United Church To Host Dessert Fundraiser Feb. 23
Students share their reasons for joining the United Church’s Mexico Mission 2025. Courtesy video Read More
Fr. Glenn: As Trees By The River
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Oh, do we not love to focus on the positive of things? We love immediate gratification; after all, planning ahead and/or looking at inevitable consequences is sooooo not fun. And even Jesus said a kind of version of the same thing, didn’t He?! “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” (Matthew 6:34) Carpe diem!!
That’s the danger of taking scripture piecemeal—like Satan did in his tempting of Jesus, by the way—rather than looking at it as a whole. For just before the verse above, Read More
All Shall Be Well: Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind…Love Never Ends
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By The Rev. Lynn M. Finnegan
Associate Rector
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith
Recently, I met with a couple planning to be married in the Spring. For their ceremony, they requested the most requested wedding scripture of all time: a passage from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. It reads:
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable Read More
Fr. Glenn: Convicted!
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Hardly a week goes by in the Catholic calendar in which there is not a memorial of a saint, and very often remembrance of one who endured great hardship or even martyrdom. We might think of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, royalty who gave away all her wealth. Or Damien of Molokai, who chose lifelong exile to minister the lepers. Or the thousands of missionaries who gave their lives to spread the Christian faith among unbelievers in hopes of leading them to eternal life and joy with God. Or the nuns who went singing to the guillotine. Or the many martyrs even of today in places like Nigeria Read More
All Shall Be Well: Sadly God Is Not Glorified And America Is Not Living Up To Her Promise
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By The Rev. Mary Ann Hill
Rector
Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church
What a difference two decades makes! At the very beginning of his first term in office, President George W. Bush issued two executive orders aimed at faith-based and community organizations in order to improve the delivery of social services:
“Faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) have a long tradition of helping Americans in need and together represent Read More
Jim Hall To Recount March With MLK Sunday Feb. 16
Jim Hall
By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos
Former community member Jim Hall returns to Los Alamos with his wife Janet for a special presentation Feb. 16 at the United Church of Los Alamos. Hall will share his journey as a college student on the March for Justice with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was Selma, Ala.,1965. His free presentation is a first-hand account of historical events that changed the nation.
Hall was a student at Macalester College in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota. He received his BA from Macalester, created in 1874 and today sits on 53 acres. Noteworthy alumni are Read More
Fr. Glenn: Re(Presenting) Ourselves
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Maybe you’ve caught some of the confirmation hearings for prospective (some now confirmed) members of President Trump’s cabinet. It’s the same every time when a new administration comes into office—the sidestepping of ticklish questions, and “gotcha” questions by adversaries on the various examining committees. But no doubt much of the public show is concerned with presentation on both sides … how they will appear to their constituencies, supporters and bosses so that their own particular target audiences will continue to support them.
Now, on February 2 of each year, Read More
All Shall Be Well: Faith, Hope And Love Abide
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb
M.Div., ELCA
Many of us are feeling lost, scared or depressed these days as we hear tidbits of national news. Try to tune it out and we miss important information about the direction our country is being taken. Watch it with fervid interest and we have trouble sleeping peacefully through the night.
What can we hang on to when our long-held values no longer seem to matter? It seems like the chaos has only just Read More
Fr. Theophan On Being Blessed, Giving Grace
Photo by Fr. Theophan
By Fr. Theophan
Rector
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
I am extremely lucky, or blessed by providence, if you will, I will admit that freely. I was born into a loving middle-class family and believed from the beginning that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to. I was encouraged to follow my heart into art school after high school. In retrospect that may not have been the wisest choice.
During college in Las Cruces, I was a courtesy clerk at a grocery store that was not the nicest of places. Let’s just say they found it necessary to hire a third-party security guard after dark. Read More
Fr. Glenn: Extreme Data Points
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Well … it’s been an interesting week, don’t you think? President Trump inaugurated, subsequently resulting in a flurry of executive actions. Love him or not, you have to admit that he’s definitely made his mark in the world during his life—certainly more than most people. Yep … definitely way off the average, and at 78 years old already, apparently not going quietly into the night.
As has J.D. Vance. Again, like him or not, it’s hard not to be impressed by his story. In his childhood he had almost nothing going for him—raised in poverty and with myriad disadvantages, he nonetheless Read More
All Shall Be Well: Standing Up For The Gospel
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By Deacon Amy Schmuck
Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church
In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus is invited to teach in his home synagogue gathering in Nazareth.
He opened the scroll, and read from the book of the prophet, Isaiah:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free, Read More
Fr. Theophan: As A Priest I Never Get To Finish Anything
Saint Michael icon half done. By Fr. Theophan
By Fr. Theophan
Rector
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
As a priest, I hardly ever get to finish a project in the course of my vocation. The services are cyclical, daily, weekly, yearly, everything repeats. There are differences, special days and weeks with special significance, but once a service is done, you start looking forward to the next one. Eternal worship, one might call it.
And you never finish people. Whether they have been faithful members their whole life, or they wander in seeking something and decide to stay and become Orthodox,
Fr. Glenn: Ready Or Not…
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Well, a rather historic day for America on Monday—the inauguration of President Trump for the second time for a discontinuous second term—an event only matched once before with Grover Cleveland in the latter 1800s. Love him or hate him, I think just about everyone realizes that it’s going to be quite the change.
As we well know and experience, the political pendulum swings back and forth—one you win, another you lose. Nonetheless, Christians most of all should pray for wisdom, grace and sincerity of intent upon all who are in office to bring about a greater good, whether at the Read More
All Shall Be Well: Reading The Bible
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By The Rev. Lynn M. Finnegan
Associate Rector
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith
As of November 2024, the Bible, originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, has been translated into 756 languages. If you include translations of only a portion of the Old and New Testaments, that number rises to 3,756. With over five billion copies sold, it is the most popular book in the world.
How, though, do we go about reading it? Replete with Read More
St. Job Raises $3,500 For Hurricane Relief
St. Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church raises $3,500 through its December baklava sales for the victims of hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida. Photo by Fr. Theophan
By Fr. Theophan
St. Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
It is not often that I get to write out big checks and send them off, other than to our insurance company or to pay the utilities which really don’t bring me much joy. So today was a good day. I printed off checks totaling $3,500 to two parishes in North Carolina and Florida to help those who were affected by the hurricanes last year. It is easy to forget that people are still recovering when Read More
Fr. Glenn: Reminders
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
As of this writing the California fires are still raging through the Los Angeles and surrounding areas—such a tragedy, as is the flooding a few months ago in North Carolina and other natural and man-made disasters throughout our nation and the world.
Certainly Los Alamosians—especially longer-term residents—can empathize with those suffering now in California, as well as can many here in New Mexico. Dante-esque scenes of the fires of not long ago around Los Alamos are common in photos of the time, as are those from other fires in the Jemez Mountains, around Ruidoso, Cimmaron Read More
All Shall Be Well: Dignity And Worthiness
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By The Rev. Mary Ann Hill
Rector
Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church
“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” “I will, with God’s help.”
This is one of the promises those being baptized make in the Episcopal church, and it’s by far the one that most people claim as their favorite. This Sunday, for many of us, the story of Christ’s own baptism will be our theme, and in my church Read More
Unitarian Church To Host Sunday Forum On ‘Egyptian Society, Ancient And Current’ 11:45 AM Jan. 12
Unitarian Church News:
The public is invited to attend the Sunday Forum on “Egyptian Society, Ancient and Current” 11:45 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12 at the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos at 1738 North Sage St.
For 3,000 years a strong Egyptian society thrived along the Nile Valley, then it was supplanted by the Greeks and Romans. Following a recent trip and subsequent study, Dean Carstens will talk about various aspects of Egyptian society, including:
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- Religious beliefs, ancient and current;
- Reasons for the long duration of Egyptian society;
- Accomplishments;
- Ancient engineering and science;
- Women
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Fr. Glenn: I Resolve…
By Fr. Glenn Jones:
You may have seen in the Santa Fe New Mexican on Jan. 4 a story about the possibility of a nun with local connections being considered for a declaration of sainthood. Sister Blandina Segale, a Sister of Charity, worked in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and the surrounding area in the latter 1800s through the early 1900s, establishing hospitals and schools and caring for many. The cause for her to be declared a saint is progressing, though it has quite a journey yet.
When hearing about the process of a person being declared a saint, sometimes we hear people speaking of the Church “making him/her Read More
All Shall Be Well: Be Not Afraid, Dear Child Of God
Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, M.Div.
ELCA
The beginning of each new year typically provides a clean slate, a chance to reform unhealthy habits, a feeling of hope for our communal future. But this New Years Day opened with news of a terror attack. What can this mean for our nascent year 2025?
Our first reaction was likely one of horror. The intentionality of mowing down people horrifies us. Compounding our horror is having our fresh Read More
