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| St. Joseph Apache Mission Church, Mescalero, New Mexico |
The St. Joseph Apache Mission Church is a stunning construction, inside and out. It has a majestic presence that draws one's eye from Highway 70, as you drive through the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
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| St. Joseph Apache Mission Church, Mescalero, New Mexico |
The church has been undergoing a long restoration project, which is almost complete. A slide show of the church below.
About 350 families are members of the church.
My mother and I attended Mass today .... (I've attended Mass three times in two months in New Mexico, which is about the same number of times I've attended Mass in the last 15 years) .... the service was in English, but there were two songs in Apache.
After the service, the congregation typically repairs to the parish hall for refreshments. Today there was actually a full lunch comprised of tortillas, Indian bread, beans, cake, and various stews that congregants brought in. Delicious, and the church members welcoming.
As I am the "mother" part in this accounting and have been here in New Mexico for the past four weeks visiting the writer am gratified her Mass attendance, pitiful tho it was, was the result of her taking me places all around the state wherein old churches flourish.
ReplyDeleteWas this a Catholic mass? I'm keeping score.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, yes a Catholic Mass. All of them. If you're going to Mass now, tell me if there is the raising of the forearms in Missouri/KS like there is here. And holding hands during a certain part of the Mass; I forget what part. Here, too, during the "sign of peace," there are a lot more displays of affection than I recall.
ReplyDelete