{"id":55489,"date":"2025-12-05T04:20:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T04:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=55489"},"modified":"2025-12-05T04:20:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T04:20:43","slug":"faith-communities-hold-memorial-services-for-flood-victims-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/it\/learn\/faith-communities-hold-memorial-services-for-flood-victims-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith communities hold memorial services for flood victims in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n Camp Mystic alumnae sing songs after a memorial service on July 7, 2025, for the young campers who perished in floods last week. \/ Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Houston, Texas, Jul 8, 2025 \/ 17:51 pm (CNA).<\/p>\n

The faith communities of the Texas Hill Country flood victims are rallying in support of the families with Masses, rosaries, and memorial services. <\/p>\n

The Fourth of July flood disaster near the central Texas town of Kerrville, where the Guadalupe River rose 35 feet<\/a> in the early morning hours, has claimed over 100 lives so far, including more than 30 young children, with many more still unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

Especially affected was Camp Mystic, the 100-year-old Christian girls\u2019 camp in Hunt, Texas.\u00a0At least 27 campers there perished, with several more, including a counselor, not yet recovered.<\/p>\n

Over the last few days, schools and churches in Houston, where many current and former Camp Mystic families reside, have held prayer services and Masses for the victims and their families.<\/p>\n

\"Mourners
Mourners pray in a chapel outside of the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston on July 7, 2025, after a memorial service for the Camp Mystic girls who perished in the floods in central Texas last week. Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an email, Father Sean Horrigan, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, asked the community for prayers for the family of Anna Margaret Bellows, 8, a parishioner who was one of the 27 girls who died in the flood.<\/p>\n

He said funeral details were forthcoming.<\/p>\n

St. John Vianney Church held a memorial Mass on Monday, July 7, for Molly DeWitt, another of the young girls who passed away.<\/p>\n

A filled-to-overflowing memorial service for Camp Mystic families took place on July 7 at the Church of St. John the Divine, an Episcopal church with deep ties to the camp. Buried there is Anne Eastland Spears, former Camp Mystic chairman of the board and mother of camp director Dick Eastland, who lost his life while rescuing campers from the flood.<\/p>\n

The ministers spoke of Jesus\u2019 love for his children, especially when they suffer. St. John\u2019s rector, Rev. Leigh Spruill, encouraged those in mourning to \u201chave hope. Keep talking to God \u2026 He may seem absent now, but he hears everything and he is present.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Camp
Camp Mystic alumnae sing songs after a memorial service at the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston on July 7, 2025. Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Youth ministry director Rev. Sutton Lowe referred to the Gospel story of Jairus and his little girl, who died and whom Jesus raised from the dead. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we die, Jesus is there to touch us and say \u2018arise,\u2019 and there is new life beyond our imagining,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rev. Libby Garfield told mourners that \u201cthere is a path forward that is lined with the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the service, Camp Mystic alumnae of all ages gathered on the lawn north of the church, forming a large circle in the grass and singing camp songs, many of which were Christian hymns. <\/p>\n

Ashley Emshoff, an alumna who spoke to CNA after the memorial, told CNA that the camp forges bonds between campers that are lifelong and are \u201cas strong as family.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mystic alumna and St. John parishioner Alafair Hotze told CNA the Eastland family, who run the camp, became like family to generations of campers.<\/p>\n

\"Camp
Camp Mystic alumnae and family sing after the memorial service on July 7, 2025, honoring victims of the flash floods in Central Texas last week. Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emshoff and Hotze said that many Camp Mystic alumnae are so eager for their daughters to become part of the Mystic community that they write to the camp as soon as they find out they are pregnant with girls. The Eastlands respond with a Camp Mystic infant onesie for their newborn and a letter of congratulations (along with a place on the waitlist). <\/p>\n

Hotze said that Dick Eastland\u2019s death, while tragic, aligned perfectly with the man he was: \u201cHe taught us to be selfless and love as Christ loves,\u201d Hotze said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe died as he had lived,\u201d Hotze said: \u201cGiving his life for those he loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/265249\/faith-communities-hold-memorial-services-for-flood-victims-in-texas<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Camp Mystic alumnae sing songs after a memorial service on July 7, 2025, for the young campers who perished in floods last week. \/ Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA Houston, Texas, Jul 8, 2025 \/ 17:51 pm (CNA). The faith communities of the Texas Hill Country flood victims are rallying in support of the families with Masses, [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":71152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-55489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Faith-communities-hold-memorial-services-for-flood-victims-in-Texas.webp?fit=800%2C600&quality=75&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59448,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/it\/learn\/recovery-continues-1-month-after-deadly-floods-in-texas-hill-country\/","url_meta":{"origin":55489,"position":0},"title":"Recovery continues 1 month after deadly floods in Texas Hill Country","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"Agosto 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Camp Mystic alumnae and family sing after a memorial service on July 7, 2025, honoring victims of the flash floods in Central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend. \/ Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA Houston, Texas, Aug 4, 2025 \/ 06:00 am (CNA). One month has passed since some of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian News"","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/it\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Recovery continues 1 month after deadly floods in Texas Hill Country","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Recovery-continues-1-month-after-deadly-floods-in-Texas-Hill-Country.webp?fit=800%2C600&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Recovery-continues-1-month-after-deadly-floods-in-Texas-Hill-Country.webp?fit=800%2C600&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Recovery-continues-1-month-after-deadly-floods-in-Texas-Hill-Country.webp?fit=800%2C600&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Recovery-continues-1-month-after-deadly-floods-in-Texas-Hill-Country.webp?fit=800%2C600&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55168,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/it\/learn\/pope-leo-xiv-prays-for-victims-families-of-texas-flood-disaster\/","url_meta":{"origin":55489,"position":1},"title":"Pope Leo XIV prays for victims, families of Texas flood disaster","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"Settembre 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pope Leo XIV, speaking in English, expressed his \u201csincere condolences\u201d to \u201cfamilies who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe river in Texas in the United States\u201d after praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christian News"","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/it\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pope Leo XIV prays for victims, families of Texas flood disaster","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Pope-Leo-XIV-prays-for-victims-families-of-Texas-flood-disaster.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Pope-Leo-XIV-prays-for-victims-families-of-Texas-flood-disaster.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Pope-Leo-XIV-prays-for-victims-families-of-Texas-flood-disaster.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Pope-Leo-XIV-prays-for-victims-families-of-Texas-flood-disaster.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73743,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/it\/learn\/seek-2026-in-texas-opens-with-rock-concert-by-a-priest-mass\/","url_meta":{"origin":55489,"position":2},"title":"SEEK 2026 in Texas opens with rock concert by a priest, Mass","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"Febbraio 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Dozens of priests help distribute Communion to the 4,500 attendees at Mass on opening night of SEEK 2026 on the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Jan. 1, 2026, in Forth Worth, Texas. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid\/CNA Jan 2, 2026 \/ 19:25 pm (CNA). 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