AZLE — It takes a lot of hard work and helping hands to make Azle the community it is.
First Methodist Church of Azle recognized and rewarded some of the helpers, Wednesday, Dec. 11. Using funds raised at its annual Lord’s Acre, the FMC made a combined donation of $11,177 to local nonprofits: the Community Caring Center, Good N.E.W.S Living at Home/Block Nurse Program, Safe Harbor and Eagle Mountain Pregnancy Help Center.
“We appreciate First Methodist for this donation today, because it does enable us to continue providing the technology, the resources, the supplies, both physical and material, to the clients that come to us in most need,” EMPHC Director Karen Ogea said. “So, we're very grateful for this congregation and the outpouring and the community to support the Lord's Acre and make this possible for us and for the people that we help.”
Leaders of the four organizations met with church leaders Pastor Ray Gilman, Stacy Johnson, B.J. Collins and Pat Noe, to receive their checks and discuss the future of charitable organizations in Azle. Each year the church chooses the recipients for its Lord’s Acre funds, with the same four Azle-based organizations having received $14,934.16 last year and $11,737.38 the year before that.
“Like many of the other nonprofits in the area, we've seen record growth this year, and just a huge increase in the number of families needing assistance of any kind,” CCC director Kristie Cooper said. “So, donations like this, to be able to count on it every year, year after year, means so much to us. It helps us plan for the future. It helps us fulfill our mission, and we know we have work to do, and we want to be the best that we can be at that mission. So, every year, the donation that comes in just helps us get one step closer to where we want to be and to do the job we want to do. So, we thank them. We know it takes a lot of effort and a lot of time to put on the event, so we appreciate it.”
Others in attendance agreed that the annual donation makes a major difference for their organizations. Terri Bartlett, who has headed up Good N.E.W.S. since 2000, recalls having received funds from the church every year of her tenure and in some critical instances, the amounts given have been just what was needed to keep the nonprofit afloat.
“It's just very touching, really, the people who are so willing to do the work and the planning and everything that goes into this donation so that we can help the seniors in the area and on the Good N.E.W.S. program,” Bartlett said. “It’s just, it's incredible. It's unique to our community, and it's very touching, and we appreciate it very much.”
Daniel Tiblets, a biblical counselor with Safe Harbor Counseling Center, said his organization will similarly use the funds to provide crisis counseling to rural residents and others who may have a difficult time receiving counseling resources.
“Any support helps us be able to reach out to those who need that extra love during the toughest times in life,” Tiblets said.
In order to establish clearer communication of needs and responsibilities for local nonprofits and getting over shared problems like a lack of transportation, these groups’ leaders discussed getting together and meeting more frequently in the future. Cooper remarked it would be useful to be able to share each other’s struggles, create lists and better organize to address community needs.
Congregants of the building on 200 Church Street have held a Lord’s Acre festival for about 55 years.