Message #9 from Father Libeler, Helen Sturges, Brother Juniper, and Joan Eskell dated December 1970;
Subject
Indians of North America—Religion; Indians of North America—History; Indians of North America—Religion; Religion; Missionaries; St. Christopher's Mission (Bluff, Utah); Newsletters; photographs; Photographs; Education;
Place names
Bluff (Utah); San Juan County (Utah); Utah; Monument Valley (Ariz. and Utah);
Keyword
Navajo; Navajo Indians; Navajo Indians -- History; Father Liebler; Brother Juniper; Liebler, Harold Baxter 1889-1982; Missionaries; Religion; St. Christopher's Mission; St. Mary's of the Moonlight Chapel; Photograph; Health; Education; Travel;
Tribe
Navajo;
Description
This letter outlines the plan for completion of the Mission's new chapel, a Navajo girl's experience at a Christian college, the arrival and work of the Mission's visitors, donations made to the Mission, the Navajo lifestyle, services provided to individuals at the Mission, and the condition of the letter's authors;
Publisher
Digitized by: Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library;
Date.original
1970-12;
Type
Text;
Format
application/pdf;
Source
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives;
Language
eng;
Coverage
Bluff (Utah); San Juan County (Utah);
Rights
Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of the USU Library Western and Mormon Americana curator, phone (435) 797-2661;
Holding Location
Utah State University, Special Collections and Archives;
MESSAGE # 9
from
Fath~r Liebler, Brother Juniper,
Hel~n Sturges and Joan Eskell
(also Bill Sutherland this time)
At
HF.:It Rock Valley Retreat Center
p.O. Box 5
Monument Valley, Utah 84536
(Messages 1-8 will be sent on request.
The current one is # 9 and is dated
December, 1970)
"When will yo~r new church building
be re,ady for us~?" The question comes
to us from most visitors and by mail. It
m~st be a good question, as it is asked
so often so our reply begins "That's
, A good question." , ' But this stock
stall isn't good enough ' for YO,u. vle don't know. Mason contractor thinks
the walls will be finished by first of t~e year. depending on the weather;
rvof, wiring, plumbing, window and door set~ing shouldn't take very long;
qqlte possibly .Holy Week and Easter solemnities will be held in it. The
pictures herewith were taken in mid-November, when we had had only one day
cold enough to make work impossible. As we type thiS, one of the three
masons hadn't shown up for wor'k in a week. However
work goes on, and the beauty of the stone work
has been admired by many. "The most beautiful
rockwork in the State of Utah" was one critic's
evaluation, and while this may be oonsidered a bit ,
over-enthusiastic, it remalns true that no unfavorable
crltioism has come to our ears. We hope that
the finished building will be a gem of beauty in
a land of unspeakable beauty, and that it will
glorify the Creator by being a witness to His truth
in a place where He was unknown only a few years
ago.
As soon as the sacristy is enclosed, ,or soon
after, we hope to have Brother Bart, O.F.M., an experlenced c~binet
maker, build the cabinets and drawers. He did a fine job at Guadalupe
f1ission Church in Kayenta, and is being loaned to, us for this one. Another
"ecumenical" not~!
And here's another, of pa,rticular interest to our Roman Catholic
readers: during the late Summer a NavajO girl lIving near by was trUly
conv~rted and gave her life to Jesus. She suddenly became aware of the
go~lessness of our secular e~ucation, and wanted to attend a Christian
school. Joan introduc~d her to Father Flann, who made arrangements for
her to attend St. Michael's School--a fully
accredited ,High School in Arlzona, Rt a greatly
reduced tultion cost. She Is ther,e now, and
writes most enthusiastically of the life. Fr
Flann undertakes to raise a part of the tuition
and Fr Liebler is trying to find the balance.
Who wants a share in thIs?
We could f 111 a book about our vis i 'tors from
many parts of tr.e world who plough through sand
and snow to see us and b,ring bless ings, but for
now we want to t~ll of a group of Indians, mostly
