OUR LADY’S UPDATE

MESSAGE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR

Every once in a while someone comes into your life that brings a light into the room when they enter, and you can still feel that warm glow after they leave. At the shelter, we have been blessed to have someone like that in our lives for the last 6 years, and her name was Jane Montgomery. Jane was a dedicated volunteer at the shelter and very significant to the work we do with the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, that brings in some financial reim-bursement to the shelter. Because of her diligence to excellence, OLAMS won the TPCN first place award for Program Integrity in 2012. As their Executive Director, John McNamara, said about our winning that award, “You have now set the bar for excellence very high that all oth-er agencies must try to meet,” and Jane was instrumental in setting those standards.

Jane was very active in her community in Salado; she loved her Bible Study group, the weekly bowling league, and she was a very faithful member of the Cowboy Church in Sala-do. Everyone who knew Jane, couldn’t help but love her friendly disposition, love for her family, and her generous spirit.

On the day we learned that Jane had died suddenly, my first response was “Heaven has an-other angel today.” And although we won’t physically see Jane anymore at the shelter, that warm glow of love she left behind will always be felt, and she will be missed.

JaLeta

Fall/Winter 2013 Volume 11

OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS MATERNITY SHELTER

NEED FOR VOLUNTEERS

We are looking for volunteers who can relieve the House Parents every Sunday in 4 hour blocks of time; 9-1 and 1-5 pm

The Sisters, who serve as our permanent House Parents, belong to the religious order, The Sisters of Sacred Sciences. They have requested Sundays as a day off together from the shelter for mass and prayer.

Please call the shelter at (254) 742-2340 if you would be interested in volunteering.

Sister Bibiana Induar, Sister Nilam Xess and Sister Frisca Guria

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President, Louis Maspero Dr. Jose Cesani Phil Everett Gwen Petter

Vice-President, Dr. Bill Hamilton Rev. Tom Chamberlain Kim Kroll Jerry Samu

Secretary, Ann Bierschenk Rev. Ranjan Cletus Jane McBride

Dr. Kimberly Pilkinton-Atkins Ann Cooney Msgr. Louis Pavlicek

ANGELS AMONG US

In August, the shelter had a Come and Go reception to say farewell to Sister Sini , who has been a House Parent of OLAMS since 2007. Sister Si-ni is leaving her work at the shelter to pursue completing her Master’s De-gree in Theology.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING:

OLAMS

Appreciates all

the volunteers and

donors who give so

generously of their time,

talent, and treasures to make

this ministry possible. Here are

just a few of the gifts we received:

Sheila Berning—Shelter Consultant

Phil Leibowitz, Jr.—Insurance Consultation

Novosad Electric– Electrical repairs and service

Steve Roeder—Computer repairs and maintenance

Phil and Mary Ann Everett— Yard work and shelter repairs

Tom Pechal—CPR/1st Aid Certification training for staff & volunteers

Josephine Guardado—Health Screenings for new residents and their children

Janis & Kenith Bartz—Weekly donation of fresh eggs for the shelter residents

Rabroker AC & Heating—Labor, repairs & installation for two new ac motors

Ed McCrae—Monthly maintenance check on shelter’s fire extinguishers, ac filters

Ye Olde English Bakery—Weekly donation of breads & pastries for the shelter residents

We are so thankful for our hard-working Volunteers and Sub-House Parents:

Frances Elliott

Louise Leyden

Dolores Lopez

Francyne Madler

Mary Ann McCrea

Janie Petter-Hattemer

over 57 hours teaching Sister Nilam how to drive. Sister Nilam received her Drivers License April 9, 2013.

.

Phil Everett volunteered

Special thanks to Bill Keller who spent many hours

donating his time to repair the downstairs hallway flooring and supply the new flooring that was damaged from an

overflowing water heater.

In 2013 a garage sale was held with 8 volunteers

who raised $1,181.72 for the shelter. Within the last 7 years, this same

group has raised $8,002.04 for OLAMS.

Please join Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter

as we celebrate our

Eleventh Annual Benefit Banquet

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2014

Bell County Expo Center

301 West Loop 121

Belton, TX

This year’s Banquet will feature:

Sister Teresa Cruz, MCM of the

International Leadership Council for the

Cordi-Marian Sisters and

First House Parent at OLAMS

Social Hour and Silent Auction 6-7 pm

followed by Dinner and Program from 7:15-9 pm

Tickets are $50/individual dinner or $375/table of 8

For Reservations, please call St. Luke’s Catholic Church at

(254) 773-1561

OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS OPENS ARMS TO THOSE IN NEED Jamie Smith had been in Temple for two weeks when she found herself out on the street. She was preg-nant and had left her former home with nothing. “It didn’t take long for me to figure out I wasn’t in a good position,” Smith said. Police took Smith to Humble House, a shelter that serves men. Humble House called Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter. “Many of the girls end up at the shelter because they finally accept their living conditions are too unstable” Smith said. “What I want to get across is that at our lowest, when you call here somebody says, ‘Yes, come on ’” she said.

“I was so grateful. From the moment they open the door their arms are wide open.” Smith, 40, now has a beautiful 7-month-old boy, Joules Simeon Smith, who was born June 15 after his mother established a home for them. His name is derived from science and religion. Joules is a unit of energy, work or heat, and ac-cording to the Book of Genesis, Simeon was the founder of the Israelite tribe of Simeon. Originally from New Orleans, Smith grew up in the middle of Mississippi and finished college in New Orleans, with a bache-lor’s degree in biology. After Katrina, Smith bounced around, living in five states in five years. She first went to Memphis and stayed there for three years before returning to New Orleans, where she discovered there were no job opportunities for her. “When I got to the shelter anything I needed they had it, even underwear,” she said. “A lot of these women come with children. I can’t imagine being in a really bad predicament with children and suddenly be homeless.”

Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter is a 90-day emergency shelter with a goal to make sure the resi-dents are taken care of medically and connected with available social services. Sisters of the Sacred Sci-ences, a religious society founded in India, staff the shelter. The shelter was close to full while Smith was there, said JaLeta Tidmore, shelter administrator “She was a good leader and the other women looked to her for guidance,” Tidmore said. Residents have assigned chores and take turns fixing the meals. Smith introduced the sisters to Cajun food and she liked to grill, so the residents spent many evenings in the back-yard drinking sweet tea and talking. “Each resident gets a service plan, a daily to-do list, which might include applying for WIC or going to a doctor’s appointment” Tidmore said.

“Staying here allowed me to get a place of my own” she said. “It allowed me to work toward getting a vehi-cle and a job.” Soon after arriving at the shelter, Smith found a job. “We bought her a bus pass and she used that to get where she needed to go until she could get a car,” Tidmore said. The structured life the shelter offered was a welcome change for Smith. Smith took every parenting class available at Hope Preg-nancy Center. “She was so intent on being a good mom.” Tidmore said. Because Smith was diligent in at-tending the classes, the pregnancy center continues to help her with diapers and baby clothes. “Once a month I go there and get diapers if I need them, or I trade in Joules’ old clothes and they give me new stuff, or I can buy things for pennies on the dollar,” she said.

Smith attended classes at Temple Fire & Rescue, where she was given a car seat after learning how to cor-rectly install it, and at McLane Children’s Hospital where she received a play pen. “There’s never a shortage of food, love or prayer,” Smith said of the shelter. “There’s an overwhelming sense of security. The counsel-ing and the spiritual nature of the shelter are a help” she said. Smith had been working for a home health company and her immediate plans are to become a substitute teacher with one of the area school districts. She wants to re-main in Temple to raise her son. “My hopes for Joules are that he stays healthy and happy, has a safe and good life, and that he’s a good person,” Smith said. “He’s such a good baby. I’m blessed.”

Janice Gibbs, Temple Daily Telegram

At Our Lady of the Angels, we always have ongoing needs:

The majority of items we receive at the shelter are for the babies and children, and without these donations we couldn’t meet the needs of the moms we help. However, many of our moms at the shelter are in need of personal items for themselves, and although the shelter provides whatever has been turned in as donations, it would also be nice to offer NEW items for the moms. Some of these items might include: maternity gowns, tennis shoes and socks, house shoes or flip-flops. Gift cards would be great too, for special items such as maternity undergarments. During the winter months we always need warm clothing, such as sweatshirts and pants, coats and jackets.

ANOTHER IMMEDIATE NEED

OTHER ITEMS NEEDED:

newborn baby clothes

diapers

formula

baby wipes

coats/jackets

maternity clothes

shoes for moms

As we start a new year, it’s important to look at the mission of Our Lady of the Angels to make sure that each and every day we do everything possible to meet the needs of every young mother and child who stay at our shelter. Women learn of our shelter from a variety of different sources: pregnancy centers, shelters that cannot house pregnant women, word of mouth from friends or family; the phone book, and now more frequently, the internet. As technology advances, we find that we have not been able to stay up with the times with our website. The young lady who designed our website in 2009 was the depend-ent of a soldier at Ft. Hood. She was from England, and eventually moved back to England when her hus-band was sent to Iraq. We have made numerous calls to other agencies for assistance with our website, but so far, no one has stepped up to help. If you or anyone you know can help us with this immediate need to update our current website, please have them contact us. We believe this will be a great tool to reach those who are looking for a shelter such as OLAMS. Please call JaLeta at (254) 742-2340 if you are interested in helping.

Everlasting God:

You have ordained and constituted, in a wonderful order, the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

OUR LADY OF THE

ANGELS MATERNITY

SHELTER

613 S. 9th St.

Temple, TX 76504 Phone:(254)742-2340

(Toll Free) 1-877-542-2340 Fax:(254)742-1050

Email: olams@att.net

Please make check payable and mail to:

Our Lady of the Angels

Maternity Shelter 613 South 9th Street Temple, TX 76504

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