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Show New member; of the Body of Christ - the Filfred family. Message #19 from Father Liebler Brother Juniper at July, 1975 Helen sturges Joan E. Eskell HAT ROCK VALIEY RETRKAT CENl'ER P. O. Box 5 Monument Valley, utah 84536 Tell 801-727-3291 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please note correct telephone number. Regret typing error in last Message. Messages 1-18 have been issued semi-annually from September 1966 on. Most back numbers are still availableo Just ask • . This one is long overdue. WE HAVE THE BIGGEST NEWS to share with you since we first started living and working here in the Monument Valley areal But first we must share with you an incia. ent which is perhaps unique in the annals of "the Church commonly called This". Came to the house ~ome half-hour before the half-hour warning bell for Mass was to be sounded a man, a woman and six children of assorted sizes - cradle-board to teenagers 0 We do not usually ask, "What do you want?" ( though it is a perfectly correct and decent inquiry to a caller) unless it becomes necessary; one of the teenagers set our minds at rest with, "We just came to visit." vie visited for sOlle time, talking over old times when we had known them better and seen them often in their own home area. Then the man spoke ups "I brought my wife and kids because we thought we'd like to get married I " After a moment or two, in which we clarified this request by mentally adding, "in Church", we asked about Baptism. Seems Father Liebler had baptized the bride "in the old days"; the groom had "been thinking about it." In the end we had four baptisms and. a marriage - a nuptial Massi And a few weeks later they repeated the 200+ mile trip to bring the rest of the children into the Body of Christ. Now for the BIG NEWS. You thought we were an independent group of semi-retired missionaries, with rather loose ties to St Christopher's Mission at Bluff, didn't you? Well, so did we 0 But now we all have to revise our thinking. st Mary of the Moonlight Church is about to become an independent Mission of the Diocese of utah, with all the right and privileges, not to mention (until later) the obligations thereto appurtaining. Delegates were elected to represent us at the Diocesan Convention, the appointment of a Warden awaits confirmation at this writing, but the Bishop's Committee has been elected -- members to serve one, two or three years; I need hardly say that mellbership is overwhelmingly Navajoo Further rights and privileges in addition to the above-mentioned include that of having our own register in which to record Baptisms, Marraiges, burials, confirmations and lists of communicants -- formerly all these were recorded at Bluff. Chapter II of the BIG NE:WS I Last February at our priests' retreat I walked with a young deacon (since ordained priest) whom I had met before, but now only began to know well. Believe it or not, I talked to him about our life and work here in the Valley among the Navajos. He listened; he became interested; I invited him to come to visit, which he did; he preached at Mass, and the People liked it - even those who know no Englishl He is a priest deeply committed to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and, as if that weren't enough in itself, his appearance is a great asset to him here in |
