COVID Update
As of March 7, 2022, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reported 694 new cases, totaling 513,994. Following is the recent case count by county:
· 214 new cases in Bernalillo County
· 7 new cases in Los Alamos County
· 9 new cases in Rio Arriba County
· 8 new cases in Taos County
We are thankful for this downward trend in new cases. However, McCurdy continues to implement health and safety measures regarding COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of our staff and the children and youth we serve as well as the VIM teams we look forward to welcoming back to campus this summer.
|
|
Spotlight
on McCurdy Pre-K
McCurdy Pre-K students trying on their new scarves
Busy Learning and Staying Warm in March
with our Pre-Kindergarten Class
Our students actively participate every day in Pre-K. Each student has a role in helping to teach and guide their fellow students. Whether they are pointing to the months on the calendar or guiding fellow students into lunch, each one is growing in their leadership and mentoring skills in Ms. Sandra Trujillo’s class.
Students have learned the Pledge of Allegiance and the New Mexico state song. They sing songs about letters of the alphabet, learning words with the sound and rhymes with the other letters they have learned. From taking care of their pet fish to putting up the blocks from play time, each child has a new special role each week that builds skills and strengthens self-confidence.
Our Pre-K class is instructed by an exceptional team led by the Program Director Sandra Trujillo. Ms. Sandra, as the students call her, has 22 years of experience in Early Childhood education. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood education, with special emphasis in Child Development and Elementary Education, and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction along with Bilingual, TESOL, and Reading Endorsements.
Ms. Sandra has two wonderful, caring assistants, Ms. Jennifer Gutierrez and Ms. Theresa Romero. Ms. Jennifer has 21 years’ experience in Early Childhood education and was previously with the Santa Clara Head Start. She has an Associate degree in Early Childhood education with special training in creative activities, art, and nutrition. Ms. Jennifer is fluent in her native Tewa language which is helpful because several students are from the nearby Pueblos.
Ms. Theresa has 18 years of experience in Early Childhood education. She has a CDA in Early Childhood and is trained in the Montessori Method. Ms. Theresa also taught as a kindergarten assistant at the McCurdy Charter school. Together Ms. Sandra, Ms. Jennifer, and Ms. Theresa provide a caring, safe environment, filled with creative learning and skill building to help ensure our McCurdy Pre-K students are ready and able to take their next steps in their education and future.
As you can tell from the pictures, our students are actively absorbing their lessons. Their outside playtime was recently brightened by the donations of lovingly handmade hats and scarfs donated by several employees of Las Alamos National Laboratories. This welcome gift to help combat March winds was well received by the students. One student thoughtfully wrapped Jesus in her scarf, keeping Him warm as they enjoyed the sunshine together.
|
|
Students sweetly wrap Jesus in one of the new scarves |
|
Ms. Sandra and children begin their day in Pre-K |
|
Pre-K student demonstrating the day on the calendar |
|
McCurdy Fiesta
planned for 2022
Save the date! This year’s McCurdy Fiesta has been scheduled for October 28-29, 2022.
Stay tuned for more information about the fun-filled activities that are being planned to celebrate McCurdy’s 110th anniversary! We hope you will make plans to join us!
|
|
McCurdy Amazon
“Wish List”
There are still a number of items available for purchase of the Amazon “wish list”. It was created so supporters could purchase some of the supplies needed for McCurdy’s After-School Care, Pre-K, and Project Cariño (mental health counseling) programs.
Simply use the link below to view the current list. Your support will help furnish some of the needed arts and craft materials as well as some general office, kitchen, cleaning, and safety supplies.
Select an item or two and purchase them just like you would any Amazon purchase. (It operates like a wedding registry site.) Just be sure to select McCurdy Ministries Community Center on the address list at checkout so your ordered items will be shipped directly to Española.
Thanks for your ongoing support of our ministry!
|
|
A virtual mission opportunity
A great way to connect with McCurdy and its ministries is by scheduling a virtual mission. Schedule a 60 to 90-minute one-time session or a series of sessions with the staff to learn how McCurdy is operating their programs during the pandemic and hear about the exciting plans for the future of the ministries. To read more about scheduling a virtual mission, go to:
Any groups interested in hosting a McCurdy Virtual VIM can make a reservation for a specific week by downloading the Virtual Mission Application from the McCurdy website and emailing it to Eufemia Romero at eromero@mccurdy.org.
|
|
Book a 2022
VIM team
The McCurdy Board and staff are hopeful that some of the COVID-19 restrictions in the state will be lifted by this summer and that VIM teams can return. Teams already have scheduled mission weeks for this summer and fall.
If you are considering scheduling a team in 2022, please contact our Volunteer Registrar Eufemia Romero by phone at 505-753-7221, ext. 210 or by email at eromero@mccurdy.org to schedule a week of mission.
|
|
An easy fundraising idea
Raising funds for your mission team needs to involve all team members as well as your church family. One fun and easy way to raise funds for your mission is to host a Silent Auction.
Solicit items for the auction from mission team members, Sunday School classes, and other church members. Then, simply set the items on tables in the hallway of the church with a bidding/information sheet and let individuals bid on them. Pricier items can have a minimum bid amount listed at the top of the sheet. Host the auction for several Sundays and advertise when the bidding closes. It’s a great way to raise money with very little effort.
Remember, fundraising also provides some great opportunities to promote and advertise your mission with your community and congregation.
|
|
Recipe of the month
A favorite recipe to enjoy in front of a roaring fire this winter is caramel corn. Here’s a yummy recipe from McCurdy’s very own collection, Recipes of a Century Past, published in 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ministry. This recipe was contributed by Ruby Brigham Anders, Class of 1959.
Easy Caramel Corn
- 12 cups popped popcorn
- 1 cup mini pretzels
- 1 cup salted cashews of mixed nuts
- 1 large brown paper bag
- 1 stick unsalted butter or salted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Karo light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Place popped popcorn, pretzels, cashews in a large paper bag. Shake to combine. Melt butter in microwave for 1 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Microwave 2 minutes. Mixture will boil, stir and microwave 2 more minutes. Stir in baking soda. The mixture may foam up. Pour over popcorn mixture, shake paper bag. Place bag in microwave for 1-1/2 minutes. Watch carefully. Remove bag and shake. Pour mixture on to a cookie sheet to cool. Break apart if needed. This makes good gifts, put in decorative plastic bags.
|
|
Hymn of the month
Here’s another favorite hymn that still touches my heart today as strongly as it did in my youth.
Spirit of the Living God
by Daniel Iverson
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
“This is one of the most long-lasting and widely used choruses in Christian worship. Every aspect of the song embodies a simple sincerity.
The melody encompasses only five notes, with every pitch in its place. The harmonies can be played by a very modestly skilled pianist, and three of the four lines repeat the same nine words. Yet for many, the straightforward petitions of this song draw the singer into an attitude of prayer.
The late hymnologist William J. Reynolds provided background on the song’s creation:
‘During January and February of 1926, the George T. Stephans Evangelistic Party conducted a citywide revival in the tabernacle in Orlando, Fla. Daniel Iverson, a Presbyterian minister from Lumberton, N.C., spent several days in Orlando visiting with the Stephans team. The day he arrived, he was greatly impressed by a message on the Holy Spirit given by Dr. Barron, a physician from Columbia, S.C.
Later that day Iverson went to the First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, sat down at the piano, and wrote this song. Miss Birdie Loes, the pianist for the Stephans team, wrote it out on manuscript paper. E. Powell Lee, the team song leader, was immediately impressed and taught it to the people that evening in the tabernacle, and used it throughout the campaign.’
…The Rev. Carlton Young, editor of the UM Hymnal, notes that the authorship of “Spirit of the Living God” was lost for a time because the song could so easily be taught without music or even printed words. It first appeared in Revival Songs (1929) in a slightly revised version that was published without the author’s permission, according to Dr. Young.”
Use this link to read the full story: LINK
***
Do you have a favorite hymn or scripture that helped you through a difficult time? If so, would you be willing to share your story with me and with our readers? If so, please email it to me at lpolson1966@gmail.com.
|
|
Oxygen for the fire
Anyone who owns a home with a wood-burning fireplace knows the work it takes to keep a fire going. In this month’s devotional, Shala W. Graham compares fanning the embers to flames in her fireplace to fanning the flames in our spiritual lives. Here’s part of her experience struggling to keep the fire burning in her new home and in her soul.
“…’It needs oxygen,’ I concluded after my brain scanned my internal archive of fire knowledge. I grabbed my handy, brand-new bellow, which I had picked up at the local home improvement store, and slowly pushed air into the fireplace.
As more air circulated through the wood, I could see the embers glowing brighter. Little flames were beginning to grow. As I continued to fan air into the fireplace, seemingly out of nowhere my fire was back in full force!
So that's what the Bible means when it says ‘fan into flames’!
With a quick internet search, I found the passage the Holy Spirit was directing me toward:
‘I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first
filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice.
And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This
is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you
The Apostle Paul was talking to Timothy, his mentee and an evangelist and leader in the early Church. Timothy's heritage of faith was passed down from his Jewish mother (Eunice) and her mother (Lois). As Paul reminded him of his calling, Paul encouraged Timothy not just to keep the faith but to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave him.
Paul understood that, like a fire, our faith and our ability to operate in our spiritual gifts can start strong, but through time and circumstance, the fire can wane to a pile of smoldering embers, giving off little warmth or light.
But there is hope! The embers of our faith can be restored with spiritual oxygen. For me, ‘oxygen’ can look like rising early, while everyone else is still asleep, to spend a few uninterrupted minutes in the Word of God. It looks like choosing my favorite worship song and singing the lyrics as my prayer to God as I drive. And in desperate times, it means doing whatever is necessary to clear my schedule to retreat alone with the Lord for a weekend or even a day.
To burn bright, our faith requires intentional care - not just once but again and again, consistently. Don't be discouraged when your faith burns low. God knew we would need to fan our faith into flames over and over, so He gave us His Word and His Holy Spirit.
The next time you think your faith is almost out, give it a thrust of intentional oxygen to quickly rekindle the fire. Then keep it going by using your spiritual gifts to serve others in the name of Jesus.
Father, how blessed we are that You would give each of us precious spiritual gifts! Let us not take our faith for granted. But if we find ourselves in a season where our faith looks like embers, gently nudge us to feed the fire of our faith with Your oxygen. In Jesus' Name, Amen.”
Use this link to read the full devotional: LINK
|
|
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.
Each month we invite you to join us in praying for the children and families in Española Valley in 2022. We are blessed to have your prayers and support of our ministry, even from a distance!
|
|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
