From the Headmaster

A Word From the Perot Family Headmaster

Our Faith Drives Change

Change does not ride a bicycle. It is driven.

St. Philip’s was established over 70 years ago as a parish of the Episcopal Diocese. Upon establishment, the members identified a juvenile delinquency problem in the surrounding community. Rather than ignoring the issue, the church responded with ministry and the rest is history. Today, far too many churches are “drive-in” facilitators, which effect minimal change within the communities where they reside.

As a school and community center, St. Philip’s is a triple A: We are an Anchor. We are an Advocate. We are an Agent for Change to advance the neighborhood and anointed soils we choose to call home.

The South Dallas/Fair Park community is in recovery. Five decades ago, legislation and growing neglect resulted in the intentional over-saturation of 373 liquor-related businesses within this four-mile area of Dallas. In fact, thirty-nine of those businesses were once within four blocks of St. Philip’s campus. This triggered a blight that literally stripped away PROGRESS, POTENTIAL, and PROMISE from South Dallas.

We use the word recovery in connection with the redemptive power of FAITH. We are standing on the rock-solid faith of that small but mighty St. Philip’s parish of 70+ years ago who chose to look and serve beyond the walls of the church. Today, of the thirty-nine liquor related businesses within four blocks of our campus, only seven remain. In addition, twenty-seven transactional drug properties within that same radius have been shut down, along with a disreputable motel. Over the course of the last thirty years, like an antibody, faith has fueled the construction of twenty-two Habitat for Humanity houses and fifty-one housing units within four blocks of our campus.

South Dallas’ recovery has included prescriptive measures. Our neighborhood now has a senior citizens’ transportation program, a client-choice food pantry through the North Texas Food Bank, and a thriving Meals on Wheels program, in partnership with

Visiting Nurses Association, which distributes "St. Philip’s is a 1,100 meals a day to the homes of the elderly. There is also a free legal clinic and hot meals triple A: We are are served in the evenings on our campus for an Anchor. We are youth. an Advocate. We Change does not simply arrive. It does not ride a bicycle. It is driven. St. Philip’s firmly are an Agent for embraces the privilege to pray in school and in our community services. Our faith has

Change..." been the fuel that has given St. Philip’s School & Community Center the boldness to drive community change. We continue to stand with our neighbors to oppose adverse zoning petitions, along with linking vital social services and resources through thoughtful collaborations. We surrender to the acknowledgment that we are not driving. HE is our chauffeur and pilot. Blessings, Dr. Terry J. Flowers