By Violeta Rocha
Special to Revista Católica Dallas
Instead of hauling construction materials as he does most days, José Gutiérrez used his trailer to transport donations collected by Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church parishioners on Sunday, May 31, to support victims of an explosion at The Clyde, an apartment building in Oak Cliff.
A gas explosion May 28 triggered a five-alarm fire and destroyed the building, claiming the lives of three people — including a child, injuring at least four others who were hospitalized, and leaving more than 20 families without homes.
“What God has given us must be put at the service of others,” said Gutiérrez, who has been part of the parish young adult ministry at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish for the past seven years.
About 20 young adults from the ministry volunteered May 31 to help organize donations inside one of the parish’s halls.
On the morning of June 1, the donations were delivered to Mission Oak Cliff, an organization that has served the Dallas area for more than 75 years and is part of Cliff Temple Baptist Church.
The organization announced that moving forward it will only accept personal hygiene items, water, and diapers.
Members of the Arcoiris group will continue collecting these items during the weekend of June 7–8.
A remarkable response
“Pope Francis said we are a living Church,” Gutiérrez said, “and that means we must reflect that by showing mercy to those experiencing these disasters,”
The young adults’ initiative included collecting, organizing, storing, and transporting bottled water, canned food, boxes of wipes, bags of clothing, blankets, pillows, and various personal hygiene items using Gutiérrez’s trailer.
The group also collected cash and gift cards, along with toys and a crib mattress.
Patricia Medrano, a longtime Blessed Sacrament parishioner connected to the parish young adult ministry and the pro-life ministry in the Diocese of Dallas, initiated the donation drive through a social media post the morning after the explosion.
“I was born and raised in Oak Cliff, and I still spend a lot of my time there — it’s home for me,” Medrano began in her social media message.
The generosity of the community was immediate.
“We received full support from our parish,” Medrano said. “Our pastor gave us the green light to collect donations, and we were allowed to store everything in a parish hall.”
The donated items were based on a list provided by Mission Oak Cliff.
“At the end of the day, we are the face of Christ,” Medrano said. “God moves in every heart — even people who are not part of a parish came forward to give. For me, that is already a miracle.”
Ismael Contreras, current coordinator of Blessed Sacrament’s young adult ministry, attended W.H. Adamson High School, which is located across the street from the destroyed building.
“I grew up in this community,” he said. “I used to pass by those apartments, and what happened really hurt because these are people close to us.”
Most donations arrived May 31, as the parish’s Bethlehem Hall filled steadily from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“It brings me great joy and peace to see that people truly care for one another,” said María Vásquez, who arrived late in the afternoon to donate canned food and juice.
José Francisco Manzo, director of religious education at Blessed Sacrament, described the donations as “a drop in an ocean of need.”
“We hope it will be a great blessing for all the families in need,” he said.
Cutline for featured image: Jose Gutierrez, left, David Monjaraz and Ismael Contreras, work together to load donations for the victims of an apartment explosion, on May 31 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish in Dallas. (BEN TORRES/Special Contributor)
