Fr. Tom Gray speaking at the 2011 Clergy Conference in Las Cruces. |
It is with deep sadness that we write to inform you that The Rev. Tom Gray died Monday morning at his home in Carlsbad. While we await further information from the family, they have requested your prayers for Father Gray, and for them, as they grieve. We will be sure to send along any additional information regarding funeral plans as soon as they are available.
Father Tom began his ministry in the Rio Grande at St. Thomas of Canterbury in Albuquerque in the early '80s, but also served as
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+Requiescat in Pace+
Fr. Thomas W. Gray
+ + +
May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen
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Rector at St. John's Church in Alamogordo, Rector at Grace Church in Carlsbad, as Southwest Area Dean and most recently as long-term supply at St. Stephen's Church in Fort Stockton.
Cards may be sent to the family at the address below. No flowers please.
Mrs. Jane Gray
108 East Orchard Lane
Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220
+ + +
Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Tom. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.
+ + +
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News from
The Episcopal Church
& the Anglican Communion
(click on the headline to read the story)
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ECW Zooming in for Conference Sept. 12 |
All women in Province VII are invited to a Zoom Conference titled "Carry the Light of Love" on September 12 at 9:00a.m. Province VII, also called the Province of the Southwest, consists of the Dioceses of Arkansas, Dallas, Fort Worth, Kansas, Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Rio Grande, Texas, West Missouri, West Texas, Western Kansas and Western Louisiana.
The live conference will be limited to the first 100 registrants, however a recording of the event will be available to those unable to join us live.
Once registration is full, all additional registrants will be notified once the recording is available.
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Spiritual Support for UNM/CNM Students |
St. Thomas of Canterbury Young Adults & Campus Ministry are offering spiritual support for Albuquerque and Rio Rancho we would like to place a notice for young adults and/or college age students affiliated with UNM or CNM and are looking for a place of spiritual support. We will be having 5 PM Sunday services starting in September. The meetings will temporarily be hybrid with a limited in person attendance, but with virtual Zoom/FB accessibility.
For more information, call +505 639-0653 or email jicv@unm.edu.
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St. Thomas is located at 425 University Blvd. NE. |
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LGBTQ+ Evening Prayer September 13 |
There will be a service of Evening Prayer for the LGBTQ+ Community and our allies in the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande on Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm (mountain time). This gathering will be held virtually in a Zoom format. The link is below. After the liturgy has concluded everyone is invited to stay in the meeting for some virtual social time. We would love to check in and see how everyone is doing. Everyone is welcome to attend.
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Weekly Drive-Thru Communion accommodates All Saints Parishioners |
By the Rev. Phil Dougharty
The El Paso Times ran a story on August 26 by reporter Alex Dalton that featured All Saints Episcopal Church’s outreach to the All Saints community with “Drive by” communion. All Saints has been meeting parishioners in the front driveway for about 10 weeks with safely packaged wafers and wine, administered as the Holy Sacraments consecrated in the preceding service, which is live streamed on Facebook. Offering communion in this way also allows for brief check-ins to occur on a regular basis.
All Saints is a congregation of older folks for whom returning to the nave will present challenges for some time. For most, the most
difficult element of the pandemic situation is not being able to participate, particularly, in the regular partaking of Communion. The Drive by
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Pauline Sanchez receives communion from Fr. Phil Dougharty at All Saints, El Paso, for the weekly drive-through.( Photo courtesy of Alex Dalton, El Paso Times)
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communion has allowed many to return to “church” in this most important aspect.
Dalton interviewed several communicants as they were in line to partake. They seemed to express that this event helps to keep them connected to the Community, as well as giving a chance to at least see and wave at those we miss
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Discernment:
Deep Listening for our own sacred voice to guide us
in these turbulent times
A retreat with Carolyn Metzler
We are keenly aware that we live in a time of radically disturbing change. This retreat is an invitation to look at discernment itself as a muse to guide us to wise, fearless, and embodied engagement in these unsettling and complex times.
What might be blocking us from learning new ways of seeing and understanding our current circumstances within a larger story? How do we sometimes sabotage our heart's deepest desire?
Deeper discernment skills help us to "see" in new ways which enable us not just to make clearer personal decisions but also to discover different ways of being and engaging in the world.
The interactive format for this online retreat will include guided conversations and times of silence as well as stories, poetry, music, and images.
Once registered, participants will be sent an email with some exercises created to invite deeper awareness of your personal history of discernment in preparations for your retreat experiences.
The Zoom link for the retreat will be sent the week of the retreat to those who have registered.
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* * *
Facilitator: The Rev. Carolyn Metzler, an Episcopal priest, has recently retired from being spiritual director to the Living School for Action and Contemplation. She considers herself a baby crone and lives full time in the wilderness of western New Mexico. Carolyn has led retreats on Discernment and Wilderness Spirituality in many parts of the United States.
* * *
Dates and Times:
Friday, Sept.18, 7pm-8pm;
Sat., Sept.19, 9am-1pm;
Sun., Sept.20, 10am-12pm.
Fee: $55.00 (or whatever your circumstances allow at this time.)
Make checks out to, "Stillpoint".
Mail to: 1625 Huntley Road, Bellingham WA, 98226
OR use PayPal when you register
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The Tents to Rents fundraiser in Las Cruces for Camp Hope (the tent city at the Mesilla Valley
Community of Hope) is going well……we are just over halfway to our goal of $59,000. And St. Andrew’s is over halfway to our goal of $1,000. But we would like to do so much more. So we at St. Andrew’s Las Cruces thank all of you for helping us knock this out of the park by raising $5,000 this year.
The recent thunderstorms delivered needed rain, something we desert dwellers often love, but flash floods and lightning can be more than challenging when you don’t have shelter. If you have ever sheltered in a tent during a desert thunderstorm, you know that it can be a frightening and uncomfortable experience.
At Camp Hope, people live in tents in a safe community, but when summer temperatures rise to over 100 degrees, the interior of their tents easily and often reach 130 degrees.
While Camp Hope can provide a
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place of community and shelter, the transitional living space can only provide so much comfort.
Today, please consider donating to the Tents to Rents event. Our goal is $59,000 to help move people from Camp Hope to stable housing. Go to tentstorents.org and click on St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Or click here to learn more about Tents to Rents! Please send this message out to your social media group to help us spread the news!
Thank you!
Nancy McMillan, Parishioner,
St. Andrew’s Las Cruces
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Education for Ministry (EfM) Opportunities |
Education for Ministry is a four-year program of the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee), although participants make commitment annually. The first year uses the Old Testament to learn about the history and context. The second year explores the New Testament. The third year looks at the history of Christianity, and the fourth year examines one’s own faith development.
Church of the Good Shepherd, Silver City, Online Education for Ministry (EfM) group will meet weekly from September through May on Zoom. If you have considered EfM but have not been able to join a group due to location or time, I would invite you to consider this online option. The group will meet on Thursdays from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. The class is scheduled to start on September 10 but registration may be extended through September 18. For more information or to enroll contact online EfM mentor Jeanie Locicero at (575)313-7190 or jeanielocicero@gmail.com
The Cathedral of St. John in downtown Albuquerque will be starting an Education for Ministry (EfM) group that will meet weekly from September through May at Of course, we will be starting out meeting through Zoom this September but are looking forward to being together in person again some time during the year.
Any interested person is welcome to enroll as long as they can meet together with us when we return to our in person group. We currently have a participant who will join us each week from near Belen. For more questions including tuition and enrollment for the 2020-2021 program year, contact EfM mentor Joanne Gray at 505-450-9934 or jgray59@msn.com. Class is scheduled to start in September 2020.
The Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe, is organizing its first EfM group this fall 2020. The group will likely start online in the fall and switch to face-to-face when it is safe to do so. The group meets weekly for about 2 ½ hours. The actual day and time is dependent on the group wishes. The mentor at Holy Faith is Steven Berkshire, who has been involved in the program for 20 years.
Interested individuals can contact Steve directly at 505.557.6576 or via email berks1sd@yahoo.com.
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Our Lady in the Valley launched an evening Zoom discussion group called the “Weekly Word” on August 25. The Rev'd Chloe Chavez and Deborah Tischler---a national Bible Study podcaster, retreat facilitator, member of Hope in the Desert and Daughters of the King, co-host the discussion. Anyone is welcome to join us. For more information, please contact Rev'd Chavez directly at revchloe@olvepiscopalabq.org. |
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Diakoneo Magazine
August, 2020
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• Deacons respond to COVID-19
• A brave space for racial healing
• Who were the deaconesses?
Association for Episcopal Deacons
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The Rev. Dr. Jeanine Driscoll of St. Thomas of Canterbury provides guidance on:
+ Managing Anxiety
+ Managing Depression
and much more....
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Are your Brotherhood of St. Andrew Chapters or men's groups meeting with zoom? If so and if invited, Roy Benavides, roy.benavides@brothersandrew.net, and Tom Bates, thomasjbates7@gmail.com would like to join you. Roy is the BStA Province 7 President and Tom is the DRG BStA Coordinator. Thank you for your support.
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In the Loop is a publication
of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
6400 Coors Blvd. NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87120
(505)881-0636 www.dioceserg.org
In the Loop is distributed Tuesday for publication Wednesday.
The submission deadline is noon on Monday.
To submit articles for In the Loop send to:
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Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)
Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
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