First Church Mission Trip to New Mexico

A Prayer for our Last Night in Abiquiu

2008-05-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

Let us pray.

Oh God, the creator of the entire universe and every creature in it:

Here at Ghost Ranch this week we have been dramatically reminded that you were here before we ever got here. The signs and scenes and shapes point and direct our very beings to your handiwork and to the reality that this creation has purpose and relates to your ultimate plan.

We are in awe of sunsets that can only be called sacred. Our eyes and selves are bowled over by the bright colors, shaded tones and their reflections - the brown, the tans, the yellows, the oranges, the reds - of the mesas and hills. The panoramic beauty from Chimney Rock almost leads us into lasting and eternal magnificence.

And yes, O God, there is the breath of fresh air!

We specially thank you this night and acknowledge our new friends at Pueblo San Ildefonso and Tewa Women United who were here long before any of us or our ancestors. We thank you for the blessing of being part of their community of caring and advocacy.

Oh God, what beauty and strength we have all shared!

Amen.

(Offered by Reverend Dick Pease, May 22, 2008)

Sunday: Leaving Ghost Ranch Santa Fe

2008-05-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

Today we awoke at 5am to catch a 9am flight from Albuquerque. It's 6:15am and we'll be leaving in a few moments.

Our 9-day mission trip has come to an end, but we will have more thoughts and connections to share here over the coming days.

Being together here has truly been a blessing.

Saturday: Free Day in Santa Fe

2008-05-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone was on their own today. A group of us went up to Museum Hill to visit the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival. Located a short ways above central Santa Fe, it's home to four world-class museums presenting the art, history and culture of the Native American Southwest, the Spanish colonial past, and folk traditions from around the world.

After visiting the various booths displaying wares of many Indian artists (and purchasing a few beautiful pieces of jewelry, visual art and crafts) we explored the excellent Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. The permanent exhibits at the museum trace the history, culture and Arts of the pueblo people through the centuries drawing on stories and experiences of native peoples.

Of note was one section of the exhibits dealing with Indian gravesites and archeology with cautionary signs and recordings (in both Tewa and Navajo, as well as English) warning that viewers may wish to bypass particular displays out of respect for their ancestors. A very touching and thoughtful request.

Another appreciated aspect was stories from the curators themselves on how they came to be involved with the museum and the tribes to which they belong.

There were other exhibits dealing with contemporary issues in Indian art, pottery, fashion design and even the influence of comic books and comic art in native culture.

Some of us also went to the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, the fabulous Museum of International Folk Art (an unparalleled collection that includes toys, textiles, household goods and religious art) and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, New Mexico's oldest private non-profit museum, emphasizing important Native American art in an eight-sided building inspired by a traditional Navajo hooghan.

After 4pm many of us went back to downtown Santa Fe to walk the Plaza, have a snack, do some shopping and enjoy the wonderful weather (it was clear all day with brilliant blue skies and sunny temperatures in the 70s).

Later in the evening we all met at Los Mayas for New Mexican food, a few margaritas and good conversation. It's curious to think that 24 hours from now we'll be back in New York City...

It has been an amazing time.

Talking About Photos...

2008-05-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

By the way, the photo montage on the upper righthand column of this blog is of several images characteristic of San Ildefonso (Poh-Woh-Geh) pueblo. The photo in the upper left is of the village looking toward the mountains beyond Black Mesa, the image below it is the famous black-on-black pottery developed and perfected in the village. The center image is of wooden beams protruding from a adobe house and the last photo is of Maria Martinez, the woman who with her husband Julian was responsible for the revival of native earthen ware and the creation of black-on-black pottery in San Ildefonso.

Another note...our digital camera isn't able to upload photos to the blog anymore (the connector broke and it'll be available when we get back to New York). So, we apologize about not having any photos after the first day. Please check back here after Sunday evening.

Thanks. :)

Friday: Evening at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe

2008-05-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Evening in Santa Fe and some free time before dinner. Lots to choose from...New Mexico Museum of Art, Palace of the Governors , Georgia O'Keeffe Museum , Institute of American Indian Arts Museum among others and lots of choices for coffee, shopping and walking. Though the weather turned cold and the rain was still drizzling, we all gathered at Blue Corn Cafe at 8:30 for some hearty New Mexican cooking. Michael's wife Diane and Carol's brother Jim and sister-in-law Helen also dined with us, but Rich was off earlier to catch a flight to Florida and Aruba with his family and Helen had to leave earlier for Albuquerque.

The rain stopped by 11pm...in time for the walk back home to Ghost Ranch Santa Fe, just four blocks from the plaza center of town.

Friday: Morning at Ghost Ranch Abiquiu

2008-05-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

We spent this morning cleaning up and packing for the trip back to Santa Fe. Several early risers made a quick hike up to Chimney Rock at 6am (in the rain!) for a last view across to the broad mesa beyond. Breakfast was at 7:30 and we had some time afterwards to move our luggage outside our cabins and place our linens in pillowcases outside our doors. Then we took a group photo outside the Agape Center (William is missing from the picture above, but he arrived a few seconds later. One with him in it will be uploaded later!)

Half of the group headed off to Santa Fe, while the other half remained to walk the labyrinth, shop a little more at the trading post and spend some additional time at the library. Those of us in the second group then drove off to visit Echo Canyon and the village of Abiquiu, the longtime home of artist Georgia O'Keefe. We arrived at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe around 4pm, just in time to check out the free museums around the plaza from 5 to 8.

Thursday: Evening Together

2008-05-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

It was late when we arrived back at Ghost Ranch, but we all met in the Agape Center to talk about the week and share our thoughts on this trip to New Mexico and how we might continue our contact with the people of San Ildefonso. It was mentioned that Kathy and Gilbert and their sons often travel to the east coast and we'd like to host them when they are next in the area. There was also talk of finding assistance for Tewa Women United, discussing alternatives to renting their space and how to connect them with new funding. We also talked about possiblities for other mission trips in the future.

(more to follow)

Thursday: Barbeque Dinner

2008-05-22T19:53:00.001-07:00

We arrived back at the firing pit late in the afternoon and gathered together at the newly constructed (and still under construction) Sanchez family home. The weather had changed some more...the rain had stopped but it had gotten quite chilly and windy. After unloading tools and supplies, we headed inside and found a roaring fire and a long table being set for dinner.

Gilbert and Waylan were gathering some more wood and Kathy, Evelyn and Vanessa were getting the food ready. After we were all seated, Gilbert Sr. gave a Tewa blessing while feeding the spirits with burning sage and kernels of corn.

After the blessing, Kathy gave an introduction to her daughter who earned an associates degree in construction and specializes in environmentally-friendly adobe construction. She gave a quick talk about her experiences in the Tewa villages, how buildings are renovated and restored and what building codes vary from pueblo to pueblo. She showed us samples of her work and photos in several large binders.

Gilbert Sr. spoke next. He was a former governor of San Ildefonso and has served as an advisor to several administrations in Washington. He talked about environmental issues on the reservation and issues regarding Los Alamos and nuclear proliferation.

Gilbert Jr. and Waylan then set out some more of the family pottery and earthen art and Ramos Sanchez, an accomplished painter in traditional native watercolor, set some of his work around the fire and the near the windows of the room. We were invited to talk after dinner about how the works were created.

Then we were all asked to serve ourselves in the kitchen and bring our food back to the long table.

Barbequed pork ribs and chicken, chili, beans and corn and salad were on the menu, all wonderfully tasty. The Sanchez family made us feel very much a part of their family and we all had a good time sharing about our time together. For dessert, we had chocolate cake and cheesecake (Gilbert's favorite).

Dick introduced Betty again to the Sanchez family and she presented gifts to Kathy...a recording of the First Church choir and a new CD of the Alexander Chapel Organ which had been constructed and dedicated to her late husband Rees. She was very grateful and all were touched by the thoughtful gesture.

Kathy closed our time together and her husband spoke a bit about maintaining our connections. We said the family and the community are aways welcome in New York and it was agreed that we are all now related as family and friends.

We stayed for a while longer, taking photos of the kids and our group, acquiring some special and beautiful artwork and pottery and saying goodbyes.

It was a satisfying dinner in many ways and we left Poh-Woh-Geh with full stomachs and hearts.

Thursday: A Tour of the Pueblo

2008-05-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

We arrived in the late afternoon back as San Ildefonso pueblo. The visitor's center was closed, but Gilbert and Waylan split up into our vans for a tour of the village.

Pueblo San Ildefonso has a long and tumultuous history. Black Mesa, the 'Masada' of the Tewa people, is the historic heart of the reservation. The Spanish conquistadors tried to subdue the villagers and force their religion during the early 1600’s, which lead to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The people withstood the Spaniards by climbing to the top of Black Mesa, the imposing edifice near the center of the village. The siege ended with the surrender of the locals, but the Spanish gave the native people some freedom of religion and other self-governing rights.

We were shown the governing offices, day school, festival grounds and Great Kiva (click for a 360 degree view), as well as the stocked fishing lake near the Rio Grande, which was recently flooded from the day's rains.

Waylan showed us the town center and we all took a trip to see the new oven some of us were constructing for Evelyn (Kathy's sister) and her family. The foundation was laid and ready for the new adobes.

Then we drove back to the firing pit site for the barbeque dinner...

Thursday: Site Work

2008-05-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

We woke to scattered showers and chilly weather....

After breakfast this morning, we all headed over to Tewa Womens United to finish up the work there and give those of us who were on other sites a chance to see the new mural and groundswork. Helen, who is an accomplished scenic artist specializing in creative wall
treatments, showed us her completed design and Ellen, Diana C., William, Margo and others finished up the front walkway, planting flowers and greenery:

Georgia humbly displayed her beautifully painted birdhouses and decorations for around the building. It should look very nice for their grand re-opening later this month.
After a stop to pick up cheesecake for our hosts (we'll be having a barbeque at the reservation later today and Gilbert mentioned he loves cheesecake), we then drove over to the firing pit to see the work there. The roof was completed and the firepit covered over. George stayed to help a bit more while the others drove over to the gathering place.

Though the weather was threatening showers, we started to work on gathering stones for a spiral and digging holes for making adobe. Aurora tirelessly started patching the semi-circular
adobe seating areas and Michael, Gilbert, Rich and Sorrel Ann continued cutting and hammering the wooden beams of the 'roof' of the arbor:

Betty, William, Barbara, Diana, Ellen, Diana C., Margaret and Rita had lots of different jobs digging the trenches, working with pick axes, raking the grounds and arranging the stones. George arrived and assisted Aurora with the abobe:

Then it started to storm...

Waylan arrived with a truckfull of stone which were unloaded as the rain started to come down. Those of us who had rain gear stayed outside and Gilbert told us all to gather the tools and ladders and head to the barbeque back in the village. Aurora and George had to practically be dragged from the site...they really wanted to finish that adobe wall!

In the late afternoon, we made our way down from the gathering place back down to the pueblo.

New Arrival

2008-05-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Margaret joined us today! She arrived at 4pm in Santa Fe and Dick and Georgia drove down to meet her. Also joining us for dinner this evening are Carol's brother and sister-in-law.

We'll have a group meeting at 8:30pm tonight to talk about the day's work and plans for remaining time here...

Wednesday: Site Work

2008-05-21T18:03:00.001-07:00

Back to Tewa Women United and San Ildefonso...

At TWU: Grounds work is nearly done. Flowers were planted and the yard raked. The mural is almost finished and Kathy and Corrine were updated on the website progress.

At San Ildefonso: Lots of work completed in the field and garden...

Betty, Rita and Barbara worked with Bob in the greenhouse, planting seedlings and watering:

Barbara finished tending rows of garlic, piling up dirt around the base of the plants to keep some of the moisture in the soil:

At the firing pit, Michael, George, Rich and Waylan Sanchez (Gilbert's brother) were putting up shelving in the storage area and finishing the area next to the pit.

Sorrel Ann and Gilbert were high up on the frame, drilling down nails to hold the tin roof:

The firing pit is nearly completed and we'll go back tomorrow morning to finish up laying the roof and lining the pit.

In the afternoon, we all went to the gathering place where the Gathering for Mother Earth festival will be held at the end of September. The grounds are located high on a small plateau off a dirt road some distance away from the highway. We arrived with lumber and tools to demolish the existing 'arbor' (a sort of semi-circular Stonehenge-like structure with upright timber beams and short adobe walls) and construct a new one.

After unloading the truck, we removed all the old rotted poles and wire mesh, removed some of the cracking adobe blocks and began hoisting the timbers. Rich, George and Michael did much of the heavy demolition, knocking down the beams and prying loose the old connecting timber. Aurora, Sorrel Ann and William (and Waylan Jr.!) dug a pit to make the new adobe and Barbara, Rita, Diana C. and Ellen coated the new beams with weatherproofing:

By the end of the afternoon, the wind kicked up and Gilbert suggested with wait to finish tomorrow (rather than having our stuff fly around and hit someone on the head), so after a refreshing break (ice-cold vitamin water all around) we headed back to the ranch for dinner.

A good day.

Tuesday: Site Work

2008-05-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

Back to Tewa Women United and San Ildefonso...

At TWU: Helen is collaborating with Tony, who taught art at Columbia for years, and Carol, who was a professional textile designer, on the painting of a mural on the back wall facing the reception area.

Helen says; "The project has bits of all three of us, with Tony leading us in use of bright blocks of color to create the feel of the western landscape. The idea is to leave something that would be seen immediately on entering the Tewa building, and a canvas upon which children can paint dessert animals and plants, or can continue the mural down the wall with the colors, which we left behind."

Here's the start of the mural in progress:

Also at TWU: Sorrel Ann is helping update the TWU website and talking to the technology people on the phone.

Ellen, William, Diana C., Dick and Georgia are tending the grounds and clearing the garden:

At San Ildefonso: Michael, George, Rich, Gilbert and his brother framed the fire pit shed and prepared for the placement of a tin roof tomorrow:

Rita and Barbara were at the greenhouse, assisting with planting. Aurora, Diana, Margo and Evelyn Sanchez removed the old adobe bricks and demolished the cooking oven:

Monday Night: A Slight Detour....

2008-05-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

After work, some in our group decided to head back directly to the ranch, while a few brave souls (about 13 of us) thought it might be fun to visit the "nearby" Valles Caldera National Preserve .

Well, it turned out to be just a little farther away than we'd thought. More than six hours later...a few one-lane mountain passes, detours, bumpy dirt roads and out-of-battery GPS devices later...we arrived back at Ghost Ranch.

Phew!....

Monday: Site Work at San Ildefonso Pueblo

2008-05-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today we are also working at San Ildefonso Pueblo, about twenty minutes south of Espanola. We met with Gilbert Sanchez, an artist and potter at the pueblo. Our group has two project at his site...clearing and constructing a new firing pit and helping to plant the community garden. We also will be working on two other projects there...re-constructing an adobe baking oven and preparing the grounds for a gathering later in the year. Lots of raking, clearing brush and removing debris.

Gilbert started us unloading wood and supplies and showed us the dumpster. Time to get to work...

It was very hot day. Were we crazy being out there in the noonday sun??

Monday: Worksite Orientation and Site Work at Tewa Women United

2008-05-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

After a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, we loaded up the vans and headed to Espanola, about half an hour south of Abiquiu. Espanola is the headquarters of Tewa Women United (TWU), our worksite hosts.

We toured the facility and had an introduction and orientation from Kathy Sanchez, co-founder of TWU. Kathy, whose Tewa name is Wan Povi, grew up on San Ildefonso Pueblo. She has worked on many women’s issues related to culture, the environment, and social change for most of her life.

Tewa Women United raises awareness about environmental issues, domestic violence prevention, and drug and alcohol abuse. It also promotes innovative support groups for women of all backgrounds, including a “grandmother’s circle” of a dozen pueblo women who travel together to the pueblos offerning support to anyone in need.

After our orientation, we were given a tour of the facility by Corrine Sanchez, Programs Manager:

She explained that earlier in the year, a water pipe had broken in one of the offices, flooding most of the building with three inches of water. While it has taken many months of repairs and rebuilding, the facility will soon be re-opened for clients and the community. Part of our work will be to help prepare the grounds and garden for this festive occasion on June 25th.

Some of us started to get to work at the center, while others climbed back into the van and drove twenty minutes to San Ildefonso Pueblo for additional work there...

Sunday Afternoon Orientation

2008-05-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

At 2pm today, we were given a very informative orientation from by Interim Director Mary Ann Lundy. She told us some of the history of Ghost Ranch, from Ute camping area to cattle rustler haven to Georgia O'Keefe residence and studio to it's present day home as a Presbyterian center.

After the talk we were taken on a tour of the anthropology and paleontology museum and presented with a brief discussion of the long scientific history of the area. A paleontologist in residence talked about the dinosaurs uncovered in the dinosaur quarry to the southeast of campus. Since the 1940's scientists here have been unearthing large numbers of perfectly preserved bones and fossils including "New Mexico's Official State Dinosaur", Coelophysis.

After lunch, some of us returned to our cabins to read and rest while others took a hike to the top of the mesa near Chimney Rock for a gorgeous vista overlooking Ghost Ranch and far into the distance beyond.

Sunday Morning Worship

2008-05-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

After a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt and fruit (and a few bagels), we drove over to the Casa del Sol Spritual Center. Located a short distance from the main buildings at Ghost Ranch, this special retreat area was newly renovated in 2006. We had a lovely worship service overlooking the wide open desert. Carole Landess led us in singing and reflection and later gave us a bit of the history of this unique spot.

From the worship bulletin:

Casa del Sol is committed to:

Companionship of Prayer & Meditation

Companionship of Study, Dialogue & Creativity

Companionship of Heart & Relationship

Companionship of Hospitality & Generosity

Companionship of Justice, Peace & Care for the Earth

After services, we had coffee and cookies and held a brief discussion led by Carole on the history and renovations at Casa del Sol. Outside before returning to our vans, we walked the labyrinth, and the traveled back to the main campus for lunch. An inspiring morning....

Our orientation session with Mary Ann Lundy will begin in a few minutes at the Agape Center...

We've Arrived!

2008-05-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

After leaving First Church this morning at 6:50am....we arrived here at Ghost Ranch at 6:00pm. Dick and Rich drove our two vans three hours from the Albuquerque airport to Abiquiu just in time for us to have a quick bite for dinner (we found out the dining hall closes at 6:30pm, so it made our trip all the more urgent!) A nice meal of yellow rice, peppers and chicken on a tortilla with salad.

Checked in at the main office and received our room assignments and information. The facilities are at once both comfortable and rustic in a gorgeous wooded area in the cradle of striking rock formations. The sun was just beginning to set as we unpacked our things after dinner and headed over to the Agape Center for a brief meeting led by Dick and Georgia to talk about our fears and hopes for the trip.

Tomorrow we'll be having an orientation session and learning a bit about this remarkable facility.

Breakfast is a 7:30am....

(There's no cellphone service here, so we're not easily reached by phone. The computer center here is nicely appointed -four terminals!- and we have limited wi-fi access...So, posts may be a bit sporadic, but we'll be sure to leave messages here at least once a day)

The Tewa People and the Tewa language

2008-05-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

During our time in New Mexico, we will be assisting the Tewa people of San Ildefonso (Poh-Hoh-Geh) pueblo. Tewa refers to both the people and language.

Tewa is a Kiowa-Tanoan language spoken by Pueblo people, mostly in the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. The 1980 census counted 1,298 speakers, almost all of whom are bilingual in English. Each pueblo or reservation where it is spoken has a dialect:

Nambe Pueblo: 50 speakers
Pojoaque Pueblo: 25 speakers
San Ildefonso Pueblo: 349 speakers
San Juan Pueblo: 495 speakers
Santa Clara Pueblo: 207 speakers
Tesuque Pueblo: 172 speakers

The Lord's Prayer (in Tewa):

For more on the Tewa people, click here
For more on the Tewa language, click here

The Agape Center

2008-05-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

While in Abiquiu, we will be meeting in The Agape Center which was given by Alex Habib and Mark Hostetter in recognition of the Hostetter family's involvement with Ghost Ranch and Presbyterian camping.

The Center was dedicated in November 2006. As many of you probably know, Don Hostetter was the long-time director of the Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center in Homes, NY and was widely known in camping circles as an expert. He died in 2007.

For more photos and information on the Agape Center, click here.

Welcome!

2008-05-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the First Church Mission Trip to New Mexico Blog!

This site will chronicle the experiences of a group of nineteen members of First Church who are volunteering to assist at a Native American Pueblo in the Southwestern United States.

On May 17th, we'll be travelling to Albuquerque, New Mexico and onward to the Presbyterian Center Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu. From our base there, we'll travel each day to a worksite at the San Ildefonso Pueblo to assist with preparations for a celebration there.

Check back here often during the week for frequent updates on our thoughts and experiences during our nine-day mission trip.