​March 26, 2020

Dear People of God at St. Mark's,

As we settle into this strange, but TEMPORARY, "new normal", I want to remind you that St. Mark's is still here, all of us are still here for each other, and most importantly of all, God is still here.

Last week I said that it seemed things were changing almost hourly.  That crazy pace has not subsided!  We made one decision about how to worship together this weekend, then decided it wasn't fair to ask anyone to come into the church to video directly from there.  "Really, we should all be staying at home."  Now the "Stay at Home" advice is no longer just advice!  We decided we'd go "live" with church at 10 a.m., then yesterday were warned that internet would probably not work well with so many churches on all at the same time!  A search showed that 10 a.m. was, indeed, the most popular hour!  Should we change the time?  Find another way?  So today, we created yet another plan and tried to learn enough about new technology to be certain that what we had in mind was feasible.

Those experiences of "Oops!  Make a plan, but be flexible!" are of course being multiplied in each of your own lives.  I have a hunch that God is reminding us that our plans should always be held lightly, that every moment is a gift to be savored, and that our relationships truly are the most important thing.  As we continue to move forward, I trust that we will learn powerful lessons about resiliency, and profound new lessons about the many gifts of God that we have too often taken for granted. 

We've done several things this week to strengthen our ability to stay in touch with each other and with the wider community. 

•  Our Outreach Team has spoken with each of our partners.  Please see Paul Duggan's message, on our Giving page, with what he learned and how you can help HERE

• We've planned worship for us to share with each other in a video that will be available beginning at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning.  See the link on our "How to Stay Connected" info in our newsletter or click HERE

•  The updated St. Mark's "Cycle of Prayer" - a daily guide for keeping all of us in each others prayers - is now available for you to download HERE.

•  Families of Sunday school aged children will be receiving materials they can use for family conversation and activity in the coming week - and we will be adding new resources on our website on a regular basis as we find or create them.

•   Our Teen Confirmation Class will meet via Zoom at 9:15 on Sunday.

•   Our "Keep in Touch Buddies" plan is ready to assign to willing parishioners who are available to keep in contact with one or two other parishioners, especially those who don't have nearby family or who aren't as comfortable with technology (or don't have access to it).  If you are willing to be part of that effort, click HERE. 

•   The Vestry has set up a regular, weekly meeting in order to stay abreast of all that's happening, needs or concerns that are arising and so on.  Vestry members will be staying in touch with the ministries for which they are liaisons and asking those leaders to touch base weekly with those in their ministry groups.

•    Beginning Sunday, March 29th, every night at 8:00 pm, we'll hold a Compline service via Zoom.  These are the "bedtime prayers" of the Church, and a lovely, peaceful way to close out the day.  To join in, see the link in our "How to Stay Connected" info, below.  (Thanks to all who helped with a "test run" last night!  Please be assured we have found the "mute all" button!)  No Prayer Book at home?  No worries.  Click HERE to find Compline online.  If you'd be willing to lead Compline, please let me know HERE. 

We are growing quickly in our capacity with all these new options and promise to keep learning and sharing with all of you as quickly as we can!  If you have ideas or feedback, please let us know.  We're all in this learning curve together, on oh, so many levels!  I am glad to be doing that learning with each of you who are part of this particular corner of the household of God. 

​Please know my prayers remain with each of you. 

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Debbie Shew+
Rector

Friday, March 13, 2020
​
Dear People of God at St. Mark’s,
 
It is a strange moment that we are living through!  The coronavirus is beginning to disrupt daily lives in unprecedented ways and is creating lots of anxiety for all of us.  I spent most of yesterday in touch with San Juan Basin Public Health, Episcopal colleagues from our region, and local clergy colleagues here in Durango, as well as pouring over the ever-changing news and announcements from other dioceses about the choices they were making in their contexts.  I was grateful for a wonderful video/statement from Presiding Bishop Curry, HERE, reminding us that we are all in this together, literally and globally, and I realized that a deeper understanding of this profound truth could be one of the good things to emerge in the midst of all this suffering.  I encourage you to check it out, as well as his statement yesterday, HERE, that the moral primacy of love trumps any other consideration as we make decisions.
 
My constant questions were, “How can we best respond from St. Mark’s?  What are the options that will be responsible to the needs of the most people - our own folks at St. Mark’s, so many of whom are in high-risk groups, but also of all our neighbors?  Where’s the balance between precautions in the midst of unclear data, and not creating disruptions that could turn out to have been unnecessary?” No one could tell, exactly, where that line was, which is why this is all so crazy-making for everyone!  I consulted with various parish leaders, noted decisions other churches were making and said lots of prayers for wisdom!  As the day developed, I learned two new things that made the decision even more complicated:  we had a parishioner now in self-quarantine who’d been at church the other day (very likely unnecessary, but it’s the “unlikely” that makes these decisions hard!), and Durango now had an unconfirmed case of COVID-19.

Quite literally as I was opening email last evening to begin this note, a letter arrived from Bishop Lucas that gave updated directives. I am very grateful for the considerations and prayer that went into her decision-making and I hope you will take a moment to read her words to all of us, HERE.  The bottom line is that she has asked of us two things that are difficult, but I believe wise and necessary.  She is asking that:
​

1. Anyone over 60, or anyone who has heart disease, lung issues or diabetes, stay home from all church activities, beginning immediately.
   
   
2.  Every parish, beginning on March 22, suspend all public worship and other gatherings (for both parish and outside groups who use our buildings), continuing through April 1.  She will give us updated guidance on March 31.

She knew this would be hard, disruptive, even painful, in very many ways.  But I firmly believe that she has made the right call, and I am grateful for her leadership. 
 
This made things sparkling clear beginning Sunday, March 22nd. But it was less clear regarding this coming Sunday.  Here were the two key issues:  While I am not yet 60, I do have Type 2 diabetes, and thus am directed not to be at worship or meetings beginning immediately. These age/health factors are also true of all of the clergy who can normally take my place on Sunday morning. Secondly, most of you are in one of those age or health categories, as well.  This would leave us without clergy leadership (though we could do Morning Prayer), but also with a very tiny congregation present! 

Putting those factors together with a deep concern for our responsibility to others in our community, Senior Warden Marcy Jung and I decided late last evening that the wisest course was to begin our “fast from public worship” NOW.  This means WE WILL NOT HOLD WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 15th, though other meetings could happen at church next week, if attendees meet the age/health guidelines. Most will not, and some groups who use our space have already decided not to gather.  I am especially pained at not having a chance to see all of you one more time face-to-face, but that is where this strange and new situation has called us!
 
There is a dismissal at the end of worship that many of us love.  The deacon says to us:  “You have BEEN to church, now go BE the Church.”  That is exactly what this odd season will help us to explore.  How can we BE the church, in new and creative ways, even in the midst of a season when we can’t GO to church? We are still the Body of Christ, connected one to another, whether in person or apart.  My deep prayer is that we will begin to understand this in new ways, and that it will bear fruit in our lives together at St. Mark’s.  I have a hunch all of this will impact our prayer and thinking as we continue our journey toward a new mission statement; we are going to learn new ways to understand our bonds in Christ, and new ways to love the world around us. 
 
I know that many of you may have questions about all of this, and I encourage you to contact me HERE or the office HERE.  Please also continue to check our website HERE, and our Facebook and Instagram accounts for ongoing updates.  We will of course continue to explore what all of this means in practical terms over the next couple of days, including on Monday evening when the Vestry will meet “virtually” to discuss creative ways to continuing caring for one another.  In the meantime, though, please know that I am praying for each one of you, as well as for God to lead us to new, creative, even fun ways to be St. Mark’s for the world around us.  I am so grateful for the ways I know we will rise to this occasion, faith intact and even strengthened.  Please continue to pray for our world in the midst of these uncertain times.  I offer two prayers below for your possible use, both of which I find powerful ways to focus my intentions.  The second, from a prayer book our military members use, asks God to provide for us all the spiritual benefits of the Holy Communion, even when we cannot be there in person.  We had planned to print up nice copies and include it in notes to those who had to be at home, but now its wisdom applies to all of us! 
 
I also invite all of you to join me this Sunday at 9:15 a.m. local time for “virtual” worship with the Presiding Bishop from the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (where parishes have also been directed to close).  We’ll keep you posted as we explore ways to worship in the following weeks.
 
If I have to be exploring these new ways of thinking about how to be the Church, I am certainly grateful to be doing it in partnership with all of you.  Our challenges of the particular moment may be new, but the love, compassion and grace of our great God are surely not! 
 
May that love and grace be with all of you now.
 
Yours in Christ,
  
Debbie+
 
For additional information, please be sure to read our regular weekly e-Bulletin.

God of the present moment,
God who in Jesus stills the storm
and soothes the frantic heart;
bring hope and courage to all
who wait or work in uncertainty.
Bring hope that you will make them the equal
of whatever lies ahead.
Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided,
for your will is health and wholeness;
you are God, and we need you. Amen.
 
(Adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 765)
 
When You Cannot Attend Worship:

In union, O Lord, with your faithful people at every altar of your Church, where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated. I desire to offer you praise and thanksgiving. I remember your death, Lord Christ; I proclaim your resurrection; I await your coming in glory. And since I cannot receive you today in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood, I beseech you to come spiritually into my heart. Cleanse and strengthen me with your grace, Lord Jesus, and let me never be separated from you. May I live in you, and you in me, in this life and the life to come. Amen.

 Prayer Book for Armed Forces (Episcopal, 1988)

_______________________________________________________________________
Resources for Accurate and Updated Information:
 
For general COVID-19 information from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), click HERE.
 
For Colorado-specific information from The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, click HERE.

For local LaPlata County information, click HERE.

After many months of onsite work, we have nearly completed refurbishing the Monks' Rooms in the Commons Building at St Christopher’s Episcopal Mission near Bluff, Utah!  Twelve parishioners from St Mark’s have scraped, repaired, and painted the walls.  We have resurfaced the floors, obtained some lightly used, sturdy furniture, and purchased and installed new beds.  After many days of pouring cement, laying tile, assembling beds, now the remaining tasks are to place some colorful rugs on the floors, polish some of the furniture, and put out the welcoming door mats. 

Our work teams have consisted of members who have been college faculty, a jet pilot, business people, school teachers, and construction workers, all of whom possess helpful hands and big hearts.  We have groaned at times during a wide variety of bending and reaching.  We have freely discussed how best to improve these historic stone rooms, gotten to know each other over picnic lunches, laughed at each other’s foibles, and reflected about the memories we were making each day of our ministry.  We have met people who have become out friends, among them Vicar Kay, Sr. Warden Bill Lincoln,, Margaret Benally (who among other things, looks after these rooms when visitors come) and Walter Shorty, who has been the ever present Dine’ anchor each step of the way.  These months have truly been a worldly and spiritual journey, not to be soon forgotten. 

Please celebrate with us the completion of a worthy community project, propelled by the prayers, skills, and resources of many persons, visible and behind the scenes.  Many, many thanks to all!      

Beginning with our assistance to Navajo (Dine’) families through the installation of solar lights, we have intensified our activities with the St Christopher’s Mission near Bluff, Utah. Slightly modifying our focus, we have begun to work on projects that will enhance the economic well-being of this particular mission site.

The Rev. H. Baxter Liebler (1889-1982) founded St Christopher’s in 1943.  He had previously founded St. Savior’s Episcopal Church in Old Greenwich, Connecticut in 1918.  Over many years the Mission developed a day school, and a clinic/hospital, along with the church.  Setting on approximately 150 acres, many of the Mission buildings need repair or updating.  St Patrick’s Episcopal Church, Pagosa Springs recently made significant improvements to the Museum building, which holds many historical artifacts, by replacing the fascia to the roof, sealing the ends of the external vigas, and painting the window shutters. 

On June 5th five representatives of St Mark’s (David and Charlie Shew, Sam Burns, Marcy Jung and her partner Barb LaRue) began improvements to two other buildings, which will increasingly be used to host camp and retreat groups, and a variety of visitors.  David, Charlie, and Sam began painting a large hallway connecting four bedrooms, as well as the kitchen and dining room in what is called the Community Building. Marcy and Barb initiated an inventory and assessment to redecorate and renovate sleeping quarters called the Monk’s Rooms, located in the most historic building on the campus, the Commons, which is on the National Historic Register. 

As plans unfold, we'll be looking for furnishings (tables, lamps, rugs, pictures, mattresses, and drapes/curtains), which can be used to make the rooms more comfortable, and to reflect a Southwestern theme.  Both of these building will generate additional income for the St Christopher’s Mission, and thereby improve its overall financial strength and stability.


More details will be forthcoming about these improvements.  If you want to help obtain furnishings, or wish to donate an item or financial resources, please contact Caroline Kinser, Marcy Jung, or Sam Burns.  Initially, two-three person work groups will be formed for each of the five rooms in the Commons Building, in order to guide the renovations.  Your service will be most appreciated.  Getting to know the members, staff, and ministers at St Christopher’s has been a blessing to all of us who have made the journey there.  Please keep a lookout for future opportunities to stain a dozen picnic tables, to work with the blue corn planting and harvesting, and to be a part of this partnership with our Episcopal neighbors in NavajoLand. 

On March 19-20, several St Mark’s parishioners conducted a spring clean-up at SCM near Bluff Utah:  Larry Tweedy, Bruce Rodman, Ellen Babers and her son Nathaniel and husband, Mike, and Sam Burns.  We were able to spend the night in the historic building called the Commons, and worked closely with The Rev. Kay Rohde and Walter Shorty, part-time maintenance staff. 

We cleaned up leaves and tumble weeds in a large yard around the vicarage, removed volunteering trees from the social area near the Commons, and cleaned up the playground behind the food bank and the “winter church.”  Working with Walter, we loaded trash on a trailer which was hauled to either the compost site or a burn pile.  Some broken playground equipment was hauled to a recycle site on the west side of the campus.
We inventoried future needs for assistance, which include:

• an additional trip to finish clean-up of the grounds,
• mitigating a drainage problem,
• improving irrigation in the orchard,
• redecorating bedrooms used for visiting groups,
• constructing a small kitchen garden area,  and planting flowers,
• organizing the archives in the museum (holding many of the records and artifacts of Father Leibler’s, (founder of SCM in 1943) tenure),
• and supporting economic development enterprises selected by SCM leadership.

On Sunday evening we attended a pizza party for a departing parishioner, with 25 or more participants, including both Navajo (Dine’) and non-Native members, some of whom have retired in Bluff in recent years.  It was with great enjoyment that we heard the stories of families and friends of SCM, one of whom had begun school there at the age of 2.
Coordination with the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, via its Justice and Advocacy Initiative is proceeding to assemble additional financial assistance and volunteer support.  St Patrick’s (Pagosa) will send a construction crew in early May to rehab the fascia boards and soffit on the Museum building.  (Estimated cost for materials is $1,000.00)  The return trip to complete the spring clean-up is currently being planned to occur in 2-3 weeks. If you are interested in going, please contact Sam Burns at burns_s@fortlewis.edu.