Dear Friends,

 

In the Book of Common Prayer, on page 445, the rubric states: "The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well-being of their families, and of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses."  Lent is a good time to remind us all "to make prudent provision.

 

Having a will or other estate plan is an important a part of our Christian faith and stewardship. For an adult Christian, having a valid will and estate plan is essential. I have read that 50% of Americans die without a valid will and allow the state courts to distribute their assets however the state thinks best. I remember there was an extremely influential and prominent attorney in one city in which I served a large parish. He specialized in the writing of wills. When he died, much to the astonishment of his family, he left no will. A significant part of his estate went to the government.

Our "Last Will and Testament" can actually be a "testament" of our personal faith and values. This is an important aspect of our Christian stewardship and we owe it to ourselves and to our families to make prudent provision. If you have an attorney to help you prepare your will and testament and have not yet done so, I pray you will do so immediately. Carol Scheffler is a great inspiration to us all. Having no family she left the Church of the Holy Faith a significant legacy that will continue to support the ministry of this parish in perpetuity. So, please be "instructed" and, if you have not already done so, please take action, for your sake and for God's sake.

 

God bless you,

Kenneth J.G. Semon

Sunday evening, April 11, at The Church of the Holy Faith.  During the Marriage Course, husbands and wives can expect a FANTASTIC ATMOSPHERE that many say makes it feel like a date night... a ROMANTIC TABLE FOR TWO giving you space to relax and chat... PRACTICAL TALKS that are informative and fun... TIME PROVIDED to talk on your own as a couple. 

You are given topics to discuss (sometimes with the help of an exercise). 

Music is played so you can't hear couples at other tables and they can't hear you!  NO GROUP WORK, SO RELAX!  You will not have to share anything about your relationship with anyone else.  Please call Father Norman at 982-4447, ext. 102 to sign up, or for more information.

 

The Holy Faith Mission and Outreach Committee has been formed and is eagerly anticipating a late spring 'launch' to meet the new mission: "To share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by facilitating mission and outreach efforts of the parish to the community of Santa Fe, and beyond."

Christine Williams chairs the committee which will initially disperse the funds generously provided by the Carolyn Scheffler estate. With success in these initial funding efforts the committee anticipates expanding opportunities for both local and international needs.

It is clear there will always be more requests than funds available so the committee's focus will be to provide funds with the greatest 'return' in fulfilling our mission statement. Our forecast timeline includes a May 1^st submittal deadline. Applications and more details will be available by mid-March.

 

The Mission and Outreach Committee is pleased to endorse a partnership of these two churches to send parishioners on a mission trip to help restore the facilities of a Christian camp in Guatemala.  On March 7^th Tom Simon, Martha and Ray Wallace with be at Sandia Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque for the commissioning of the eight member team who will travel to Guatemala in March as the first group to begin work at the camp.

Camp Mount Hebron (Campamento Monte Hebron) was established in the 1960s by a coalition of Protestant churches in the province of San Marcos, Guatemala.  The function of the camp was to have a location where Christians from distant communities could come together to study the Bible, listen to gifted preachers, as well as experience fellowship. Unfortunately in the 1980s and 1990s the camp was not used for long stretches of time due to the danger posed by the presence of rival armed forces occupying the area. The first work team will come as a building team for the repair of dormitories, bath houses, and a basketball court and will be working hand-in-hand with members of the Church of San Pablo, in San Pablo, Guatemala. 

 

At Holy Faith Deborah Simon, whose parents were missionaries in San Pablo and whose father was instrumental in forming the camp, with her husband, Tom will be on this mission trip.  Martha and Ray Wallace will be the points of contact for information and prayer. We hope Holy Faith may send a second working team in 2011.

 

 

Thanks to the generosity of the Holy Faith Guild, a new stove and convection oven were bought for the Palen Hall kitchen. All of the different ministries that use this kitchen have expressed their gratitude for this gift. They are both much safer and efficient for use.  This might be a good time to review several safety features in the kitchen.

 

Both of them were installed with wheels to allow access for service behind the units, and above on the hood, and for when items fall behind! If you need to move the stove or oven for some reason, two of the four wheels have brakes that need to be released before attempting to move the unit.  Each unit has a cable securing it to the wall that needs to be unsnapped. The gas line is a special hose that is very flexible and it has a special shut-off disconnect. Instructions are wired to the disconnect junction. Each unit also has a shut off valve in the gas line. The main shut off of the gas line to the kitchen is located in the Palen Hall boiler room. After it is moved back into place and reconnected, the stove will require that the pilot lights be relit, while the oven has a switch.  Instructions for use of the oven are near the oven and in the Hospitality book.

 

No combustibles should be stored on the shelf above the burners.

 

Future capital plans are to upgrade the exhaust hood and install a fire suppression system in the hood along with a fire alarm system detector(s). Note, currently there are no fire alarm detectors in the kitchen. There are two fire extinguishers in the kitchen, each near one of the two exits.  Please note their locations.

 

Directions for the operation of the convection oven are attached to the oven and an extra set is in the Hospitality binder that is kept in the kitchen. Several ministries are also helping to compose clean up procedures for after use of either the stove or the oven.

 

Are you looking for some used household items? We continue to focus on organizing our limited storage spaces, and we need to dispose of surplus property for which we have no room. The second floor classrooms are coming back into use as classrooms; items that were stored there but have no longer any use here need to be sold or tossed (pool table, desk, wing chairs, auto scrubber, several miscellaneous chairs and tables).  Please contact the Junior Warden, Scott Bernard or myself if you are interested in looking at any of these items.

 

We are "gearing up" for Easter, preparing the grounds for spring, and for the installation of the new columbarium in April. Planned work days are March 6, March 27, April 17, and May 1. Remember all ages and skills are welcomed. Even sidewalk supervisors or storytellers are welcomed on those days!!!!! We start at 9:00 am and end by noon.  Everyone has an enjoyable time.  Plus, it is a fun way to meet others here at the church.

 

The columbarium project will include filling in the old kitchen window well in the Garth, and filling in the doorway behind the new convection oven. Plus, we will be looking at repairing and redirecting the gutters in the Garth. Along with these capital projects the Gift Shop will be funding new landscaping of the Garth.

 

Anyone interested in learning more about what capital projects are being planned in 2010 or in future years is always welcomed to contact me or Scott.

 

Thank you,

Bill Adrian

 

Royal School of Church Music - Enrollment is open for the Royal School of Church Music. Please call the RSCM Director, Monika Cosson-Sheppard, at 982-4447 ext. 112, to learn more about this exciting program for children's musical training and choir.

Dr. Laurence Lisa Lebreton, who works part-time at Holy Faith in addition to her practice, will be participating in the relief efforts of Acupuncturists and Doctors Without Borders in Haiti in early June. As a native French speaker and practicing Doctor of Oriental and Energy Medicine she has been invited to aid patients recovering from surgery and those suffering from pain or trauma. For this mission, she is paying her own expenses and is hoping to help defray her costs with donations. To make a contribution online, visit Laurence's website:

www.holisticmedicinenow.com  Checks earmarked "Haiti Relief Effort-Lebreton" can also be sent to Laurence at her Acupuncture Community Clinic, 505 Camino de los Marquez, Santa Fe, 87501. 

 

The Holy Faith Gift Shop will reopen on Sunday, March 7, with our new spring merchandize - lots of surprises- and the new 2010 signed, numbered and dated Lawrence Baca crosses. Please stop by!

The extra Photo Directories are here! If you haven't already picked yours up, they will be available in Palen Hall between services, and during the week. Due to the cost of the directories, please take only one per household. If you had your photo taken, or if you submitted a photo, your directory will be labeled for you. Our online directory is also in the works! Thanks to parishioner Frank Hart we'll be on the internet in a secure (password protected) format soon!

Friends of Santa Fe Jazz - will offer a St. Patrick's Day Jazz Brunch featuring Jazz trumpeter Bobby Shew with the John Trentacost Trio, Sunday, March 14, beginning at 11:45 am at Fuego Restaurant. (Our neighbors at La Posada.)  Tickets to the Brunch are $50 per person, and are available through the Lensic Box Office, 988-1234. 

Albertson's Community cards - Temporary cards are here! Help raise funds for youth programs at Holy Faith by using a "Community Card" when you shop at Albertsons. Simply scan it at the register and Holy Faith will receive 1% of the total of all purchases up to $50,000; 5% on everything over $50,000 per quarter. The pink temporary cards will be on the table next to piano in Palen Hall - please pick one up the next time you're at Church! We'll let you know when the permanent cards arrive.

Bishop Nominee Walk Abouts - In April, the candidates for the 9^th Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande will meet with lay people from the Diocese as follows:

April 9 - St. Andrew's, Roswell

April 10 - St. Paul's, Marfa

April 11 - TBA, El Paso

April 13 - St. John's Cathedral, Albuquerque

April 14 - St. Bede's, Santa Fe

 

The specific times of the meetings have not been announced, but they will be scheduled in the early evening. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend one of the meetings.

Lecture Series - Lord Cary of Clifton, Archbishop of Canterbury 1991- 2002, will be the presenter at the 3^rd Annual St. James' Bishop Terence Kelshaw Lecture Series, at St. James' Church in Clovis, New Mexico, March 19 & 20.  Registration forms are available in Palen Hall, or by contacting The Reverend Ben Wright, Rector of St. James', at stjamesrector@plateautel.net, or (575)763-4638.  The registration fee is $60, and includes dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday. Childcare will be available on request.

Bishop Carey will also speak at the Cathedral of St. John on Friday, March 12, at 7:00 pm, in the context of a Choral Evensong.  Lady Eileen Carey will speak at an English-style Tea on Mothering Sunday, March 14, at the Cathedral of St. John, at 4:00 pm. Tickets for the Tea are $30, which will benefit the Cathedral's Choir. If you would like to attend the Tea, please send your check directly to the Cathedral of St. John, 318 Silver Avenue, Albuquerque, NM, 87103, and write "Choir Tea" in the memo line.

Workshop on Celtic Christianity - The Right Reverend Rustin and Gretchen Kimsey will present a workshop exploring the Celtic world of Ireland and Scotland during the 700 year from St. Patrick's mission in 432 AD, until the coming of the Anglo/Norman occupation in the 12^th century, March 23 and 24, at Our Lady of Las Palomas Interfaith Retreat Center, Columbus, NM. For more information, please see www.ourladyoflaspalmosa.org, or call (575) 531-1101.

The chill of our snowy winter days is softened by the warmth of the generosity of spirit that donors contribute with volunteer time, talents and treasures for our clients.  The cold temperatures continue to challenge clients' budgets, especially with higher gas and propane bills.  Unemployment continues at a high level and creates ever more stress on housing expenses, especially with the weather delays for already minimal construction activity.

 

Faith at Work has received 230 initial calls for assistance through February.  Over 70 of those calls came in on Monday, February 1^st.  Individuals requested housing and utilities assistance for 105 and 92 households, respectively through February 25th.  Although we could not provide financial assistance to everyone, we did counsel clients regarding other potential resources including LIHEAP and unemployment funds for which they seemed to be eligible.  The economy in Santa Fe may be expanding for staffing in the hospitality and health care industries, however, there continue to be many people under- and unemployed in construction and related areas.  An ongoing issue for mothers of children five years old and under is quality childcare that would better enable them to move into the job market. 

 

Families and individuals continue to "downsize" and Faith at Work assists them to acquire household items that will help them feel more at home in their new surroundings.  Recent furniture donations have been moved directly into client homes.  Our ongoing goal is "flow through" of donated items to people who can readily use them.

 

This month items desired for our clients include wash cloths, hand towels, queen or standard size blankets, pillows, queen size sheets, all sizes of mattresses and springs, couches and chairs, and area rugs; men's and women's boots and sneakers, toiletries including shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, body lotion, lip balm, deodorant, sun block, men's and women's gloves, and winter hats for men.  Food items desired include smaller bottles of pancake syrup, meals in a can, boxes of powdered milk, pancake mix, fruit juices and snacks.

 

Faith at Work has several opportunities for volunteers.  We currently have 23 individuals who make significant contributions of their time to ensure the operation of Faith at Work flows as smoothly as it does.  We invite referrals from others as well.  Please help to spread the word that there are indeed "good works" to be done with us through which lives in Santa Fe can be positively supported.

 

Blessings to All,

Angela Merkert, Executive Director

 

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

 

Tom Spray - 1

Mary Polk - 2

Kitty Atterbury - 3

Marj Gallun - 3

Margot Tewes - 3

Ann Rolley - 4

Suzanne Staley - 4

Herman Barkmann - 5

Mike McGonagle - 7

Eleanor Ortiz - 7

Jane Chavez - 8

William Miller - 9

Kathryne Anson - 10

Ron Crawford - 10

Carolyn McCollum - 12

Richard Morton - 13

Margaret Sowden - 13

Mary Dare Ellis - 14

Kathryn Wallace - 14

Doug Fine - 15

Edward Binkley - 16

Mike Ward - 16

James Spivey - 17

Norm Airey - 18

Arden Trickey-Glassman - 18

Priscilla Zimmerman - 18

Haley Curtin - 19

Oren Ellis - 19

Ann Casady - 20

Andrew Trickey-Glassman - 20

Judy Youens - 20

Jean Kempenich - 21

Jim Clapp - 22

Marjorie Dobyns - 22

Cameron Webster - 22

Amy Jones - 24

Emily Davis - 24

Alyssa Smith - 25

Kathryn Campbell - 29

Carol Chavez - 29

Ellen Windham - 29

Doug Whitehurst - 30

Evelyn Longenette - 31

 

Attendance at  Sunday Worship Services in February                         7:30                   8:30                11:00   February 7          11                       99                120 February 14        21                     102                141 February 21        18                       99                123 February 28        15                     106                148