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Show St. Christopher's Leaflet N o. 1 ~t. ~brt5topb£r' 5 jflt55ton TO THE NAVAJO ~ENTY-FIVE miles from the nearest source of lumber and 150 miles from the nearest railroad in the "Four Corners Region" of San Juan County, Utah, is St. Christopher's Mission. The new desert mission is being built by Father H. Baxter Liebler, formerly of Old Greenwich, Conn., two associates from the Order of Saint Francis, in Long Island, and Miss Helen H. Sturges, sister of Dr. William Sturges of Omaha. Last year Miss Sturges taught in a school for white children. She teaches now in the Navajo school organized last fall. Carrying on the work at St. Christopher's Mission to the Navajo, Father Liebler and his associates are emulating the religious zeal and experiencing the hardships of the Franciscan Friars who brought the message of God to the southwest from Old Spain. The rigors of the first winter found the missioners living in tents. Since July 1943 they have arduously built an outdoor altar, the chapel, living quarters, and other mission buildings. They did their own plowing and planting of orchards, vineyards, and gardens. Their untiring and consecrated efforts won the attention of the Church in Utah, and public recognition throughout the state and nation. Why all this work? Because these people know that the Christian religion and its attendant blessings of the sacramental life, of education and of social service, have much to offer the neglected and uncared for Navajo. The altar and its services are the fulcrum upon which the whole life of the mission rests. t St. Christopher's Mission Outdoor Altar |