A Call to Serve
The mission need is great!
- Española’s population is: 87% Hispanic, 9% Anglo, and 3% Native American.
- The U.S. Census reports that 35% of the population lives under the Federal poverty level.
- Over 25% of the 25 and older population haven’t graduated from high school or earned GED.
- Almost 60% of the children in McCurdy programs are being raised by non-parents.
- Rio Arriba County has one of the highest rates of death by heroin overdose in the United States.
- The rate of violent crime per 1,000 residents now is 26.14 (1 in 9 people impacted in Española).
We invite you to prayerfully consider booking
a Volunteer in Mission (VIM) Team in 2023.
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General Mission Tasks
When completing the mission application paperwork, volunteers are asked to complete a skills survey. McCurdy staff reviews each volunteer's skills set and assigns each volunteer to tasks that are within their capabilities, basically matching YOU to the tasks that works best for YOU!
Examples of some of the lighter tasks include general cleaning, data entry, and office work. Volunteers with construction skills may be asked to assist with major renovation and rehabilitation projects in existing campus buildings. Volunteers with a "green thumb" or who love to work outdoors may be assigned to help with weed-eating and mowing the grounds of the 29-acre campus or refreshing the flower beds.
Also VIM volunteers are allowed to work with the children on campus in the After School Care program and our summer 6 week Camp Stars VBS/STEM program. So if you love working with younger children and are crafty this is a fun and challenging role. The bottom line is that whatever your ability, there’s a job for YOU!
We hope you will consider scheduling a team in 2023. To schedule your team, please contact our Volunteer Registrar Eufemia Romero by phone at 505-753-7221, ext. 210 or by email at eromero@mccurdy.org.
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Transactional versus Transformational Mission
Information presented by Elizabeth McCormick, Global Ministries Missionary, at the 2023 SCJ Mission Academy
“Some Best Practices in Mission
1. Make friendship the goal of mission, not helping. Just as the Good Samaritan didn't help the traveler forever, don't seek to keep helping your mission partners forever. Instead of a helper/helpee relationship, seek to develop a friend/friend relationship based on compassion and common humanity.
2. As you develop relationships, assume there is more to people than whatever situation they may be in. Assume peoples' needs are situational, not a reflection of them as a person. Recognize their assets. Listen to people's own understanding of their situations. Don't come in with preconceived plans of what you want to do for them.
3. Be open to being helped by those with whom you are in mission. Be vulnerable about your own hurts and weaknesses. Be willing to receive from them. When you do so, you demonstrate your recognition of their common humanity and your recognition of the assets they have.
4. Approach the financially poor as equals. When we do, we can become better prepared to recognize the forms of poverty in our own lives - spiritual, social, relational, - and hear God's good news to us in the midst of our own poverty.
5. Be in conversation with mission partners. Identify or clarify the good news that is present in the midst of the bad news, so as to learn from others who are different than us, even on topics we may think we know well.
6. Be with people. Relationships are built through spending time together. This shift from program-based mission thinking to relationship-based thinking is one of the most fundamentally important changes a congregation can make in its approach to mission. Remember the goal is to foster mutual relationships.
7. Network. Mission relationships are most transformative (for us and others) when they occur not just with individuals but with entire networks.
8. Check your stereotypes and biases. Be aware of cultural values and how they influence the relationship. Americans tend to value money, material possessions, independence, and achievement. Consider if those are values being pushed in your mission relationships.
9 Be in it for the long haul. Ask yourself if you are willing and able to be in a long-term missional relationship. All relationships involve tensions, disappointments, and mistakes. Are you willing to be in those missional relationships through uncomfortable times?
(Many of these ideas are adapted or taken from Crossing Boundaries: Sharing God’s Good News through Mission by Dr. David W. Scott with permission)”
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COVID-19 Protocols Continue
Because of the concerns for our children and staff during this ongoing pandemic, we are continuing to follow our strict COVID-19 policies. The reasons include:
- Our Pre-K children are housed in the same building that houses our volunteer teams.
- Almost a third of our Pre-K children are being raised by grandparents. COVID-19 can be more devasting to young children as well as older adults.
- We have had team members and other volunteers who have become sick with COVID-19 while traveling to and from their time of volunteering at McCurdy. Because of the protocols in place, they did not spread their illness to anyone on campus and recovered quickly.
Please join us as we strive to uphold the Methodist standard: The first General Rule as United Methodists is to ‘do no harm’.
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Monumental Help for Camp Stars!
Two more groups are needed to help with the Monumental VBS materials for Camp Stars. Camp Stars is McCurdy’s summer educational enrichment camp for K-6 students. The six-week program includes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning as well as faith sharing through VBS fun and service. This dynamic educational program was created to help students avoid the summer slump while having some great summer fun as well.
If you have a group that can help, please let us know that you are willing to “adopt” one week of the curriculum, which is the equivalent of one day of the VBS teaching materials. The team can help by creating craft and science kits to be used and by donating materials specifically related to the week’s lessons. Each group is invited to use their creative ideas to enhance the week’s lessons and learn more about the natural wonders of our area, the Great Southwest.
Assistance would include (but not limited to):
- providing arts and crafts kits for the children;
- creating science kits for the children:
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researching and donating books related to the theme (remembering that donated books should range in age level from kindergarten to 6th grade);
- researching legends or background information related to the theme;
- providing materials to decorate the classrooms and bulletin boards; and
For more information or to volunteer to help, simply call or email Sarah Allen at 928-691-6471 or sallen@mccurdy.org.
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Amazon Wish List
A simple way to help McCurdy Ministries is by shopping for an item or two to purchase from our Amazon Wish List. Simply view the list online and select an item from basic supplies. Just remember to select McCurdy Ministries Community Center on the address list at checkout so your items will ship directly to Española.
Items needed include school supplies, office supplies, some basic sanitation products, and snacks. Your purchase will help McCurdy in their ministries to the children and families in the Española Valley.
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For something new to serve your family and friends, check out this month’s recipe for Green Chile Casserole. This recipe is another one from McCurdy’s very own collection, Recipes of a Century Past, published in 2012 to celebrate the ministry’s 100th anniversary. The recipe was shared by Clay Denny, Class of 1961. Enjoy!
Green Chili Casserole
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts, boiled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 (10-3/4 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
- 3 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese divided
- 2 (4-ounce) cans green chiles
- 1 package corn tortillas, cut into strips
Preheat oven to 350o F. Mix the chicken, cream of chicken soup, 1 cup cheddar cheese, and green chiles; heat on stove, stirring constantly (you will stick mixture to pan otherwise). In a casserole dish, layer tortilla strips, soup mixture, handful of cheese, continue the layering and top off with tortilla strips, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 minutes until bubbly. Serve hot with a side dish of corn and Pico de Gallo. Enjoy with sopapillas and honey.
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For the One Who's Heard the Easter Story Countless Times
"Growing up, I heard the gospel often. But one Easter, I remember walking into church, singing the songs, hearing the verses read ... and feeling nothing.
I used to be the girl sobbing in church when the pastor explained the gospel, feeling the Spirit during worship. But then, without me even realizing it, the Good News suddenly felt like old news. I could go through the motions of Easter and never take more than five minutes to thank God.
Not only that, but sin had become more common for me. Overlooking the gospel caused me to overlook peace, conviction and joy. My selfish living was causing me restlessness.
Many of us can acknowledge we have heard the gospel countless times. Many of us have heard that the Son of God was sent as a servant, and although He was flawless, He took on the punishment we deserve. Because He was a perfect sacrifice and suffered death on a cross, we can finally be forgiven. Three days later, His tomb was empty. He defeated death and was resurrected from the grave, so now we have the opportunity to believe in His death and resurrection and spend eternity in heaven…
This message changed my life. However, in the midst of a busy life, errands and daily duties at work or school, I became numb to it. Suddenly, hearing and believing the gospel became something I put on my to-do list but easily skipped over.
Is this true for you right now? Maybe you kind of know Jesus, at least in your head, but when temptation is too strong in your heart, you give in. When the world is loud, you listen to it over your Savior.
When I felt this way toward the gospel, I remember reading Mark 15 and relating to Pontius Pilate. He was the governor who made the official order for Jesus to be crucified - not because he thought Jesus was bad or deserved this punishment but because the crowd wanted Jesus dead.
‘Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.’ (Mark 15:15)
…When we feel numb to the cross, it's often because we're distracted, and through our daily choices, we're denying Jesus as our Savior and listening to the crowd. There may not be a crowd yelling at us to crucify Jesus, but each day, we reside in a world that shouts lies about our Savior and our identity in Him. And without even realizing it, we begin to believe these lies.
Jesus isn't just a ‘good guy’ - He's our Savior, worthy of all praise and attention. We were made for a relationship with Him, a consistent prayer life with Him, and a committed practice of reading His Word. Even in the busyness of our lives, we must tend to our relationship with Jesus. Only then will our hearts thaw to the gospel.
So if you feel restless and the gospel has become old news, stop what you're doing and talk to Jesus honestly. Pray for conviction and a heart that doesn't get distracted by the crowd. Add prayer time and worship to your routine, and walk with faithful friends who daily point you to Jesus, even when the crowd is loud.
Dear God, remind me this Easter not to let myself become numb to the gospel. Please soften my heart and allow me to remember all You've done for me and all You continue to do. Help me to remember Your power this Easter. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
To read this devotional online, use this LINK.
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HYMN: The Old Rugged Cross
“The year was 1912 and George Bennard, an evangelist traveling throughout the Midwest, was heckled incessantly by several youth at a revival meeting in Michigan…
…Troubled by their disregard for the gospel, Bennard turned to Scripture to reflect on the work of Christ on the cross. He later recalled, ‘I seemed to have a vision ... . I saw the Christ and the cross inseparable.’
The melody came easily, and the first verse was completed by Bennard during a series of meetings in Albion, Michigan.
Several months later, the remaining three verses were completed in Pokagon, Michigan, where Bennard was leading meetings at a local church…
…After completing the hymn, he performed the song in its entirety for the sponsoring pastor and his wife, Rev. Leroy and Ruby Bostwick, in the living room of the parsonage. The Bostwicks were moved to tears and incorporated the song in the revival service on June 7, 1913.
First, Bennard sang his hymn with guitar accompaniment, and then a five-voice choir sang with organ and violin accompaniment.
Today, that same church building, originally a hops barn, is owned by the non-profit Old Rugged Cross Foundation and welcomes thousands of visitors annually.
The hymn quickly spread throughout the region and came to the attention of the evangelist Billy Sunday, who frequently utilized it in his meetings. Two years later, Bennard sold the copyright to the song for a payment of $500, forgoing future royalties. Upon the renewal of the copyright 28 years later, he received a final payment of $5,000…
…Bennard was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1873 and spent his childhood in Iowa. His father was a tavern owner and later, a coal miner. Bennard's conversion at the age of 22 through the evangelistic ministry of the Salvation Army in Canton, Iowa, led to his ordination and commissioning as a traveling evangelist in 1898.
In 1910, stepping out in faith, Bennard resigned and began his own itinerant ministry. He traveled throughout the Midwest, holding revivals until his retirement in Reed City, Michigan, more than 30 years later.
Loved for its lilting melody and words of personal trust in the cross of Christ, The Old Rugged Cross remains one of the most cherished hymns of the Christian faith. It has since been included in numerous hymnals and recordings by contemporary artists.
Article courtesy of Mature Living magazine.” LINK
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McCurdy Ministries Community Center creates hope and empowers the lives of children, youth, adults and families through education, life skills, and faith-based programs in Española, New Mexico.
On behalf of the McCurdy Ministries Community Center Board and staff as well as the children, youth, adults, and families MMCC serves, we hope you had a blessed Easter season! May we each take time to truly reflect on the true meaning of Easter and how God’s perfect sacrifice of His beloved Son rescued us from sin and death!
McCurdy Board and Staff
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Through our Volunteer Newsletter, we are providing the latest information about volunteer opportunities at McCurdy Ministries Community Center and sharing helpful tips about planning a mission trip to Española. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions about articles or resources. Send your suggestions or questions to Linda Polson at lpolson1966@gmail.com. Linda is an MMCC Board Member and experienced VIM Team Leader.
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McCurdy Ministries Community Center creates hope and empowers the lives of children, youth, adults and families through education, life skills and faith-based programs
in Española, NM.
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