I mean, I was amazed at the number of young people we're talking about here.

17:57

Cause You might think, oh, it's a bunch of small towns, you're, you know, most Episcopal churches, if the youth group has 10 or 15 people in it, that's a huge youth group.

18:07

Uh, but I love, there's so much wonderful things that the InterVarsity team is working on.

18:14

Give us a sense of the scale of the number of young people we're talking about.

18:18

We're talking about every week, um, over 400.

18:22

Um, not necessarily all coming to one place, but if you add them all up, um, and it's, it's about 400.

18:32

And so we, um, usually meet over a meal, uh, that's provided by a lot of the families in the area.

18:41

Uh, we have Bibles, we have a general meeting once a week.

18:45

Usually on Mondays and then Bible studies on Wednesdays and not everybody comes to both, but each week it's, it's over 400 youth and, um, it's, and then each area has its own set of needs that we try and work with.

19:06

Um, what grew out of this also is the Alameda, uh, ranch, which is in between Marfa and Presidio.

19:16

And it's among other things, it is allowing students to build a business together and learn about that.

19:26

So they've been planting flowers and they're trying to figure out.

19:30

Where the money's going to go. They're not looking to make money themselves.

19:34

They're looking to say, okay, well, here's a need.

19:38

So let's give money to that.

19:41

And, um, it's just, it's just exciting.

19:44

And, um, the youth here really are the ones in charge.

19:49

They're the CEOs of the business.

19:52

All we do is. Is support them and raise, sometimes raise some questions to get them to think about what's the best way to move with this business and everything.

20:02

It's, it's wonderful. And part of what I love about the young life model is the, so people are often, they experienced young life in high school.

20:12

They catch the drift of it.

20:15

They're then able to continue into young adulthood and become mentors.

20:21

paid by Young Life to come to places like Marfa or Presidio.

20:26

And the way it works when they come is that they, they create a community of adults from the community that becomes their prayer team, their mentors, their connections in the high school, their connections with businesses locally, their connections with clergy and the churches.

20:45

And, and so it draws, People together, like you say, maybe they're in church, maybe they're in the school, maybe they're in the business, but they're concerned about young people.

20:55

And so there's this kind of adult advisory group that surrounds the young adult who is doing the work and, and it creates this web of love and support.

21:09

for the, you know, in this case, Connor and Caroline, um, and, and they then are working with the young people who then take on leadership roles.

21:19

And, and the, it's the young people who invite their friends to come and get involved.

21:24

Um, but there, but having those young adults surrounded by local adults who care and have compassion and can provide guidance and resource is a tremendous model that I, I think we need to think about.

21:37

In the Episcopal Church as well, because it is impacting 400 kids a week in here in Marfa.

21:46

And so some of the things we've talked about is, is there a way for us to connect what's going on here with what's happening at Camp Stoney and Bishop's Ridge and, and to, and to have it go both ways.

21:56

So, yeah. There's some exciting stuff we might be able to work on together.

22:00

Oh, for sure. We're thrilled to have people come here, um, and, and really through the pilgrimages with the Rio Grande Borderland Ministries to, um, please come and go on a pilgrimage because how the border is portrayed by media or various politicians is not The reality that we live with out here.

22:28

And I think I I'd love for you to come visit.

22:32

and take away and share with the people that your congregations about what you saw and heard.

22:39

And, um, it's an exciting place out.

22:42

It's wonderful. It really is. Yeah.

22:45

Yeah. So tell us a little bit more about the work with the border patrol and, and with the asylum seekers and, and some, some of what's happening, you know, up to the minute.

22:56

Rio Grande Borderland Ministries, for those of you who don't know, look it up on the web.

23:00

Just Google Rio Grande Borderland Ministries.

23:02

The Diocese of Rio Grande is active.

23:05

Encompasses 40 percent of the U. S. Mexico border, and we are active from the boot heel of New Mexico all the way through the big band, and each of the areas along the border requires different ministry and has different needs.

23:19

So, uh, but but it's all networked and working together.

23:22

So on a razor who is based out of El Paso, Lee Curtis, who is based out of El Paso, running the shelter at ST Christopher's El Paso are connected deeply with what you're doing here.

23:33

And, uh, And there's opportunities for people outside the diocese or inside the diocese to come and do spiritual pilgrimages to learn about the borderlands and to experience the spirituality of this beautiful part of God's world.

23:49

So tell us a little bit about your experience with the pilgrims who have come and where have they come from and what have they done and how does that pilgrimage thing work? They come from all over the country.

24:02

And we develop partnerships with various churches and even diocese.

24:07

Um, and they, what they'll come into El Paso and, um, help out at the shelter there at St.

24:15

Christopher's, uh, spend the night.

24:18

We have plenty of room for volunteers to sleep with the people and, um, help with meals and getting them oriented.

24:27

And then we take people into Juarez.

24:33

And they meet some other people in the churches, the Anglican churches that we try and work with.

24:43

And then once they've done that, they will meet with the Border Patrol, but it's usually press agent for the Border Patrol, and it's very, um, scripted.

24:57

That's a good word. Yeah, in the El Paso thing, it's very tight, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

25:01

Um, and then they'll come out here, and they'll meet with the Border Patrol, which is very It's not scripted necessarily.

25:10

It's very open. So, uh, we have, you'll meet with the border patrol out here.

25:16

The agents have these huge, huge hearts.

25:20

And, um, so for example, when a group will come in from, uh, Del Rio and there's this two hour gap, you'll see a number of the agents end up at dollar general.

25:32

buying coloring books for the kids and what and diapers, you know, for Babies and whatever is needed and they spend their own money Doing that in addition to what we bring in with our coalition And and then The pilgrimages, the people there, they get a tour.

25:56

I mean, they take them back to where they're processed.

25:59

It's very transparent out here.

26:03

And, um, and you can ask the agents, whatever questions you want, and they will do their best to answer them.

26:10

Um, in a very candid way.

26:13

And so it's it's really help people understand the difficult position that the border patrols in because their mission is narrowly focused that people don't seem to understand they are to pick up to rescue and to process.

26:32

And then they either make determination, are they going to be deported, depending on the policies of the country at the time? Will they be deported? Will they be released to the coalition? Uh, so that we can get them where they need to go? Um, will they be, uh, if they have a criminal record, then they get sent to detention.

26:57

Um, if they're children, then unaccompanied, then they get sent to the shelter here in Pecos, which is about an hour and a half from here.

27:08

And we have a ministry, active ministry there with the, the children.

27:15

Yes, I visited that one a couple of years ago.

27:18

It, it, it is, it is not, I mean, you all might remember when there were unaccompanied minors that were being kept kind of under the bridge and We were very concerned a number of years ago, uh, with how the young people were being treated, the, the shelter that we visited in Pecos, they are very much concerned about, it's like a big youth camp is what it's like.

27:41

And they care about the kids, the young people's spiritual needs.

27:45

They are, they're doing, um, post trauma care to, because many of the young people, if you're traveling by your own, making this journey, you have experienced a lot of trauma and lived with fear.

27:56

And anxiety like no human being should have to live with.

27:59

And, and so there are arts programs, there's a therapy, there's, um, athletics programs to try to help those, uh, unaccompanied minors.

28:10

Um, deal with the trauma that they have, uh, been through and, and there are clergy that are there to help with their spiritual needs as well.

28:19

And so we provide them with like prayer squares that are made by, uh, the, the main headquarters for these come out of St.

28:28

Gabriel's in Leesburg, Virginia, which is a bilingual church made up of both documented and undocumented.

28:36

People, they knit these, they send them to us, I don't have any of the little sock towels they make for them.

28:43

Uh, we also provide rosaries and Bibles, both in English and Spanish.

28:48

And we can't keep up with the demand.

28:51

The, um, the teenagers and the children, because they, you talk about people with a strong faith.

28:59

That's all they have to hang on to.

29:02

And, and so we're constantly trying to keep up with the demand for rosaries and Bibles.

29:09

And we've got prayer squares and, and it really means a lot.

29:16

Because when they, a number of times I'll give them a prayer square and I'll explain to them, well, these have been prayed over by people in the church in Connecticut and we distribute them here and, uh, they'll start crying because they didn't think anybody cared about them, um, because they're in this shelter.

29:36

So it's, it's, it's wonderful.

29:39

Yeah. Well, and you've, you've talked about. The work that happens with the Border Patrol with respect to moral injury and the moral wounding, the, um, The, the stories which, which we hear, uh, sometimes, uh, because of course the cartels are active on both sides and they're moving both weapons, guns and, um, and drugs across the border and using people to do that.

30:05

And there are, there are sometimes, uh, we've known of examples where a person is forced by the cartel to carry drugs or weapons across the border.

30:17

under the threat that they will kill their families or they will kill them if they don't do it.

30:21

And so people are being forced to cross the border in those situations.

30:27

And if they're found and arrested here with drugs on them, the law says they're criminals, but the border patrol knows that they They were threatened with death or death in their families if they didn't do what the cartels are forcing them to do.

30:41

And so it puts the officers in a difficult situation, always balancing their duty to uphold the law, which they want to do.

30:49

Um, but also with the humanitarian reality of people being forced into criminal activity that, um, that they are victims as well.

30:59

So out here, The sector chief, uh, told the agents when someone's picked up with drugs and they tell this terrible story about their lives or family lives being threatened.

31:17

Um, he, the border patrol knows who's who in the cartel.

31:23

And so if the names resonate with the agents, they will not charge them with bringing drugs over.

31:32

They have 72 hours to bring the charges.

31:34

They will be charged with crossing, uh, in a place other than a port of entry.

31:41

Um, but that's the type of thing the border patrol works on.

31:46

We, um, they put me through their resiliency training.

31:51

And then I provide some of that with them.

31:55

We also, uh, minister to the couples.

31:58

So a border patrol and their spouses, um, because the family also, um, is impacted by the work and just to give you an example of this moral wounding.

32:11

A number of years ago, for example, most of the agents here, all of them speak Spanish, a good portion of them come from the Triangle in Central America.

32:22

And so when there was family separation, um, one of them, uh, had to separate families from the village in which he lived.

32:34

And he knew them and he couldn't go home for three days and three nights because he felt so guilty that he could go home to his family and he just separated, um, this family that he knew and loved.

32:48

And when you say separation, we may not remember what that was like, that this means separating the children from the parents, right? So that they would be separated.

32:56

Treated differently Exactly.

32:59

In the, in the shelter system. Exactly. So, so the agents following the policies of the United States government at that time, right.

33:05

Required them to literally take children out of the arms of their parents and to take the children out into a, a detention center so that you can just imagine the, the fear in those children, the panic in the parents, the, the tears and the crying and the wailing that.

33:24

That those agents were engaged in, and they're human beings who, who took this job to do justice and care, you know, provide protection.

33:34

Um, but, but engaging in that kind of, uh, being the, you know, when doing your job requires you to do something that hurts your soul.

33:42

Exactly. That's, that's when, that's when they call Father Mike Wallace.

33:47

Well, yeah. Among others. Among others.

33:49

Yeah. Yeah. There's a whole network here. And so it's important that everybody understands that the, the border situation is complicated.

33:57

It's not just black and white. It's not just criminals or not criminals.

34:01

Um, it, it is people forced into crime.

34:04

It is. Um, and, and so, uh, we, uh, we act not in terms of the politics.

34:12

We act in terms of the gospel mandate that we love and care for everybody.

34:17

That includes the border patrol agents and their families.

34:20

And it includes the real human needs of those who are crossing for whatever reason.

34:25

Yes. Well, and there's one more thing.

34:28

We've got to talk about the trees. Oh, yeah.

34:31

Yeah. Talk about the trees because there's because there's a whole other thing.

34:35

Yes. So, um, the eco justice group in the Episcopal Church, the National Church every year, gives out grants to organizations to Episcopal churches, and we applied for one of those grants and received it.

34:51

And so we received.

34:54

If you look at mark a satellite picture of Marfa, Texas, the northern part of the town.

35:00

Trees galore. Southern part, no trees and, and separated by the railroad tracks, right? Other side of the track.

35:09

And so, um, we applied for a grant to plant grown trees in the, uh, affordable housing part of Martha and, uh, that grant, uh, was awarded to us and we work under the condition, it's.

35:29

To apply for the grant, you have to partner with another organization.

35:32

So we partnered with the Big Bend Conservation Alliance, which is an organization that obviously deals in, in ecology and conservation, but has really uses, um, the wisdom and the, uh, understanding of the indigenous people from this area, uh, the Mascalera Apache, the Jumanji, uh, Apache and the Lipan Apache are all, this is the ground we're on.

36:03

Um, and so, uh, the trees will be planted and be cared for.

36:09

We, members of St.

36:11

Paul's will partner with people who live in the affordable housing to care for, they'll adopt that tree and care for it.

36:19

It's wonderful. Yeah. And, and so it is, I mean, again, people might not understand the way racism works out here in the West.

36:27

Where, um, for many years, uh, people of Hispanic or Mexican descent were segregated from the schools.

36:37

And there's a video about the Blackwell School, which we did a couple of years ago that I'll, I'll link to in this video.

36:43

Um, but it's very much the case that across the tracks here in Marfa, life was lived very differently.

36:49

And you went to a different school where you were forced not to speak Spanish.

36:53

Um, the, the cemetery here is segregated, the, the white side and the Hispanic side.

37:00

And, uh, and then there are the three Apache bands who are part of this area as well.

37:06

So, part of what this is about is environmental racism and remediating that by bringing shade trees.

37:14

That will help both reduce the temperature in the neighborhood, but also, you know, increase the property values in that part of the world by by making it a nicer place to live.

37:25

And so this is really engaging in, um, what is over a century of, um, Of injustice.

37:33

So you're up to some good work here, Mike Wallens.

37:36

So, um, please come out and visit.

37:39

We'd love to have you see what goes on out here.

37:42

Participate in what goes out here. Join a RGBM, uh, pilgrimage.

37:48

Um, and I can guarantee you it will be fun, enlightening and challenging all at the same time.

37:57

Thanks be to God for you, Mike, and for everybody who's working for the Episcopal Church out here in the Big Bend.