Part 1 of a series…
By Allan Jamail
Jacinto City, TX. – January 21, 2023 the City of Jacinto City (JC) partnered with the Joseph House (JH) for an area-wide community outreach project to provide food and other services to those in need, out of the City’s old vacant library. Anyone needing help should first make an appointment by calling 281-936-8175 or 281-652-836. Do not go to the 1026 Mercury Drive Jacinto City facility or the main JH food bank at 7802 Jensen, Houston without having an appointment.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting (see photos) was well attended by city officials, community leaders, citizens, and Pastors of several churches who work with Pastor R.C. Stearns. After the opening ceremonies, attendees were provided a BBQ lunch and refreshments.
Pastor Stearns opened the event and thanked all who helped make the pantry possible. He thanked Mayor Ana Diaz and the city council, Councilman J.J. Rivas, City Manager Lon Squyres, Donna Parrott Dailey, Christopher Welch, B. J. Plettenberg, Dr. Sheila Wilson and others present for their help.
Ana Diaz, Mayor, thanked everyone and recognized city officials and workers. Each Councilmember present made a brief comment. Diaz said Councilman J. J. Rivas would be the city’s liaison with Stearns’ and Dr. Sheila Wilson the pantry’s Director.
Rivas said it was his mother-in-law, Donna Parrott Dailey, who actually was responsible for his involvement in bringing the Joseph House to the city. She had invited him to see the work for the needy at the main JH on Jensen and to see if he’d like to bring one to JC. It was then he decided he’d bring the idea to the city officials. Both Rivas and Dailey over several months promoted it until it was approved.
City Manager Lon Squyres said, “I work for the city council. Once they approved having a JH, I began doing what I could to make it possible.”
He said the city spent about two thousand dollars making the building suitable for use, and there is a small amount of funds budgeted if needed for later needs. The city will not charge a rental fee for the JH.
Yuorba Harris, Chief District Director for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, presented Stearns with a US flag flown at the Capitol and a certificate of recognition for his work in creating all the Joseph Houses. Linda Jamail, Community Liaison for State Rep. Ana Hernandez, presented him with a certificate of recognition and appreciation on behalf of his work and that of the Joseph Houses.
Pastor Robert C. Stearns, Chief Executive Officer of the Joseph Houses, created them in order to do community outreach for veterans, the disable, the elderly, and the needy. Stearns is the Pastor of the congregation of The Living Water’s I AM. He said, “God assigned me the work over 10 years ago. It is His Grace that places me here.”
Stearns said he decided to name the main Jensen Drive food warehouse The Joseph House because of the Bible story in Genesis 50, of Joseph helping his brothers and the Egyptians who were starving. The Bible says Joseph became the overseer of a vast amount of grain that he made available to the people of Egypt during a famine.
The first recorded history of other’s helping the needy with food can be found in Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19 when the poor were allowed to “glean” the leftover wheat from the harvest.
Pastor Don Jones, Senior Servant of the Ministry of Faith / House of Hope Church, was at Stearns’ church one day watching cars drive up to get food that Stearns made available to them. Stearns told Jones that God was going to provide a larger facility that would allow people to come and shop and choose what they wanted, as opposed to not having a choice. It came to pass and was so successful that Stearns had a vision of creating smaller JH’s. This too has came to pass. (See part 2 coming soon.)
Jacinto City’s first food distribution for the needy was in 1989. Allan Jamail said, “When I was Mayor and the late Don Horn, Secretary-Treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO, appointed me to set up a food distribution point in the city. Horn had been appointed by Harris County Judge Bill Elliot to be the Executive Director of Harris County’s Food Bank. I had City Manager JoAnn Griggs appoint Jeanie Diggs and her Assistant Rose Springs to be in charge. It operated out of the Community Center on Oates Road. It was truly a blessing from God back then, and to now have a Joseph House here.”