November 23, 2024 • 24 mins
Exploring St. James Episcopal Church in Clovis, NM: A Rich History and Vibrant Community Join Bishop Michael Hunn and the Rev. Simon Carian as they delve into the rich history and vibrant community of St. James Episcopal Church in Clovis, NM. Discover the town's origins as a railroad hub, its agricultural and dairy economy, and the presence of Cannon Air Force Base. Learn about the diverse ministry efforts—including community outreach, bilingual services, and unique events like the Blessing of the Animals and Chili Day— that make St. James a welcoming and active part of Clovis. Don't miss the stories of creative initiatives like the Hartley House purse drive, all aimed at strengthening the local community. Whether you're visiting Clovis or part of the diocese, St. James offers a warm welcome and a rich tradition of service and faith.
00:00 Welcome to St. James Episcopal Church
00:47 Discovering Clovis, New Mexico
02:19 The Agricultural and Military Influence in Clovis
04:41 The Heart of St. James Community
06:33 Reviving Traditions and New Celebrations
10:25 Blessing of the Animals
16:03 Community Outreach Initiatives
18:28 Introducing Bilingual Services
21:48 Understanding the Needs of the Spanish-Speaking Community
23:53 Conclusion and Invitation
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:13):
Hey there, Diocese of the Rio Grande.
Welcome to St.
James Episcopal Church in Clovis, New Mexico.
And I know, you know, the Reverend Simon Carian.
Simon.
.999Hello, Diocese of the Rio Grande and welcome into our beautiful church here at St.
.999James Clovis. 8 00:00:31,99.999 --> 00:00:33,845 And I, Hope you enjoy the video.
(00:33):
And most of all, I extend always a very warm welcome.
Anybody from the diocese, if you're here in Clovis, look us up and come and have a little visit here in this beautiful church and the very beautiful community that's here too.
.999So tell me a little bit about Clovis. 12 00:00:50,875.001 --> 00:00:54,205 If you don't know about Clovis, Clovis is kind of midway down the state.
(00:54):
It's right on the Texas border, about as far east as you can go and still be in New Mexico.
.999Tell us what life is like about in Clovis and kind of the history of the town.
Why is it here? So Clovis is 116 years old. 16 00:01:10,844.999 --> 00:01:12,415 And I know that because St.
James is 116 years old.
(01:15):
And this was one of the founding first church communities that was here.
Clovis got to start really as a railroad town.
.999And this was one of the, um, only stops that would have been between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and then coming into Lubbock, Amarillo and then into Texas. 21 00:01:34,609.999 --> 00:01:38,899.999 So this was an important stop off, um, on the, the railroad.
(01:39):
It's a still, you know, there's a big rail that passes right through here and a lot of trains.
You can sometimes hear them, um, in the distance.
It's, we're not too, too far from the, Um, train tracks here, uh, and our church.
This particular church is real beautiful.
It's right on Main Street.
So it's a good, um, location.
(01:59):
There's always parades and things that are happening.
And, and when we do, we open the church, we put a little booth out.
And so, um, this church here has a long history with the, the community of Clovis.
And, and yeah, that's a little bit, uh, about the.
That's wonderful.
So it started off as kind of a railway town.
(02:19):
.999A lot of farmers here though, right? Dairy? A lot of farmers, um, were in this area, agriculture, and, um, about maybe 30 or 40 years ago, a pretty significant number of dairies moved in here.
And, um, I was explaining to Bishop, there's a whole little local economy that's built around this because just about five miles.
(02:44):
South of Clovis, headed towards Portales, is one of the largest cheese factories in the entire United States. 37 00:02:52,709.999 --> 00:03:08,340 So there's all these dairies that are here, and then they don't have to transport the milk very far to the cheese plant, where it's made into Kraft and other, I forget all the types, but any cheese you buy at the store, probably it came just from down the road here.
(03:08):
So then a lot of the agriculture Um, goes towards supporting the dairies who then sell to the cheese plants.
The thing goes out from here So that would be one main source of economy And then the other big thing that's here in Clovis is of course cannon air force base, which is a very major Air force base.
(03:31):
So we have a lot of airmen and women who um Come in through here and and serve a tour of duty, you know, from here.
So the military component of the community is also pretty strong.
Wonderful.
And in fact, we have some, uh, some of the retreats that are run from Cannon Air Force Base are actually happening at Bishop's Ridge now.
(03:56):
And so I think we've hosted them three times in the past year.
Oh, that's wonderful.
.999We're honored to have that kind of connection that folks from, folks from here who are serving on Cannon Air Force Base can come with their chaplains to, to have a time of retreat and training up at Bishop's Ridge. 47 00:04:12,739.999 --> 00:04:13,430 Oh, that's wonderful. 48 00:04:13,469.999 --> 00:04:15,520 There's a neat kind of connection in that way.
(04:16):
And so you've been Rector here, how long now? Remind me.
Let's see, I think I've been here now, um, around two years, something like that.
Something like that, yeah.
Going on about two years.
.999I spent a year here before I became Rector when I was doing my year of Anglican studies.
(04:36):
I think I've been here as part of this community about three years now.
Wonderful.
And so tell us about St.
James and the ministry here, the place, the people.
Absolutely.
.999Um, St.
.999James is just a beautiful community of people that goes way back and is, you know, like I was saying, established church here, but the people are real tight knit and love each other and have some of them been here a long time.
(05:06):
Um, some, you know, have come from other church communities that are here.
Clovis is a pretty, um, I would say a pretty religious area of the state.
.999This is sort of a very border of bible belt territory, so I think here in Clovis there's something like over 70 churches for a relatively small community, but to have that many churches, so it's a pretty, um, I guess religious area, but some of our people, you know, have come from other church traditions and maybe they find a little bit more open and welcoming expression of Christ's love here.
(05:46):
So we have some longtime Episcopalians who have been here.
Since this particular church that we're in was built in the 1940s.
And some remember Dr.
Ross Calvin, who was the first rector.
And, uh, uh, so we have people that go all the way back to that time and still have that sort of in the living memory to people, you know, coming into the, this church community, even a lot more recently.
(06:12):
So it's such a warm community.
I always love coming here because the people are so warm and the, and there's There's a real strong, people know in Clovis, may not know what the word Episcopal means, but they know what Chili Day is.
At least for a long time, this community fed chili to the whole county.
So is that still going? That's right.
(06:34):
So, uh, We have done the Chili Day, uh, we call it, uh, and I believe it got maybe to its 55th iteration, something like that.
So it had been around for a pretty long time and, and yeah, everybody in the community knew about it.
People would come and get chili for their whole office and take out, you know, 10, uh, to go boxes of the, all the chili.
(06:58):
So that was a major kind of community outreach, um, that had been around We've done a lot, and the, uh, this place would be pretty well known for.
We haven't done it in the past, um, year or so, and a lot of that is because the people who did it for all the many years are either retired or have gone on, and it takes a fair amount of energy, and, you know, we The last time we did it, which would have been, I guess, um, a year and a half ago, I think I browned 300 pounds of ground beef, so I was in there cooking, and I, I probably still smell like it, actually, even a year and a half late.
(07:37):
But so it took a fair amount of, um, people to do, so we haven't done the Chili Day.
We, we would probably do it again if we could get the, you know, the workforce to be able to do it.
Instead, we've shifted a little to, um, Instead of doing the chilly day, which was always the, um, Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
(07:58):
.999So that's when they had normally done it, right before, so on Shrove Tuesday, right before, uh, the lint season.
.999Um, so it was in February time, usually. 83 00:08:07,264.999 --> 00:08:16,510 Um, one thing that we've been trying to do a little bit, uh, Since we didn't do the chili day, we'll celebrate our feast day, um, and so we did a big St.
James, um, celebration, and we, um, didn't have the chili, but we did have grilling hot dogs and some other little things that weren't so labor intensive, but that was a great, um, community outreach, and we have a beautiful courtyard that's here, um, just outside of the church, and somebody from our, parish donated for the day, a massive water slide.
(08:41):
I mean, it was 25 feet tall, as tall as the church.
.999And so I was blasting neighborhood music and all these kids that I had never seen before were coming and they're jumping down the slide and grilling hot dogs. 87 00:08:54,834.999 --> 00:08:59,225 And, and so we had a nice, um, community outreach for the Feast of St.
James.
And I was giving away, blessed by God, Pilgrim shells, because of course, the symbol of St.
(09:04):
James is the pilgrim shell going to Santiago de Compostela.
So I've been telling people to make their camino and that I would give them their pilgrim shell.
And a beautiful image of it is if you can think of how a shell is, you know, a shell has all the different lines that come, but they all converge at one point.
So it's a nice symbol of, you know, every people coming from different backgrounds, different places, but all being able to converge at a sacred place to have a.
(09:31):
celebration.
And so that was a fun thing that we did just in the summer, not too long ago.
That's wonderful.
And an example, I think sometimes churches get stuck.
On, we always do this ministry, and this is what we're known for, so we have to keep doing it.
.999And, you know, maybe 50 years is enough, chilly day, you know? And, and the, it's great for a community to be able to say, like, we're not able to do that ministry in the same way that we used to.
(09:56):
It's okay for us to let it go and start something new.
That maybe this is the season of a different celebration.
You know, which doesn't mean it can't come back.
But just, I think sometimes churches get stuck in, we have to keep doing what we've always done.
And, and the freshness of being able to discern, hey, let's try something else, is really a blessing. 105 00:10:17,49.999 --> 00:10:20,359.999 So I'm, I'm glad to hear the, the, the liveliness of St. 106 00:10:20,359.999 --> 00:10:22,860 James, you know, emerging in different ways.
(10:22):
And you're bringing other great traditions here too.
Like last night, it was my blessing to be here.
With you for the blessing of the animals which was a great fun right in the courtyard there.
Absolutely.
So, um Last year on the feast of saint francis october 4th Um, that's a special day to me personally because that's my ordination anniversary.
So on october 4th, I have been 12 years ordained This past year, um, thanks be to God.
(10:48):
And so I have a good love of St.
Francis because it was ordained on that day.
.9995And so, um, one of the things that's in our book of occasional services is the St. 116 00:10:56,934.9995 --> 00:10:58,635 Francis blessing of animals.
And, um, you know, you don't use it very often because it's only on the one day and it's, uh, You know, you don't think about it, but those prayers are phenomenally beautiful.
(11:09):
They're, whoever, um, you know, was involved in the composition of that liturgy, I give them an A and their reward will be great in heaven for sure.
.999So, um, I did last year this blessing of the animals for St. 120 00:11:24,4.999 --> 00:11:26,134.9 Francis, and it was just a great blessing.
People bringing all their animals.
(11:29):
We, like I said, we have this nice courtyard so it can kind of be sealed off.
So, you know, dogs can run around and, and animals are part of our parish too.
.9995And they, they worship God and they're a channel of God's unconditional love to us. 125 00:11:44,354.9995 --> 00:11:52,820 So it's, um, Fitting and right to also be able to celebrate them and, and yeah, we had a bunch of people show up.
(11:52):
We had tons of dogs.
We even had some chickens that were brought, you know, and people who couldn't actually physically bring their animals or maybe their animals, you know, don't get along so well with all the others. 128 00:12:04,969.999 --> 00:12:05,970 They brought pictures.
So we have tons of pictures of all the pets and, and it was just, um, a great time.
Bishop went and he blessed all of the.
(12:14):
Animals and, and I was commenting with him a beautiful thing about the ritual is that we address the, the animal as a you, right? Not just as a creature, but as a, as a you, as a person that by name, I bless you, you know, uh, to keep that or whatever is the animals.
(12:35):
So it's a really beautiful thing to, uh, you know, bring them in.
.999There's some beautiful prayers in there also for people who have lost a pet and are grieving that, you know, it's obvious when you think about it, but it's, it's brilliant to say, yeah, look, this is, they're part of our family and we can, maybe this year we're sad because we don't have this companion that we've had all these years. 134 00:12:57,370.099 --> 00:12:59,380 And so, you know, you remember the.
(12:59):
The pets that we've had here, bless them each by name.
I mean, it was just a wonderful, joyful community.
It was beautiful.
.999And you were telling me, I had never noticed this before, because I've always done blessing the animals in this way, but you were pointing out that It's really unusual in all the Christian churches to address the animals directly and to use the second person, to use you.
(13:25):
.999Tell it, and you were talking to me yesterday about how other traditions do that.
.999So tell us about that contrast. 141 00:13:33,869.999 --> 00:13:41,735 Yeah, I mean, I'm no expert on any of this, but I think, Other rituals that I've seen that has an actual text.
So you're not just kind of winging it and saying the blessing of the, but there's actually a formula.
(13:46):
There's actually a, you know, a liturgical text.
They would usually have it of the sort of, you know, we bless you, God, for, you know, this creature, or may this creature serve our needs.
.999So, but it's always addressing it as an it, um, but it's, it's beautiful in our, we address it as a you.
(14:08):
Yeah, and so there's a acknowledgement of the goodness of creation there, but also of the Relationship and love and that that actually exists between us and the animal world and and so there it was really Wonderful.
I always love the blessing of the animals but particularly this one was really special because the atmosphere was so friendly and and Each there were mostly dogs and each dog would sort of jump up on you and you're given the blessing It was just really lovely Yeah, it was really good.
(14:38):
We did a little bit of community outreach that people who wanted to donate dog food or cat food or treats or something.
So we took a little collection and we're gonna be able to divvy that up.
.999And I want to give a shout out to St. 151 00:14:56,79.999 --> 00:15:01,805 Andrew's in Roswell because they have the whole, you know, uh, food pantry for pets too.
(15:01):
So, um, that's a good thing of seeing other good things in the diocese.
And we thought, you know, there's nothing really like that here in Clovis.
So that's a need sometimes people when they're struggling to make ends meet. 155 00:15:13,294.999 --> 00:15:19,585 And at the end of the month, you know, maybe they stretch out, uh, you know, the pet food a little bit.
.9So we're going to divvy that all up and then be able to give it to the community for those that are in need.
(15:25):
.999That's wonderful.
.999Roswell has such a fabulous.
food bank for pet food.
And in fact, when the fires came through.
Um, Rioso this time around.
Of course, everybody evacuated down the mountain towards Roswell.
.999And the need for pet food from all those folks who were evacuating was just through the roof and, and St.
(15:47):
.9995Andrews stepped up again as they always do to, to do that. 165 00:15:49,834.9995 --> 00:15:57,245 So it's a wonderful example of, being aware of what somebody else is doing really well in the diocese and saying, Hey, we could give that a shot here.
Cause this community needs it.
It's just wonderful.
Absolutely.
Um, as another example of a great, um, outreach.
And so then this encouraging, if there's somebody else out there that wants to do something like this, um, we did for the Hartley house, which is the, A domestic violence shelter that's here in Clovis, so they help people who are victims of domestic violence, um, find a safe place to be. 171 00:16:22,369.999 --> 00:16:27,770 You can stay, um, up to 90 days in a place where, you know, you're safe, you're away.
(16:28):
.999And they really help, um, You know, these people, uh, they help, of course, mainly women, but some men also are, are helped there, but people who have just been battered and had their lives torn apart, um, because of domestic violence, and they, they help these people to get back on their feet, but our Daughters of the King, um, are there.
(16:48):
Chloe chapter, which is, um, really wonderful, really active here at the parish.
.999Um, they did an incredible thing, which was a purse drive.
So, collecting from people who had extra or wanted to donate a purse, and then they got all of these purses, and then, Um, collected toiletries, beauty products, feminine products, um, gift cards, things like that.
(17:15):
.9995So then we got all of these purses and then stuffed them with all of these necessities that, that you could have. 177 00:17:22,384.9995 --> 00:17:24,494.999 And, and some of the purses were really nice. 178 00:17:24,494.999 --> 00:17:26,845 The lady said, that's a 300 purse.
And that's not for you.
That's going over there.
So, but, um, and then I was joking at that, who would have thought that women had so many extra purses, but no, they had a lot of extra and we collected about a hundred purses and filled them up.
(17:40):
And then the people from the Hartley house came to our Sunday Eucharist and we did a special thing of blessing them and blessing them, the people who would receive them and helping them to, uh, you know, get all the help that they need.
And that was just, uh, again, uh, a creative example of.
Finding the need and no other church had ever done that.
(18:02):
No other church had done a purse drive specifically and helping them out.
So, um, yeah, it identified a need. 187 00:18:08,299.999 --> 00:18:10,150 It was a great community building.
People felt good about it and actually really helping people that are in need here in the local community. 189 00:18:16,759.999 --> 00:18:24,470 It's just a beautiful example of a good creative idea that gels everybody together and connects the church to those outside and there's something else.
(18:25):
We're going to do tonight for the first time.
Yes.
This is very exciting I am putting the bishop to work if he's coming all this way He's we're going to get our money's worth out of this guy right on that is We are going to be celebrating for the first time ever in our parish history a bilingual eucharist tonight So you're looking into the sanctuary of the church, but behind, and that I and the bishop can see, is a brand new stack of the new translation of the prayer book, Libro de Oración Común.
(18:57):
.999And we're very excited to be able to celebrate a bilingual liturgy. 194 00:19:02,234.999 --> 00:19:04,985 And this, um, as far as I know, will be the first time.
Ever here in this parish that the Eucharist will have been celebrated in Spanish.
And this is a great community outreach.
The need for Spanish speaking ministry is very great here because there's a lot of people who You know, our immigrants or they come here looking for work.
(19:25):
They work in the lecherias.
They are in agriculture.
.999They're just trying to make their way.
So we have a pretty significant Spanish speaking population that's here. 202 00:19:37,289.999 --> 00:19:45,690 And I've had a number of people ask me when they come, you know, Padre, tienes la misa en español? And so far I've had to say, you know. 203 00:19:45,875.1 --> 00:20:05,145 Lo siento, no, tenemos la misa solamente en ingles, and, but now I can finally tell them, Sí, tenemos la misa en español! Que vengan todos ustedes! So, if you hear that, you come out here, we want to, we're going to celebrate the, The mass in Spanish, it's going to be a beautiful thing.
(20:05):
And I hope as, as we go on, um, eventually to integrate that we'll have a Spanish, um, liturgy probably every Sunday.
So that's where the goal is, um, to get there. 206 00:20:16,754.999 --> 00:20:23,585 And we have the, like I said, the books, we're going to kick that ministry off, uh, with a bang tonight.
And with alabados and praises to God.
(20:27):
And, and so, and the bishop is preaching in Spanish.
No, I'm just kidding. 210 00:20:31,120.1 --> 00:20:36,860 No tengo, but, um, yeah, we're real excited about that.
And that's, um, Just meeting a good need.
The, the Spanish speaking community of Clovis is a little bit different than perhaps other parts of the, of the Diocese.
.9Where, you know, if I think of a place like in Taos or Santa Fe or even in the Albuquerque area, there are established communities there that go back, you know, 400 years.
(20:58):
Plus years, but here a lot of our Spanish speaking people are really just fresh here into the, the, this country that they're here looking for work and, and all of that.
So it's a little bit different, um, flavor of, of Hispanic ministry that's here as compared to, you know, maybe, uh, the Norteño area, but, um, we're very excited about it.
(21:23):
And, um, And yeah, thank you for your prayers and support.
.999I also want to give a shout out to Father Ryan who donated a beautiful Our Lady of Guadalupe, uh, chasuble to our parish.
.9995So thank you. 219 00:21:36,359.9995 --> 00:21:46,760 And, and I think it's good, you know, pulling the resources that we have, um, so that way we can get that ministry up and going and maybe in other parts of the diocese too.
(21:47):
Yes.
One of the things that you're highlighting here, which is really important.
Sometimes people think.
Spanish ministry or Spanish speaking ministry is sort of one thing and yet not just in our diocese, but throughout the church It's really important to do what you all have done here which is to be very cognizant and aware of the community that is here and what their need might be and Then try to build the ministry there, right? So tell me a little bit about the process that you all went through or that you went through in terms of thinking through What what is needed in Clovis? Because you grew up in Albuquerque, you're a, you're a New Mexican, you know the different areas, but Clovis has its own special needs.
(22:27):
So, um, immediately one difference is that there are people here who, Um, whereas I feel like in other parts of our state where people have, you know, had multiple generations of being here, they speak Spanish and maybe that's their preferred way of talking to God, relating to God that's feels traditional, sacred, beautiful.
(22:55):
So they, you know, the Padre Nuestros, the Ave Maria, all of that, um, into their, the very soul.
Yeah.
.999But those people also, though, would be able to speak English, so they would appreciate and love Spanish, but then they can also understand if you're doing in English.
.999Whereas somebody who has just come here and doesn't have, you know, hardly any English at all. 229 00:23:19,484.999 --> 00:23:26,565 They really want to have, um, Majority of the service to be in Spanish or not, if not all, completely in Spanish.
(23:26):
So that would be, um, one difference that it's not as much bilingual, half English and half Spanish.
There are some people who want it actually to be genuinely all in Spanish 'cause that's, um, the language that they know and speak.
Mm-Hmm.
So to have some sense if your congregation is thinking about this, to know what the needs of the community are, uh, in particular, and then.
(23:48):
And then obviously we can design, um, for that.
Absolutely.
Simon, I'm so grateful that you're here as the rector and St.
James, thank you for all the wonderful ministry.
Y'all are doing.
I love being here with you all, and it's, it's been a great week.
Well, we're very happy to have you, and, and again, I just extend an invitation, anybody, if you're passing, um, through in this way, or you want to make a, make your Camino to Santiago here, come and we'll, um, I'd love to welcome you, give you your pilgrim shell, and you can connect, uh, with the church in this little corner of our diocese over here.
(24:24):
So thanks, thanks for visiting and bringing the whole diocese with you, Bishop.
Hey there, Diocese of the Rio Grande.
Welcome to St.
James Episcopal Church in Clovis, New Mexico.
And I know, you know, the Reverend Simon Carian.
Simon.
.999Hello, Diocese of the Rio Grande and welcome into our beautiful church here at St.
.999James Clovis. 8 00:00:31,99.999 --> 00:00:33,845 And I, Hope you enjoy the video.
(00:33):
And most of all, I extend always a very warm welcome.
Anybody from the diocese, if you're here in Clovis, look us up and come and have a little visit here in this beautiful church and the very beautiful community that's here too.
.999So tell me a little bit about Clovis. 12 00:00:50,875.001 --> 00:00:54,205 If you don't know about Clovis, Clovis is kind of midway down the state.
(00:54):
It's right on the Texas border, about as far east as you can go and still be in New Mexico.
.999Tell us what life is like about in Clovis and kind of the history of the town.
Why is it here? So Clovis is 116 years old. 16 00:01:10,844.999 --> 00:01:12,415 And I know that because St.
James is 116 years old.
(01:15):
And this was one of the founding first church communities that was here.
Clovis got to start really as a railroad town.
.999And this was one of the, um, only stops that would have been between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and then coming into Lubbock, Amarillo and then into Texas. 21 00:01:34,609.999 --> 00:01:38,899.999 So this was an important stop off, um, on the, the railroad.
(01:39):
It's a still, you know, there's a big rail that passes right through here and a lot of trains.
You can sometimes hear them, um, in the distance.
It's, we're not too, too far from the, Um, train tracks here, uh, and our church.
This particular church is real beautiful.
It's right on Main Street.
So it's a good, um, location.
(01:59):
There's always parades and things that are happening.
And, and when we do, we open the church, we put a little booth out.
And so, um, this church here has a long history with the, the community of Clovis.
And, and yeah, that's a little bit, uh, about the.
That's wonderful.
So it started off as kind of a railway town.
(02:19):
.999A lot of farmers here though, right? Dairy? A lot of farmers, um, were in this area, agriculture, and, um, about maybe 30 or 40 years ago, a pretty significant number of dairies moved in here.
And, um, I was explaining to Bishop, there's a whole little local economy that's built around this because just about five miles.
(02:44):
South of Clovis, headed towards Portales, is one of the largest cheese factories in the entire United States. 37 00:02:52,709.999 --> 00:03:08,340 So there's all these dairies that are here, and then they don't have to transport the milk very far to the cheese plant, where it's made into Kraft and other, I forget all the types, but any cheese you buy at the store, probably it came just from down the road here.
(03:08):
So then a lot of the agriculture Um, goes towards supporting the dairies who then sell to the cheese plants.
The thing goes out from here So that would be one main source of economy And then the other big thing that's here in Clovis is of course cannon air force base, which is a very major Air force base.
(03:31):
So we have a lot of airmen and women who um Come in through here and and serve a tour of duty, you know, from here.
So the military component of the community is also pretty strong.
Wonderful.
And in fact, we have some, uh, some of the retreats that are run from Cannon Air Force Base are actually happening at Bishop's Ridge now.
(03:56):
And so I think we've hosted them three times in the past year.
Oh, that's wonderful.
.999We're honored to have that kind of connection that folks from, folks from here who are serving on Cannon Air Force Base can come with their chaplains to, to have a time of retreat and training up at Bishop's Ridge. 47 00:04:12,739.999 --> 00:04:13,430 Oh, that's wonderful. 48 00:04:13,469.999 --> 00:04:15,520 There's a neat kind of connection in that way.
(04:16):
And so you've been Rector here, how long now? Remind me.
Let's see, I think I've been here now, um, around two years, something like that.
Something like that, yeah.
Going on about two years.
.999I spent a year here before I became Rector when I was doing my year of Anglican studies.
(04:36):
I think I've been here as part of this community about three years now.
Wonderful.
And so tell us about St.
James and the ministry here, the place, the people.
Absolutely.
.999Um, St.
.999James is just a beautiful community of people that goes way back and is, you know, like I was saying, established church here, but the people are real tight knit and love each other and have some of them been here a long time.
(05:06):
Um, some, you know, have come from other church communities that are here.
Clovis is a pretty, um, I would say a pretty religious area of the state.
.999This is sort of a very border of bible belt territory, so I think here in Clovis there's something like over 70 churches for a relatively small community, but to have that many churches, so it's a pretty, um, I guess religious area, but some of our people, you know, have come from other church traditions and maybe they find a little bit more open and welcoming expression of Christ's love here.
(05:46):
So we have some longtime Episcopalians who have been here.
Since this particular church that we're in was built in the 1940s.
And some remember Dr.
Ross Calvin, who was the first rector.
And, uh, uh, so we have people that go all the way back to that time and still have that sort of in the living memory to people, you know, coming into the, this church community, even a lot more recently.
(06:12):
So it's such a warm community.
I always love coming here because the people are so warm and the, and there's There's a real strong, people know in Clovis, may not know what the word Episcopal means, but they know what Chili Day is.
At least for a long time, this community fed chili to the whole county.
So is that still going? That's right.
(06:34):
So, uh, We have done the Chili Day, uh, we call it, uh, and I believe it got maybe to its 55th iteration, something like that.
So it had been around for a pretty long time and, and yeah, everybody in the community knew about it.
People would come and get chili for their whole office and take out, you know, 10, uh, to go boxes of the, all the chili.
(06:58):
So that was a major kind of community outreach, um, that had been around We've done a lot, and the, uh, this place would be pretty well known for.
We haven't done it in the past, um, year or so, and a lot of that is because the people who did it for all the many years are either retired or have gone on, and it takes a fair amount of energy, and, you know, we The last time we did it, which would have been, I guess, um, a year and a half ago, I think I browned 300 pounds of ground beef, so I was in there cooking, and I, I probably still smell like it, actually, even a year and a half late.
(07:37):
But so it took a fair amount of, um, people to do, so we haven't done the Chili Day.
We, we would probably do it again if we could get the, you know, the workforce to be able to do it.
Instead, we've shifted a little to, um, Instead of doing the chilly day, which was always the, um, Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
(07:58):
.999So that's when they had normally done it, right before, so on Shrove Tuesday, right before, uh, the lint season.
.999Um, so it was in February time, usually. 83 00:08:07,264.999 --> 00:08:16,510 Um, one thing that we've been trying to do a little bit, uh, Since we didn't do the chili day, we'll celebrate our feast day, um, and so we did a big St.
James, um, celebration, and we, um, didn't have the chili, but we did have grilling hot dogs and some other little things that weren't so labor intensive, but that was a great, um, community outreach, and we have a beautiful courtyard that's here, um, just outside of the church, and somebody from our, parish donated for the day, a massive water slide.
(08:41):
I mean, it was 25 feet tall, as tall as the church.
.999And so I was blasting neighborhood music and all these kids that I had never seen before were coming and they're jumping down the slide and grilling hot dogs. 87 00:08:54,834.999 --> 00:08:59,225 And, and so we had a nice, um, community outreach for the Feast of St.
James.
And I was giving away, blessed by God, Pilgrim shells, because of course, the symbol of St.
(09:04):
James is the pilgrim shell going to Santiago de Compostela.
So I've been telling people to make their camino and that I would give them their pilgrim shell.
And a beautiful image of it is if you can think of how a shell is, you know, a shell has all the different lines that come, but they all converge at one point.
So it's a nice symbol of, you know, every people coming from different backgrounds, different places, but all being able to converge at a sacred place to have a.
(09:31):
celebration.
And so that was a fun thing that we did just in the summer, not too long ago.
That's wonderful.
And an example, I think sometimes churches get stuck.
On, we always do this ministry, and this is what we're known for, so we have to keep doing it.
.999And, you know, maybe 50 years is enough, chilly day, you know? And, and the, it's great for a community to be able to say, like, we're not able to do that ministry in the same way that we used to.
(09:56):
It's okay for us to let it go and start something new.
That maybe this is the season of a different celebration.
You know, which doesn't mean it can't come back.
But just, I think sometimes churches get stuck in, we have to keep doing what we've always done.
And, and the freshness of being able to discern, hey, let's try something else, is really a blessing. 105 00:10:17,49.999 --> 00:10:20,359.999 So I'm, I'm glad to hear the, the, the liveliness of St. 106 00:10:20,359.999 --> 00:10:22,860 James, you know, emerging in different ways.
(10:22):
And you're bringing other great traditions here too.
Like last night, it was my blessing to be here.
With you for the blessing of the animals which was a great fun right in the courtyard there.
Absolutely.
So, um Last year on the feast of saint francis october 4th Um, that's a special day to me personally because that's my ordination anniversary.
So on october 4th, I have been 12 years ordained This past year, um, thanks be to God.
(10:48):
And so I have a good love of St.
Francis because it was ordained on that day.
.9995And so, um, one of the things that's in our book of occasional services is the St. 116 00:10:56,934.9995 --> 00:10:58,635 Francis blessing of animals.
And, um, you know, you don't use it very often because it's only on the one day and it's, uh, You know, you don't think about it, but those prayers are phenomenally beautiful.
(11:09):
They're, whoever, um, you know, was involved in the composition of that liturgy, I give them an A and their reward will be great in heaven for sure.
.999So, um, I did last year this blessing of the animals for St. 120 00:11:24,4.999 --> 00:11:26,134.9 Francis, and it was just a great blessing.
People bringing all their animals.
(11:29):
We, like I said, we have this nice courtyard so it can kind of be sealed off.
So, you know, dogs can run around and, and animals are part of our parish too.
.9995And they, they worship God and they're a channel of God's unconditional love to us. 125 00:11:44,354.9995 --> 00:11:52,820 So it's, um, Fitting and right to also be able to celebrate them and, and yeah, we had a bunch of people show up.
(11:52):
We had tons of dogs.
We even had some chickens that were brought, you know, and people who couldn't actually physically bring their animals or maybe their animals, you know, don't get along so well with all the others. 128 00:12:04,969.999 --> 00:12:05,970 They brought pictures.
So we have tons of pictures of all the pets and, and it was just, um, a great time.
Bishop went and he blessed all of the.
(12:14):
Animals and, and I was commenting with him a beautiful thing about the ritual is that we address the, the animal as a you, right? Not just as a creature, but as a, as a you, as a person that by name, I bless you, you know, uh, to keep that or whatever is the animals.
(12:35):
So it's a really beautiful thing to, uh, you know, bring them in.
.999There's some beautiful prayers in there also for people who have lost a pet and are grieving that, you know, it's obvious when you think about it, but it's, it's brilliant to say, yeah, look, this is, they're part of our family and we can, maybe this year we're sad because we don't have this companion that we've had all these years. 134 00:12:57,370.099 --> 00:12:59,380 And so, you know, you remember the.
(12:59):
The pets that we've had here, bless them each by name.
I mean, it was just a wonderful, joyful community.
It was beautiful.
.999And you were telling me, I had never noticed this before, because I've always done blessing the animals in this way, but you were pointing out that It's really unusual in all the Christian churches to address the animals directly and to use the second person, to use you.
(13:25):
.999Tell it, and you were talking to me yesterday about how other traditions do that.
.999So tell us about that contrast. 141 00:13:33,869.999 --> 00:13:41,735 Yeah, I mean, I'm no expert on any of this, but I think, Other rituals that I've seen that has an actual text.
So you're not just kind of winging it and saying the blessing of the, but there's actually a formula.
(13:46):
There's actually a, you know, a liturgical text.
They would usually have it of the sort of, you know, we bless you, God, for, you know, this creature, or may this creature serve our needs.
.999So, but it's always addressing it as an it, um, but it's, it's beautiful in our, we address it as a you.
(14:08):
Yeah, and so there's a acknowledgement of the goodness of creation there, but also of the Relationship and love and that that actually exists between us and the animal world and and so there it was really Wonderful.
I always love the blessing of the animals but particularly this one was really special because the atmosphere was so friendly and and Each there were mostly dogs and each dog would sort of jump up on you and you're given the blessing It was just really lovely Yeah, it was really good.
(14:38):
We did a little bit of community outreach that people who wanted to donate dog food or cat food or treats or something.
So we took a little collection and we're gonna be able to divvy that up.
.999And I want to give a shout out to St. 151 00:14:56,79.999 --> 00:15:01,805 Andrew's in Roswell because they have the whole, you know, uh, food pantry for pets too.
(15:01):
So, um, that's a good thing of seeing other good things in the diocese.
And we thought, you know, there's nothing really like that here in Clovis.
So that's a need sometimes people when they're struggling to make ends meet. 155 00:15:13,294.999 --> 00:15:19,585 And at the end of the month, you know, maybe they stretch out, uh, you know, the pet food a little bit.
.9So we're going to divvy that all up and then be able to give it to the community for those that are in need.
(15:25):
.999That's wonderful.
.999Roswell has such a fabulous.
food bank for pet food.
And in fact, when the fires came through.
Um, Rioso this time around.
Of course, everybody evacuated down the mountain towards Roswell.
.999And the need for pet food from all those folks who were evacuating was just through the roof and, and St.
(15:47):
.9995Andrews stepped up again as they always do to, to do that. 165 00:15:49,834.9995 --> 00:15:57,245 So it's a wonderful example of, being aware of what somebody else is doing really well in the diocese and saying, Hey, we could give that a shot here.
Cause this community needs it.
It's just wonderful.
Absolutely.
Um, as another example of a great, um, outreach.
And so then this encouraging, if there's somebody else out there that wants to do something like this, um, we did for the Hartley house, which is the, A domestic violence shelter that's here in Clovis, so they help people who are victims of domestic violence, um, find a safe place to be. 171 00:16:22,369.999 --> 00:16:27,770 You can stay, um, up to 90 days in a place where, you know, you're safe, you're away.
(16:28):
.999And they really help, um, You know, these people, uh, they help, of course, mainly women, but some men also are, are helped there, but people who have just been battered and had their lives torn apart, um, because of domestic violence, and they, they help these people to get back on their feet, but our Daughters of the King, um, are there.
(16:48):
Chloe chapter, which is, um, really wonderful, really active here at the parish.
.999Um, they did an incredible thing, which was a purse drive.
So, collecting from people who had extra or wanted to donate a purse, and then they got all of these purses, and then, Um, collected toiletries, beauty products, feminine products, um, gift cards, things like that.
(17:15):
.9995So then we got all of these purses and then stuffed them with all of these necessities that, that you could have. 177 00:17:22,384.9995 --> 00:17:24,494.999 And, and some of the purses were really nice. 178 00:17:24,494.999 --> 00:17:26,845 The lady said, that's a 300 purse.
And that's not for you.
That's going over there.
So, but, um, and then I was joking at that, who would have thought that women had so many extra purses, but no, they had a lot of extra and we collected about a hundred purses and filled them up.
(17:40):
And then the people from the Hartley house came to our Sunday Eucharist and we did a special thing of blessing them and blessing them, the people who would receive them and helping them to, uh, you know, get all the help that they need.
And that was just, uh, again, uh, a creative example of.
Finding the need and no other church had ever done that.
(18:02):
No other church had done a purse drive specifically and helping them out.
So, um, yeah, it identified a need. 187 00:18:08,299.999 --> 00:18:10,150 It was a great community building.
People felt good about it and actually really helping people that are in need here in the local community. 189 00:18:16,759.999 --> 00:18:24,470 It's just a beautiful example of a good creative idea that gels everybody together and connects the church to those outside and there's something else.
(18:25):
We're going to do tonight for the first time.
Yes.
This is very exciting I am putting the bishop to work if he's coming all this way He's we're going to get our money's worth out of this guy right on that is We are going to be celebrating for the first time ever in our parish history a bilingual eucharist tonight So you're looking into the sanctuary of the church, but behind, and that I and the bishop can see, is a brand new stack of the new translation of the prayer book, Libro de Oración Común.
(18:57):
.999And we're very excited to be able to celebrate a bilingual liturgy. 194 00:19:02,234.999 --> 00:19:04,985 And this, um, as far as I know, will be the first time.
Ever here in this parish that the Eucharist will have been celebrated in Spanish.
And this is a great community outreach.
The need for Spanish speaking ministry is very great here because there's a lot of people who You know, our immigrants or they come here looking for work.
(19:25):
They work in the lecherias.
They are in agriculture.
.999They're just trying to make their way.
So we have a pretty significant Spanish speaking population that's here. 202 00:19:37,289.999 --> 00:19:45,690 And I've had a number of people ask me when they come, you know, Padre, tienes la misa en español? And so far I've had to say, you know. 203 00:19:45,875.1 --> 00:20:05,145 Lo siento, no, tenemos la misa solamente en ingles, and, but now I can finally tell them, Sí, tenemos la misa en español! Que vengan todos ustedes! So, if you hear that, you come out here, we want to, we're going to celebrate the, The mass in Spanish, it's going to be a beautiful thing.
(20:05):
And I hope as, as we go on, um, eventually to integrate that we'll have a Spanish, um, liturgy probably every Sunday.
So that's where the goal is, um, to get there. 206 00:20:16,754.999 --> 00:20:23,585 And we have the, like I said, the books, we're going to kick that ministry off, uh, with a bang tonight.
And with alabados and praises to God.
(20:27):
And, and so, and the bishop is preaching in Spanish.
No, I'm just kidding. 210 00:20:31,120.1 --> 00:20:36,860 No tengo, but, um, yeah, we're real excited about that.
And that's, um, Just meeting a good need.
The, the Spanish speaking community of Clovis is a little bit different than perhaps other parts of the, of the Diocese.
.9Where, you know, if I think of a place like in Taos or Santa Fe or even in the Albuquerque area, there are established communities there that go back, you know, 400 years.
(20:58):
Plus years, but here a lot of our Spanish speaking people are really just fresh here into the, the, this country that they're here looking for work and, and all of that.
So it's a little bit different, um, flavor of, of Hispanic ministry that's here as compared to, you know, maybe, uh, the Norteño area, but, um, we're very excited about it.
(21:23):
And, um, And yeah, thank you for your prayers and support.
.999I also want to give a shout out to Father Ryan who donated a beautiful Our Lady of Guadalupe, uh, chasuble to our parish.
.9995So thank you. 219 00:21:36,359.9995 --> 00:21:46,760 And, and I think it's good, you know, pulling the resources that we have, um, so that way we can get that ministry up and going and maybe in other parts of the diocese too.
(21:47):
Yes.
One of the things that you're highlighting here, which is really important.
Sometimes people think.
Spanish ministry or Spanish speaking ministry is sort of one thing and yet not just in our diocese, but throughout the church It's really important to do what you all have done here which is to be very cognizant and aware of the community that is here and what their need might be and Then try to build the ministry there, right? So tell me a little bit about the process that you all went through or that you went through in terms of thinking through What what is needed in Clovis? Because you grew up in Albuquerque, you're a, you're a New Mexican, you know the different areas, but Clovis has its own special needs.
(22:27):
So, um, immediately one difference is that there are people here who, Um, whereas I feel like in other parts of our state where people have, you know, had multiple generations of being here, they speak Spanish and maybe that's their preferred way of talking to God, relating to God that's feels traditional, sacred, beautiful.
(22:55):
So they, you know, the Padre Nuestros, the Ave Maria, all of that, um, into their, the very soul.
Yeah.
.999But those people also, though, would be able to speak English, so they would appreciate and love Spanish, but then they can also understand if you're doing in English.
.999Whereas somebody who has just come here and doesn't have, you know, hardly any English at all. 229 00:23:19,484.999 --> 00:23:26,565 They really want to have, um, Majority of the service to be in Spanish or not, if not all, completely in Spanish.
(23:26):
So that would be, um, one difference that it's not as much bilingual, half English and half Spanish.
There are some people who want it actually to be genuinely all in Spanish 'cause that's, um, the language that they know and speak.
Mm-Hmm.
So to have some sense if your congregation is thinking about this, to know what the needs of the community are, uh, in particular, and then.
(23:48):
And then obviously we can design, um, for that.
Absolutely.
Simon, I'm so grateful that you're here as the rector and St.
James, thank you for all the wonderful ministry.
Y'all are doing.
I love being here with you all, and it's, it's been a great week.
Well, we're very happy to have you, and, and again, I just extend an invitation, anybody, if you're passing, um, through in this way, or you want to make a, make your Camino to Santiago here, come and we'll, um, I'd love to welcome you, give you your pilgrim shell, and you can connect, uh, with the church in this little corner of our diocese over here.
(24:24):
So thanks, thanks for visiting and bringing the whole diocese with you, Bishop.
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