From the pulpit and pew

Rosemary Jackson | The New Mexican

5/31/2008 - 5/31/08

Events this weekend — and in the coming weeks — at area faith communities:


Opera and Shakespeare

At the 9:30 a.m. Sunday service with Communion at First Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Terry Purvis-Smith will preach. The adult education class as well as the children's Christian education classes are held at 10:45 a.m.

Adult education classes include a series on the Santa Fe Opera with Alice Tinkle.

• On Sunday, the topic will be Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
• June 8 will feature Handel's Radamisto.
• Britten's Billy Budd will be the June 15 focus.
• Saariaho's Adriana Mater will be the focus on June 22.

Another adult forum will be a course on "Perspectives on Warfare from the Plays of Shakespeare" taught by Mary Louise Williams. The course includes recorded scenes from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Those who attend are asked to bring copies of the plays.

• On Sunday, the topic will be "Revenge and the Killing of Innocents."
• On June 8, the topic will be "Rebellion and Civil War."
• The final week, June 15, will focus on "Resolution and Redemption."

The church is at 208 Grant Ave. Visit the Web site at www.santafefirstpresby.org or call 982-8544.


The Rev. Mother Carol Calvert will preside at the Sunday celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ at the Independent Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch. Her topic will be "The Sacred Heart of Community." Music will be performed by Monika Cosson Sheppard, an opera singer.

The church believes in an all-inclusive Christ and this is mirrored in the welcoming congregation, clergy and in the liturgy as well. All are welcome to take Communion regardless of spiritual affiliation. The church is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.

The church meets Sundays at the Loretto Chapel, 207 Old Santa Fe Trail. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Meditation begins at 8:45 a.m. Mass is celebrated from 9 to 10 a.m.

From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, the church holds a weekly prayer and healing service at the church chapel and rectory, 111 W. Cordova Road. The service includes music, individual prayer treatments and laying on of hands by the clergy. This is followed by a speaker, a group dialogue and light refreshments.

All are welcome to attend. For more information, visit the Web site at www.churchofantioch.org or call 988-4244.


At the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service at the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, the congregation will celebrate the annual "Flower Communion" with an intergenerational service. This is one of most widespread traditions in the denomination. Those who attend are asked to bring a flower to share and take a different flower home at the end of the ceremony. The service will feature music by Roaring Jelly. It also is Partner Church Sunday. A special collection will be taken for the scholarship fund for the sister church in Fenyokut, Romania.

Coffee and fellowship follows the 10:30 a.m. service.

The church is at 1738 N. Sage St. Visit the Web site at www.uulosalamos.org for information, announcements and weekly podcasts. To make an appointment with the Rev. John Cullinan, call the church office at 505-662-2346.


At 2 p.m. on June 15, Our Lady of the Woods will celebrate the sabbat of Litha at North Mesa Park in Los Alamos. Those who attend are asked to bring a contribution for the potluck to be held after the ceremony. Our Lady of the Woods is a church and coven of the Wiccan faith serving Los Alamos, Santa Fe and the Northern Española Valley. It is led by Mist, the high priestess. For more information on a specific event, directions to events, or on Wicca in general, visit the Web site at www.ladywoods.org or call 672-1278.


Congregation Beit Tikva, sharing Jewish values in the Reform Tradition, holds Shabbat services at 7 p.m. on Fridays.

From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Rabbi Nicolas Behrmann will lead the weekly Torah study class. For more information, call Eva Wohl at 577-4977.

At the 7 p.m. Shabbat service on Friday, Behrmann will discuss "Insights into Reading the Hebrew Scriptures: The Torah, the Prophets and the Writings." Cantor Michael Linder will lead the congregation in chants and song.

On June 8, Behrmann will lead a study session on the Book of Ruth in preparation for the
June 9-10 holiday of Shavuot. The second annual Shavuot Eve study of the Book of Ruth will begin with traditional cheese blintzes at 6:30 p.m.

Beit Tikva is at 2230 Old Pecos Trail. For more information, visit the Web site at www.beittikva.info or call 820-2991.


The annual novena in honor of La Conquistadora — the patroness of Santa Fe also called Our Lady of Peace — will be Sunday though June 9.

The novena begins at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The service includes the knighting of Don Diego DeVargas and the coronation of the Santa Fe Fiesta royalty. Vespers will be followed by a procession from the cathedral to Rosario Chapel at 4 p.m. The novena — a series of 9 days of prayers and devotions — is part of the annual Fiestas. Mass will be celebrated at 6 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. at the chapel Monday through June 8. The return procession will be at 4 p.m. on June 8. The final novena Mass will be celebrated at 6 a.m. on June 9 at the cathedral, 131 Cathedral Place.


The holiday of Shavuot celebrates the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Sweeten the observance of Shavuot at Temple Beth Shalom by making a favorite white cheesecake — toppings of all sorts allowed — and bringing it to the temple by 6 p.m. on June 8. Tasting and voting will be followed by study at 7 p.m.

Rabbi Marvin Schwab and Rabbi Ben Morrow, aided by Simma Kinderlehrer, will be the Shavuot leaders. The temple, the only liberal, nationally affiliated Reform Jewish community in Northern New Mexico, is at 205 E. Barcelona Road. For more information, call the office at 988-1376 or Rhea Bertelli at 992-2775.

Other events at the temple include:

Religious School — TBS has a vibrant, thriving Religious School with more than 115 students from prekindergarten through 12 grade.

It is registering new students in all grades
for the 2008-2009 school year. Call Simma Kinderlehrer at 982-6161 for more information.

June is for Justice — Representatives of four agencies that provide much needed services in the community will be speaking at TBS in June.

• On June 6, Melynn Schuyler, executive director of YouthWorks, will discuss the organization's youth-employment-training program and Cool closet program.
•  On June 13, Andrea Fisher Maril, chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico, will discuss the difference "Bigs" make in the lives of children.
• On June 20, Tony McCarty, executive director of Kitchen Angels, will discuss the free meals the organization delivers to home-bound Santa Feans.
• On June 27, Apryl Miller, the clinical director of SKY Center — the SKY Counseling and Training Center of the New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project — will discuss the centers work to reduce youth suicide.

At the 8:30 and 11 a.m. worship services at St. John's United Methodist Church, the Rev. Scott Penrod will discuss "Shifting Sand," based on Matthew 7:21-29 and the parable of two men — one building on rock and the other on sand.

The monthly Faith Promise offering will support the Methodist retirement community Landsun Home in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Also on Sunday, Melissa Toedtman, the congregation's new organist, will perform.

On Wednesday, the Rev. Stephanie Harmon will be ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church during the New Mexico Annual Conference. Harmon has been appointed as associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Roswell.

The church is at the corner of Cordova Road and Old Pecos Trail. For more information, visit the Web site at www.stjumc.com or call 982-5397.