Verse of the Month

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me,

I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and

sisters of mine, you did for me. -- Matthew 25:35-40

The Edith M. McCurdy Mission (McCurdy

Ministries) Designated as National

United Methodist Historic Site

On Saturday, October 11, McCurdy alumni and friends from across the United

States gathered to celebrate the Edith M. McCurdy Mission (now McCurdy

Ministries) designation as the official National United Methodist Historic

Site #581. A crowd of approximately 150 alumni, former teachers and coaches,

dignitaries, and current ministry friends gathered in the McCracken Gymnasium

to celebrate this special recognition.

The Order of Celebration Service started with a beautiful prelude provided by a bell choir organized by Edith Brown, McCurdy historian. Speakers for the celebration included:

• Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut, UMC Desert Southwest Conference
• Rev. Tiffany Hollums, McCurdy Ministries Executive Director
• Rev. Jeanie Williams, McCurdy Ministries Board Chair
• Rev. Will Steinsiek, United Methodist Historian
• Dr. Fred Pomeroy, former McCurdy Superintendent, Principal, Teacher, and Coach
• Dee Dee Heffner, former Missionary and Teacher
• Rev. Sarah Allen, former Staff Member
• Several McCurdy Alumni (shared beautiful memories)

The service concluded with Bishop Rapanut presenting Rev. Tiffany Hollums with a historic designation plaque and those gathered recited a special “Litany of Remembrance”. This plaque will be installed at the entrance of the beloved McCurdy Chapel.

Other activities on this special day included campus tours and an informal dinner for alumni and other guests served at Santa Cruz United Methodist Church.

Tiffany shared, “What a beautiful time of celebrating all God has done in the lives of so many through McCurdy School and now McCurdy Ministries and praising God for all He will do. We were so blessed to have Bishop Carlo Rapanut join us to dedicate McCurdy as a National Historic United Methodist site. We welcomed back home so many alumni, staff, and volunteers! It was a beautiful celebration here at McCurdy. We are so deeply grateful for the honor and for each and every person who helped to make this day a blessing to us all.”

Project Carino After School Clubhouse News

We are excited to announce that the Project Cariño After-School program is now offering a fun program called ‘Bible Club’ once a week. As part of this program, each student was able to pick out a Bible of their choice. Rev. Tiffany Hollums shared that the children were able to select either an awesome storybook Bible, a cartoon Bible, or kids’ Adventure Bible.

Vicky Kane, Assistant Care Manager for Project Cariño

After School Clubhouse  

Vicky Kane arrived in March 2025 as a long-term volunteer at McCurdy Ministries. She is a retired educator and has experience managing a before/after school program for grades K-12 at a school district in Delaware. When she is not volunteering at McCurdy Ministries, she fills her time doing volunteer work in her community in the Tampa Bay area and at Keystone United Methodist Church, her home church. 

Vicky is committed to our young people and to bringing programs into their out-of-school time that enrich both their academic success and their faith. 

The Letter “P” with Pancakes and Pajamas

The kids at the McCurdy Pre-K celebrated learning about the Letter “P” with a pancake and pajama party! Everyone wore their pajamas to school for the day plus one mother and a grandmother made pancakes for the children. An exciting PJ day, for sure!

McCurdy Charter School Students

Help Level Books

McCurdy Ministries was so blessed to welcome students from the McCurdy Charter

School’s Service Learning Class to the LEER Enchanted Forest of Reading. The

students learned how to level books from one of our amazing Ohio volunteer teams.

The students also made cute bookmarks to give to the children who will be visiting

the library. The Service Learning Class will be coming to volunteer twice a week at

various programs at McCurdy Ministries. 

New Furniture in Pilling Retreat Center

A generous McCurdy supporter donated new sofas for both the living room and the game room of the Pilling Dormitory. The new furniture provides beautiful and comfortable new seating for all our mission teams! A huge "thank you" to our friend!!!

Stonybrook UMC Team Reflection

Dave Pagura, Team Leader

Stonybrook United Methodist Church

Gahanna, Ohio

The Stonybrook UMC team arrived Saturday, September 13, and was greeted by hostesses Sue McCuiston and Vicky Kane. We had a great experience worshipping and fellowshipping with the congregation of Santa Cruz UMC on Sunday.

We tackled various tasks throughout the week:

• Several of our team enjoyed sewing with Sue in the Scrappy Sewing Room, making baby blankets and tote bags from cloth remnants and old blue jeans.
• We sorted through donated library books and levelled them for appropriate reading grades. Some of our volunteers even enjoyed sharing aloud some of the best stories as they went along. A few brought back memories of books they had read to children and grandchildren.
• The landscape beds around Bachman Hall were weeded. We also removed debris of rock and tree limbs, covered the beds with heavy duty plastic barrier, and then covered them with decorative gravel. This looks much improved and will significantly reduce time and labor in upkeep.
• Several team members sorted and folded a mountain of clothing for the Light House Clothing Bank, stocked food pantry shelves, and assembled personal hygiene kits.
• A large, downed tree in front of the dorm was removed from the lawn area, and a dormitory toilet was repaired.
• A large number of bins containing yarn, accompanying looms, comb, and spinning wheel, electronics, and other items were sorted and moved from the Chapel into other storage areas so that remodeling might begin. Other items were moved from the Cole Building to the Historical Room in Bachman.

The team enjoyed dinner with Executive Director Tiffany Hollums where we learned about exciting plans for the future of McCurdy Ministries. After Tiffany’s enthusiastic sharing, the group was energized, and our efforts and hard work were validated. We are already looking forward to our next visit, possibly sooner than later.

Church of the Messiah UMC Team Reflection

Marla Morris, Team Leader

Church of the Messiah United Methodist Church

Westerville, Ohio

During the week of September 22, our team from Church of the Messiah in Westerville, Ohio, traveled to McCurdy. As the week progressed, we painted the entire inside of a house, did landscaping and yard work, participated in their sewing ministry, sorted AND leveled hundreds of donated books for their LEER outreach program, moved hundreds of pounds of donated clothing, removed old lockers from the previous locker room, and MORE! As part of the educational aspect of this type of mission, we had a couple excursions to some of the beautiful places in Northern New Mexico, too. 

A typical day consisted of a quick breakfast together, talking with Manny Maestas to get our assignments, heading to our work sites, and rejoining the team for lunch and dinner. Devotions, a team meeting, and playing cards rounded out our days. 

Through conversations with Tiffany Hollums, Randall Partin, and Eufemia Romero--as well as the dorm host, Sue McQuiston and many other volunteers – we learned about the particular challenges of the Española Valley. Our work supported getting donated books into the hands of children, putting clothing onto the bodies of families, readying a house to live in, beautifying the grounds, and creating useful items with the sewing ministry. Through this work five themes emerged: the importance of connections, the existence of barriers, using one's gifts for good, the importance of contemplation, and, as Georgia O’Keeffe said, “(Taking) time to look.” Incredible team, incredible time, incredible place.

Mayor Thanks Oklahoma VIM Team

On Friday, October 17, Mayor John Ramon of Española, New Mexico, thanked a Volunteer in Mission (VIM) team from Claremore, Oklahoma, for the installation of new Free Little Libraries. The five libraries were constructed under the direction of Nate Space, a member of Troop 88 as Nate’s Eagle Scout project. Members of the Troop helped build the stands under Nate’s direction.

The Free Little Libraries were delivered to Española by a VIM team from Claremore First Methodist Church. Members of the team installed the libraries in locations throughout Española, including two installed at the city hall complex.

These new Free Little Libraries were filled with books provided by McCurdy Ministries’ new LEER Children’s Literacy Initiative for children in the Española Valley.

Mayor Ramon greeted the Oklahoma VIM team near one of the newly installed libraries near City Hall. The mayor expressed his deep appreciation to the team members on behalf of the City of Española for both the Free Little Libraries and the free books for children.

Photo: Mayor John Ramon thanking Linda Polson, VIM Team Leader and McCurdy Board of Trustees Member, plus mission team members and other city officials in background

McCurdy Fall Festival October 25

McCurdy Ministries is hosting another Fall Festival. The activities are scheduled for Saturday, October 25, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the lawn in front of McCracken Gymnasium. Community families are invited to attend the festivities, which will include lawn games and kid-friendly activities plus treats for children. Games being considered are cornhole, beanbag toss, sack races, lawn bowling, etc.

Scrappy Sewing Ministry

Interested in coming to serve and sew? Looking for a place to donate your leftover fabric? Local volunteers are invited to email Sue McQuiston at suemc@mccurdy.org about times to help with the sewing projects. Or if you live in another part of the country, please contact Eufemia Romero to see if there is a Volunteer in Mission Team from your area heading to McCurdy sometime in the coming year. It’s a great service project and we need YOU!

Contact Eufemia Romero by phone at 505-753-7221, ext. 210 or by email at: eromero@mccurdy.org

Time to Register 2026 VIM Teams!

It is time to start making plans for next year’s Volunteers in Mission (VIM) season. If you have a mission team or youth group that is looking for a mission opportunity, please prayerfully consider scheduling a mission team to McCurdy Ministries in 2026. VIM Teams can be large or small, so gather some friends and head to Española to help the McCurdy staff. And remember, local groups are always welcome to schedule a workday or two anytime.

Examples of some of the lighter tasks include leveling books, sorting donated clothing, organizing food pantry and diaper bank, sewing, general cleaning, office work, and data entry. Volunteers with construction skills can assist with major renovation and rehabilitation projects in campus buildings. Volunteers who love to work outdoors can help with weed-eating and mowing the grounds or refreshing the flower beds. The bottom line is that whatever your ability, there’s a job for YOU!

To schedule a volunteer team for 2025, please contact our Volunteer Registrar, Eufemia Romero, by phone at 505-753-7221, ext. 210 or by email at: eromero@mccurdy.org.

“Adopt” a Student at McCurdy

For many years, McCurdy Ministries has offered two programs which have had a direct impact on the education experiences of pre-school and elementary-aged students. The McCurdy Pre-K is a Star 5 (top-rated) program licensed by the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department. It is an all-day experience for 5-year-olds. Besides learning activities to prepare children for Kindergarten, the Pre-K includes snacks and meals. While McCurdy receives some funding for this vital program, the additional expenses must be covered through donations. 

If you would like to “adopt” one or more Pre-K students, here is a breakdown of the costs to help a student:

• One student for one day - $7
• One student for one week - $35
• One student for one month - $140

The other on-going program is the Project Cariño After School Clubhouse (previously known as After School Care). This faith-based program provides elementary-aged students with free play, snacks, and homework help in addition to faith-building arts and crafts, drama, and Bible Club study. 

You can help to provide this experience at no expense to these children at the following costs:

• One student for one day - $10
• One Student for one week - $50
• One student for one month - $200

If you choose to be part of our new “Adopt a Student” program, please mark your gift as such and indicate whether it is one-time contribution or will be on-going. (Both programs run throughout the school term). 

While McCurdy cannot single out individual children to provide reports for this contribution, donors will receive updates and pictures of the program you are supporting. 

Contributions may be sent to the McCurdy Ministries Business Office at 362A S. McCurdy Road, Espanola, NM 87532. Please mark these donations as “Adopt a

Student’. For more information, contact Randall Partin, Director of Finance & Operations at 505-753-7221.

New McCurdy Ambassador Program

The new McCurdy Ambassadors Program is recruiting volunteers to help churches and Annual Conferences across the country increase their understanding and commitment to the mission of McCurdy Ministries. The McCurdy Volunteer Ambassadors will visit local churches in their area and display information at their respective Annual Conference Meetings. The displayed information will help increase knowledge and support of McCurdy Ministries and will help us continue to be the “light in the valley” for the children, youth, and families in the Española Valley.

If you are interested in learning more about this program or possibly volunteering to serve as a McCurdy Ambassador, contact Sarah Allen at 928-691-6471 or via email at s.k.allen2227@gmail.com.  

McCurdy Ministries

Family Christmas Store

This Christmas season, McCurdy Ministries is opening our Family Christmas Store to bless families in our community. Parents will be able to choose free gifts for their children, and children also will have the joy of picking out a special gift for their parents or loved ones.

To view the list of suggested gifts by age, go to the McCurdy Ministries’ website: LINK

Or purchase gifts on the McCurdy Ministries Amazon Wishlist: LINK

Just remember to send all gifts directly to McCurdy Ministries at 362A S. McCurdy Rd., Española. (And please share your address when you purchase items so we can thank you!)

Please be a part of this year’s McCurdy Ministries Christmas magic! Your support can help make this Christmas extra special for many children and families!

Amazon Wishlist

McCurdy Ministries maintains an Amazon registry with items needed for our programs. The current list on the registry includes toys, cleaning supplies, snacks, paper goods, and school supplies.  

Please consider purchasing an item or two to help support our vital programs for children. (Just remember to share your address when you purchase items so we can thank you!) This is an incredible and practical way to help us in serving the children of Española. 

McCurdy Wish List: Link 

Thank you for your generous support of all our ministries and programs!

QUESTIONS? Email Rev. Tiffany Hollums, Executive Director, at thollums@mccurdy.org. 

LEER Children’s Literacy Program

With the literacy rate for children in New Mexico at about 25 percent at grade level, the LEER Children’s Literacy Program was launched to proactively and creatively address the need for quality education. Children have free access not only to books, but to a beautiful child-focused library, The Enchanted Forest of Reading.

Donate Children’s Books

You can help this vital literacy program by donating new or gently used children’s books to LEER. In addition, you can purchase new books online. LEER has cultivated an Amazon book list to establish a leveled library.

To purchase new books, go to the Amazon Book Wishlist LINK https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/3NLKSGLD3DAE4 .) 

Children’s books also can be dropped off or shipped using USPS ‘media mail’ to: McCurdy Ministries, 362 S. McCurdy Road, Española, NM 87532. 

Join Us in Prayer

Each Day at 3:20 p.m.

Praying together at the same time each day and with the same purpose is powerful! We hope you are joining us as we pray each afternoon at 3:20 p.m. seeking God’s guidance and direction for McCurdy Ministries. We need God’s help as we step out in faith to provide expanded resources, programs, and ministries for the children and families of the Española Valley.

Please join us in prayer using Ephesians 3:20 as a prayer guide.

Now all glory to God, who is able,

through His mighty power at work within us,

to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

As we seek God’s leading throughout this year, we readily recognize that God is providing answers far beyond what we might ever ask or imagine.

Here’s another soup recipe to try from McCurdy’s very own collection, Recipes of a Century Past, published in 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ministry. The recipe was contributed by Ms. Virginia Alire De Vargas, Class of 1956.

Potato Soup with Green Chile

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 (10.5-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (16-ounce) package hash browns
• 1 pound Velveeta cheese
• 1 (10.75-ounce) can cream of celery soup
• 1 (4-ounce) jar pimentos
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup chopped green chiles
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• garlic salt, to taste
• paprika, to taste

Sauté onion and celery in butter. Add the chicken broth, hash browns, Velveeta cheese, cream of celery soup, pimentos, milk, and green chiles. Cook for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and paprika. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk until desired consistency.

McCurdy Ministries creates hope and empowers the lives of children, youth, adults and families through education, life skills, and faith-based programs in Española, New Mexico.

As you enjoy the crisp air of October, please remember that we are praying for you. We value your support as we witness the blessings that McCurdy Ministries is providing through our programs and ministries that are helping the children, youth, and families in the Española Valley.  

On behalf of the McCurdy Ministries Board and staff as well as the children, youth, adults, and families McCurdy Ministries serves, may you experience God’s Perfect Peace and Love each and every day!

Blessings,

McCurdy Ministries Board and Staff    

McCurdy Ministries creates hope and empowers the lives of children, youth, adults and families through education,

life skills and faith-based programs in Española, NM.

www.mccurdy.org