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Show Cent uri es ago t he Spa nish explorers in t he Southwest gave the San Juan Ri ver its name in honor of St. J ohn t he Bapt ist, the Voice t ha t cried in t he wildern ess, " Prepare ye t he way of t he Lord !" The Ri ver still s pills its murky, s il t -laden waters t hrough t he miles of rock, cuttin g a deep canyon t hat is t he beginnin g of t he Gr a nd Canyon of t he Colorado. Again st t he wall of t his ca nyon on the edge of t he Navajo Indi an coun t ry there nest les a group of buildings, t heir red rock walls bl ending into t he la ndsca pe, lift ing high a Cross. I t is St. Christopher's Mission to t he Navajo. In 1942 at t his spot the rattlesna ke and li zard crawled unmolested. Placid Navajo herd ers drove t heir sheep and t he Name of J esus was known only as " t he white ma n's most powerful swear word." In t hat year there came to t his spot a New England priest of t he Episcopal Church who had for years been seekin g t he India n people who knew t he leas t a bout t he Church and whose need t herefore was greates t. He found a people devoid of education and of medical care as well as a people complet ely unawa re of Chri stia ni ty. This pri est was t he Rev. Ha rold Baxter Li ebler, who is known as Il'nishoodii bi/sii' neez - t he priest-wi t h-the-longha ir. In 1943 he, with a group of li keminded workers, set t ied in tents and began to erect buildings that now const it ute t he Mission headquar t ers. They had to learn a strange la ngua ge and t he ways of a strange peopl e. They cul t iva ted the land and ir ri gated fi elds in an effort to support t hemselves at least in part - for a ll were volun teers serving wit hout pay or other ma teria l recompence. So began St. Chri stop her's Miss ion to t he Navajo wi t h t he blessing of t he Episcopal Bishop of Utah . God 's Creation is good. It is ordered a nd whole. He crowned t his glori ous act wi th t he creature Man, who is essent ia lly at uni ty with God and himself, but like God, free to choose. Man has become disordered by choosing to love himself rather t han God his Creator. Only by t he Redeeming action of the Godma n, J esus Christ, can ord er and uni ty be restored T/'/E ~ RE.s~~yAr/o N' n il' t R,, ( .. /lfo~ ;'t':~JltljD hN.T4"f~ vr"l/l , ',. 1: /J!;w~. ~L:1._'. ;':" . .1J' ;/,r J. ,,;,," It\ Sf .4/,'7 ·r ~1' 4/ ••• i-j,f(. 01J·d. So''' J:J~ .P;;'~;.rf' . ;11p .... /u .. v.J ('/If . ..... /'. ,. ~.< . "'" ~< I, ••••• · · "- ' • • , '4R I ZO H .Af t /JI •• I{l .I",;;;;' a A IPL4S 'H:etk./ / .. ,~ y;r i l f! / - ,P,.< I R.'; . ... /,, ; ~ ;r,,, ,f.,1 t hrough His Living Bod y, the Church. The real means for t his act ion is t he Holy Sacrifice of t he Mass, in which we par t icipa te da ily and from whi ch we actively ca rry His perfec t ion out in to a ll the world . Catholic worship of God is t a ught a nd encouraged at a ll t imes and a ll se rvice has its rea son and origin from t his centra li ty . A school and medi cal t rea tment were begun with seri ous cases bein g t ra nspor ted 150 miles to a Govern men t hos pita l. Social se rvices were render ed as s ta ff and mea ns permi tted . And because Redempt ion fulfills, not destroys, deepest respect for Navajo ways and t rad itions is a pa rt of t he Miss io n's basic attit ude. St. Chris topher's does not st rive to make whi te men out of Navajos, a nd only such elements of their old cultu re as a re opposed to prove n hygiene or Chri stian mora ls are discouraged. T he present ra te of cu ltura l assimi la t ion is crea t ing a fru strat ing vacuum between old and new. Changes a re conti nually occurring in family and clan va lu es. dress, attitudes and economi cs - from sheep ba rter to money excha nge - a ll of which is tending to cause in creasing mental problems. The area covered by t he Mission comprises about 3,000 squa re miles spa rsely inhabi ted by a bout 2,500 peopl e. Navajos do not live in villages bu t in mud hoga ns, each far from a neighbor 's because much land is required in this semi- a'rid coun t ry to graze even a small herd of sheep. The Mission was esta blished at a spot 2 mil es from Bluff, Utah, wi th t he id ea of makin g t hat a headqua rters. Once t he missionaries had acqui red a smatterin g of t he language t hey began going out in to various par ts of t he Reserva tion, holding services wherever sma ll groups could be gathered. Here Mass was sun g and 1Ilstru ction given as often as possible. In 1953 t he Community observed its 10th Anniversary by ma king its first general appeal for fin a ncia l help. It was felt t hat the basic principl es had been pu t to the test a nd found to be sound and t hat t he time had come to go forward. A t t he end of t he second 10 yea rs, it is an encoura ging fa ct t hat we now nu mber 700 ba pti zed (a good port ion of t hose a re confirmed) and ma in tain 8 di fferent stations on a regul ar basis, 7 Religious Edu cation cl asses a nd a wee kly Navajo la nguage broadcast. Here very bri efly a re t he hopes for t he next ten yea rs for t he blossoming of t his work in Sout hern Uta h, and we ask t hat you give it ea rn est a ttention in your prayers in t he mont hs to come. $8,000 for ready ing of six staff rooms which will provide (fr om old er quarters) an offi ce, common room dining room, library . Upkeep - $1 ,000 per year. $5,000 for adequate kt ichen fo r event ual facilities to provide for staff, school, hospi ta l. $4,000 for purchase of a camper fo ur wheel drive whi ch will ena ble us to open up r emaining four stations, in order t hat we mi ght cover t he compl ete a rea on a regular basis. Upkeep on a ll vehicl es, gas and oil, $2,000. $2,000 for renova t ion of our schoolrooms, storage and prin t ing a!'eas to prepa re for openin g of school in Sept ember (we have been closed for two years ). School program for one year, $3,000. |
