New Mexico Region
Episcopal Church in Navajoland
1257 Mission Ave. P.O. Box 720
Farmington, NM, 87499
Ya'at'ééh!
Welcome!
Diocese and NM
Region Offices are located at the San Juan Mission, about 1.5
miles southwest
of Farmington, and 0.4 miles south of New Mexico Highway 371 (W Bisti
Hwy)
The Rt. Rev. Mark
MacDonald, Bishop of Navajoland
The Rev. Carol Tookey, TSSF, Vicar
of the New Mexico Region,
505-327-0326
The Rev. Rosella Jim, clergy and Bishop's Secretary
San Juan Mission
Worship on Sundays at 10:00 a.m.
Youth minister: Ms. Cornelia Eaton
Volunteer clergy: The Rev. Rosella Jim
History — San Juan Mission began
its
work among the Navajo people in 1910 when a
Methodist woman, a Mrs. Wilcox, petitioned the then Episcopal
Missionary
District of New Mexico and Arizona to do medical work in the Farmington
area. St. John’s Episcopal Church
was designated as the ‘parent congregation’ to the mission work. The
work began
with a clinic located in a small building along side the San Juan
River. In 1911 a devastating flood inundated
the little mission forcing it to move up the hill to its present
location. Building was begun on the hospital
after recovery from the flood and construction of the hospital and
chapel,
where a small Navajo congregation worshiped, was completed in 1923.
This was the first hospital to serve
Navajo people in the county.
With the advent
of the Indian Health Service
Hospital in
Shiprock, the need for the hospital ceased to exist. The hospital was
closed to inpatient services in 1958.
A clinic continued to serve the people
of the area. In addition, a
children’s shelter was set up to care for children who were abandoned.
As other public facilities gradually
took over these services, new ministry developed.
An alcohol treatment facility was established, which has now
been turned over to the city and local hospital.
The Mission building now holds the offices of the Navajoland
Area Mission.
All Saints’ Chapel/St. Michael’s is located
on the grounds
of San Juan Mission just outside of Farmington, New Mexico.
It was built in the 1950’s to serve the
community around San Juan Mission.
This past year St. Michael’s congregation from Upper Fruitland has been
worshipping with us so we can join our gifts together to better serve
the
community. We are actively engaged
in children’s ministry, working through the philosophy of the Hooghan
Learning
Circle to teach children the Gospel in the context of Navajo culture.
Other important activities in the
community are our annual fall and spring fund-raisers where we sell
traditional
Navajo cuisine and have fun and games for the whole family.
The congregation is bi-racial and
worships on Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
Our Youth minister is Ms. Cornelia Eaton of St. Michael’s, and our
volunteer
clergy person is the Rev. Rosella Jim, a lifelong member of the
congregation at
All Saints’ Chapel.
St. Luke's in the Desert
Worship on Sundays at 10:00 a.m.
Lay Pastor: Ms. Inez Velarde
St. Luke’s in the Desert is a small
congregation located at
Carson Post, in the checkerboard area of the Navajo Reservation.
It serves the communities of Huerfano
Chapter House and Dzilth-na-oh-dithle.
Built in the 1930’s of logs hauled from the La Plata mountains of
Colorado and stone quarried near Carson Post.
Worship is held on Sundays at 10:00 a.m.
The Lay Pastor in charge of the congregation is Ms. Inez Velarde.
Ms. Velarde ministers to a far-flung congregation of people who live on
the
margins in remote areas.
St. Augustine's Hooghan
Worship on Sundays at 5:00 p.m.
St. Augustine’s Hooghan is located on the
property of the
United Methodist Mission in Shiprock, New Mexico. It currently serves a
congregation primarily of past and
present employees of the Indian Health Services Northern Navajo Medical
Center. Worship is held on Sundays at 5:00 pm.
Last update: 9 July 2006
Web site maintained by Charley
Noecker