Parish Profile St. Philip s Episcopal Mission Belen, NM St. Philip s Episcopal Mission is a member of the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., located in the Southwest Province (Province 7), in the Diocese of the Rio Grande. This large diocese encompasses all of New Mexico and a wide portion of Southwest Texas into the Big Bend area. The church is located in Rio Communities, an un-incorporated community on the eastern edge of the Rio Grande adjacent to Belen. Belen is known historically for its service as a major hub to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The historic Harvey House once hosted visitors to town from 1910 to 1939, but is now a preserved landmark and museum. Today, numerous trains move through this area making Belen very important to the transportation of commerce across the Southwest and the country. Belen also serves as the southern terminus of the New Mexico RailRunner Express commuter
train that runs north through Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Harvey House Area Information Belen, located in Valencia County about 35 miles south of Albuquerque, is beginning to function as a bedroom community to this largest city in New Mexico. As such, all the amenities of a cultural center are available just up the road. With a population of 7,219, Belen is ten miles from Los Lunas, and 85 miles from the State Capitol of Santa Fe, both easily accessible via I-25 or the RailRunner train. RailRunner
The culture of New Mexico is diverse and historic. Cultural ruins of the first Spanish churches of the 1600 s can be found to the southeast of town in the Salinas National Monument group of Gran Quivira, Quarai, and Abo. Native American pueblos still reside among a large Hispanic population (46.7% statewide) with anglos making up the other major demographic group, yet there are a number of other cultures represented in the area. Downtown Belen Belen sits along the Rio Grande at an elevation of 4800 feet above sea level just to the west of the 10,000-foot Manzano Mountains where a number of recreational opportunities can be found. Wildlife conservation units in the area include the New Mexico Game and Fish s Bernardo Waterfowl Management Unit, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, and still farther south, the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area lies along the banks of the Rio Grande less than two miles from St. Philip s Church. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands cover hundreds of thousands of acres in the immediate area. The area receives sunshine 80% of the time with an annual precipitation of 7.15 and an annual average humidity of 43%. Winter temperatures average from low 20 s at night to the low 50 s in the daytime. Summer high temperatures average 95 with lows in the low 60 s. The first frost comes in late October, and the last frost is usually mid-april. St. Philip s Overview St. Philip s Episcopal Mission was established in 1909 and resided at a downtown location in Belen. In January 1981 it was given full Parish status by the Rt. Rev. Richard M. Trelease, then Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande. The first rector was Rev. Amos Gaume who had been acting as vicar up to that point. In 1991 the church moved to its present location across the Rio
Grande to Rio Communities, a once up-and-coming retirement community. St. Philip s had full parish status at the time, but mainly due to shrinking finances it was re-assigned mission status in 1993 and has remained in that capacity to this day. The church is administered by a Bishop s Committee of seven members. The latest Vicar, Reverend Jan Davey, served the church since 2005 as a part-time priest but retired on January 2, 2011. Staff includes a volunteer secretary/treasurer and a paid maintenance person. There are 76 members on the official roles of which an average 37 regularly attend the single Sunday service at 9:00 am. The vast majority are confirmed Episcopalians who attend church once a week. Most have attended St. Philip s from 1 to 10 years. Most congregants want a Low Traditional Eucharist service using Rite I or II weekly which is the usual service celebrated, but on occasion Morning Prayer will be held, especially when the vicar is absent. Other special services are observed on their appropriate days. Sunday School is available to both children and adults. Facilities Facilities include a nave that can accommodate 100, an attached Parish Hall with kitchen, a donated single-wide trailer serving as an office/sunday school, and two storage buildings all on a large corner lot one block off Highway 47. A small lot is owned by St. Philip s but located in Socorro County some 45 miles south. Nave
A recent need has been identified for a replacement of the trailer with a new office/sunday school building. Members have indicated that this would be a very good project to help the church grow in many ways. Plans are to give the vicar more privacy for counseling, and the Sunday school would more than double its area for this important function. This project is waiting for a leader to take it on and make it happen. Finances Stewardship drives keep the budget steady, and investments are supplemented with Certificates of Deposit. At present, the operating budget for 2011 sits at $52,500, with an added Designated Fund at over $21,000. The Parochial Report for 2010 showed 24 pledges for a total of $57,460. The congregation is very generous in its giving, and active members readily provide resources for special needs and projects. Even with the few members that move or pass away each year, total pledges remain steady. Revenues reported in the Parochial Report showed all revenues at $68,100 with total cash in checking and savings at $33,458 and investments of $69,475. We give to the Presiding Bishop s Relief and Development Fund, and help support a missionary in Honduras. We have not required any additional funding from the Diocese or National Church. At present, St. Philip s Mission is able to support a half-time vicar for a salary of $24,000 per year. Funds for a supply priest, mileage, and miscellaneous expenses are budgeted for $3,960. Four weeks of vacation time is allotted. It is fervently hoped that the new vicar will be able to increase attendance and thus income of the mission to support a full-time priest and pull us back into full parish status. Church Life St. Philip s is blessed with many groups/committees that help the church function as well as spread the love of our Savior throughout the community. The Women of St. Philip s (WOSP) regularly meet and are very active in raising funds for various projects the most important of which is the Vicar s Discretionary Fund. This money is used for the many requests from the less fortunate members of our society. The ladies hold bake sales, a rummage sale and a large Christmas Bazaar. A recent interdenominational Women s Retreat was well attended by ladies from the Belen/Rio Communities churches.
Parish Hall Other groups include a food charity, children s stewardship fund drive, altar guild, Sunday school teachers/leaders, ushers, bibliophiles, an opera appreciation group, and lay ministers including lay eucharistic ministers, acolytes and lay readers. We have provided meeting space for various groups in the past, and currently host a bridge club. Congregants range in age from under 18 to over 90, but the majority of church-goers are over 50. The aging of the church members is a concern of the mission, and any thoughts on attracting younger people are readily considered. The Children s Sunday School often has only one or two participants on any given Sunday. There is no youth group, and only a few acolytes are under the age of 50. What We Seek in a Priest In a new spiritual leader we need someone concerned with pastoral care, who preaches well, and counsels. Understanding that we are an aging church, we want the new minister to endeavor to 1) increase the membership of the congregation, 2) emphasize youth activities/bible study, especially bringing in more young families, 3) have sermons that show the relation of scriptures to today s life, 4) continue bible study and adult education, and 5) do more outreach to the local community. We realize this will take marketing ourselves, publicity of our activities, and solid results of our various works. We think that is what will bring more people to our doors. Then being an extended family to those newcomers will keep them with us on our shared journey with Christ. Above all, the new vicar should be a shepherd to the congregation.
What We Value Our vision of St. Philip s Episcopal Church would be one where everyone is welcomed as children of God and treated as part of the church family, both St. Philip s Church and the larger Episcopal Church. This first should be a place of worship, but also a safe place to fellowship with both church members and local community. St. Philip s should be a respected member of the community participating in ecumenical as well as civic activities when the good of all is needed, and we should be able to give of our talents to those needs readily. Work in concert with social services would help both the community and our church s mission of showing how Christ reaches out to all. We can do this with our particular Episcopal style showing that we too are valuable and valued members of His one, holy and catholic church. Working With the Larger Church Our relationship with the diocese, our new Bishop and his administration, and the church in general has been congenial, yet involvement in shared endeavors could be enhanced by more direct interaction. Enthusiasm needs a boost to encourage our members to take a more active role in the democratic governance of the Diocese and National Church. Membership in the Northwest Deanery, at Diocesan Convention, and at National Convention should be welcomed as
opportunities to represent the mission and voice its values to direct the governing bodies toward programs appropriate to our needs and those of the world. This enthusiasm is lacking in most members at St. Philip s who would rather let others lead them rather than do the leading. The potential for St. Philip s Episcopal Mission to become a fully recognized parish can be easily accomplished with more members, active participation in outreach, a vibrant youth contingent, and in general, a much larger presence in the communities of the Middle Rio Grande Valley. The seeds of these changes have been tried and have succeeded. Now it will take a leader to nurture these seeds into long-lasting fruition. **** This information was compiled from a survey taken of the members of the mission in 2009 and has been updated to reflect current conditions. In June of 2011, a Mission Ministry Envisioning Retreat was held with several members of the congregation participating. A synopsis of the visions for our ministry brought out in that retreat follows.