Help St. Andrew’s, Las Cruces,
Move People Experiencing Homelessness
from the Camp Hope Tent City to Stable Housing
St. Andrew’s, Las Cruces, was instrumental in the inception of the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope. But all of us at St. Andrew’s know that it was God who brought several not-for-profit organizations together on the same campus to work together to support people who are experiencing homelessness back in 1994. Camp Hope (http://www.mvcommunityofhope.org/camp-hope-2/), a successful self-governing transitional living community, started in 2011 and has since helped hundreds of people move into stable housing. St. Andrew’s is participating in Tents to Rents, an annual social media fund-raising event that supports the activities of Camp Hope and we invite the Diocese of the Rio Grande to join us. Tents to Rents will run from 14 August through September. Every week, we will share information about homelessness, the Community of Hope, and Camp Hope with you here In the Loop, with a link to the donation site. We invite you to help St. Andrew’s raise $5,000 towards the overall goal of $5,900. And of course, if you feel moved to support your local efforts to support the poor and homeless, do that first!
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Prayer & Healing Service in the Style of Taizé
Tuesday Aug 18 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Hope+in+the+Desert Episcopal Church
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In view of the restrictions imposed due to the virus, we will hold a virtual ecumenical healing service. It will be live streamed at:
The order of service can be accessed on Hope’s website:
Hope’s ecumenical healing team and intercessory prayer group will be praying in agreement with your prayers for healing for you or others whose needs are placed on your heart. The Holy Spirit knows our every need and will prompt our prayers. If you wish to proffer a specific prayer – you may POST the request in a comment on this post (for privacy, first names or no names), OR you can email office@hopepiscopal.org (requests will be treated confidentially).
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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 fearless Daughters of the King, All Saints Episcopal Church, El Paso,
have their first meeting, August 9, 2020.
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AN INVITATION TO JOIN
OUR EfM COMMUNITY
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An Education for Ministry (EfM) group meets weekly from September through May at the Cathedral of St. John in downtown Albuquerque. 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.
This four-year continuing education program was begun by the School of Theology at Sewanee: University of the South in 1975. EfM invites participants into small, mentored groups that provide the framework for understanding life and shaping actions as Christian faith is deepened.
Participants join for a variety of reasons. “I wanted to know more about the Bible ... who wrote it ... how it was organized ...” said Rosa Valencia, who graduated from EfM in 2017. “EfM helped me to find answers to my questions about the history of religion, but more important EfM helped me connect to my God,” Rosa Valencia recalls. She joined the Cathedral as a result of her EfM studies.
During their four years in EfM participants study 1) the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), 2) the New Testament; 3) history of the Church, and 4) theological and moral ideas. Each participant reads the assigned material for him/herself during the week. This requires about 4 hours a week in personal study.
The heart of the EfM experience is the weekly seminar group. Through discussion and guided reflection, the seminars furnish an opportunity to deepen understanding of the reading materials.
Seminar groups work under the leadership of mentors who contract to serve as guides and administrators. They are not teachers in the traditional sense who are expected to impart information about the Christian tradition. (The role of the teacher is built into the program materials.)
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EfM also trains students in the art of Theological Reflection — bringing “the lens of Faith to bear on any aspect of life" so we can each align our behavior with what we say we believe. EfM graduate Sandy Veltkamp agrees: EfM provided “a connectedness between what I profess to be my Faith and my daily life ... EfM internalized my Faith.”
By examining their own beliefs and their relationship to our culture and the tradition of our Christian faith, participants can learn what it means to be effective ministers in the world. In coming to terms with the notion that everything we do has potential for manifesting the love of Christ, we discover that our ministry is at hand wherever we turn.
The EfM program is preparation for the work we pray for at the end of the Eucharist: “And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.”
The one unforeseen but perhaps greatest benefit from EfM is the closeness of ‘EfMers’ to each other because of their shared "Living into the Journey of God." 2017 EfM graduate Betty Logan recalls "the most joyful surprise comes from the lasting friendships, which bring not only an understanding of different perspectives, but also become a source of loving support and fellowship." Sandy VeltKamp adds that she cherishes the ‘amazing support from fellow participants..and the grace!’
So, if you're ready to take a deeper dive into your Faith, you can check out EfM at their website efm.sewanee.edu/about or speak to any EfM graduate from the Cathedral. 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.
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News from
The Episcopal Church
& the Anglican Communion
(click on the headline to read the story)
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Positions available
REVISED: Hope in the Desert Church is seeking an experienced Parish Administrator for an approximately half-time position. Fr. Dan Tuton invites your queries by email at frdan@hopepiscopal.org.
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St. Luke’s, La Union:
85,000 lbs of food
distributed since June 1
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in La Union has been busy this summer with a new outreach to the community. We have long known that our region of the valley is a “food desert”. These are areas with few real options to buy or otherwise obtain healthy foods, fresh fruits, and veggies. There is not a permanent regular food bank or pantry between Las Cruces and Sunland Park in New Mexico or between Anthony and El Paso in Texas. This area is home to many farm and ranch workers who live well below the national poverty line and do not have enough healthy food to eat. We have long prayed to be a part that the solution to this issue. Enter Manny Segovia of Segovia’s Distributing. Segovia’s won a contract to help distribute 25 lbs. boxes of farm fresh produce and fruit to area food banks, pantries, and other distribution outlets. Manny contacted a member of St. Luke’s and wondered if we could help feed the needy. We said yes, we can. Today, we distribute 12,600 pounds (504 boxes) of fresh produce each week to the people of southern New Mexico and Southwest Texas.
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Each box contains a variety of vegetables, leafy greens, and fruits. Since the first of June, we have handed out more than 85,000 pounds of food.
Along with providing food, we have prayed with and for members of our community and have partnered with the Gideons for the distribution of New Testaments in English and Spanish. Even in these trying times the church can do the work Jesus commanded us to do. Feeding body and soul one case at a time.
Fr. Daniel E. Cave, Rector
Lori Schall
Food Pantry Outreach Coordinator
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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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