Harvest Fest & Tent Meeting Revivals come to Stanley

Mark your calendars for the weekend of September 11-13 when the East Mountain Ministerial Alliance will host "Tent Meeting 2015" on the grounds of the Stanley Union Church.

Reverend Doris Jaques from Mountainair, New Mexico will start off the weekend at the 6:30PM Friday night service along with Jim Glunt Ministries leading the tent meeting music.

Chaplain Matthew Cayward from the Bernalillo County Fire department will bring the message at 6:30PM on Saturday evening along with music by led the East Mountain Assembly of God choir.

Sunday morning services will continue "under the tent" with Reverend John Cayward delivering the message and music led by the East Mountain Assembly of God choir.

 

The Stanley Union Church will host its 3rd Annual Harvest Fest under the Big Tent on Saturday, September 12 from 11:00AM to 3:00PM. Activities include: beach volleyball, horse shoes, two jumpers for the toddlers and elementary aged children, face painting, and D.J. music. There will be FREE hot dogs, chips, and water with soda available for donation to the church youth group.

Join us in Stanley this festive weekend... email with questions.

Wintery Baptism at Stanley

Acts 8:12 (KJV)  But when they believed

Philip preaching the things concerning

the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ,

they were baptized, both men and women.

There are moments in the life of a fellowship where it seems the outside world stands still in order that all may fully comprehend the magnitude of the event being witnessed. Such was the experience this Sunday at the Stanley Union Church. An overflowing congregation warmed the edge of their pews as the Holy Spirit percolated within the bounds of their hearts. What could possibly be so grand to bring this humble country church to such soaring heights? It was the baptism of eight of their fellow believers!

At the piano’s note, introducing the praise song, the voices rung through the air, “we will enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts; we will enter His courts with praise!” The overwhelming joy was uncontainable. This hand-clapping gathering was exhibiting the pure abundance of their spirit filled lives. An old fashioned, Stanley-style baptism was underway. Action taken upon decisions made. Lives change as the old is washed away. The new is afresh in the air!

One by one, Pastor John Nash immersed each candidate into the chilly glistening pool, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The baptism, the public display of their personal conversion, represents the act previously performed by the Holy Spirit when each chose Christ as Lord. A condemned, cursed, and sin-filled body became new ~ washed white as snow and cleansed by the precious blood of their redeemer, Jesus.

Walk through time with me and take the seat from the vantage point of the angelic host this past Sunday. Imagine the rustling of wings and anticipation of wringing of hands as they hovered over this glorious sight on a crisp sunlit day in a quaint stucco chapel nestled on the golden plains of New Mexico. Hear the silver trumpets resounding Heaven’s pleasure. Whispers from The Creator’s messengers tickle the lips of the collective chorus as spiritual breaths fill the natural air declaring, “They are new, they have come, they are His”. Pure delight. Pure approval. Pure, clean, fresh, and yes, new!

A young baptism cadidate watches on

as a member recieves baptism.

Witness the joy on the face of the wife as she

and her daughter are able to be first hand observers

to the baptism of the children's father.

Ginger Nash watches on with delight as the baptisms begin.

Despite the cold temperature of the water,

the joy on the faces could not be chilled.

Christmas Play at Stanley Union

The congregation of Stanley was delighted by the voices of young children as the Christmas story was unfolded by way of children's performing and singing Christmas carols along with narrative by Natalie Romero. The play was directed by Andrea Dennisson and Samantha Romero.

Despite the small size of the shepherds, their voices rung throughout the sanctuary. The whole cast of characters performed their lines without fault to the throng of photo flashes from proud parents.

It had been a long anticipated time since the last Christmas Pageant had been performed at the Union Church. Some estimates placed it at seven years. Thus, the pleasure was multifaceted and the joy abounded throughout the pews.

The kings in their elaborate bath robes carried their treasures to the babe snuggled in the manger. King Caesar proclaimed his anxiety at his throne being threatened. The lowly shepherds made their way to the Bethlehem stable with sheep all around as a lone donkey stood majestically over the holy couple and the star shone brightly to proclaim its location.

Afterwards, the congregation gathered next door in the Stanley Homemaker's Club for a time of fellowship and celebration of the season. The children accepted praises for the success of their acting and feasted on cookies and punch.

What is it about the sound of children's voices and laughter that makes the Christmas season so complete? Perhaps it can be found in the words of the Messiah when he spoke in Luke 18, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Pastor John and Ginger Nash along with all of the congregation of the Stanley Union Church wish you a very Merry Christmas. May you know the Christ of Christmas and be blessed with His presence in your life this day and all forever more.

Old Fashioned Day 9/26/2010

It is an annual event at the Stanley Union Church, and such a beloved time for all of the community. The church grounds were manicured and cleaned up as the Lord's grace and sun shone down on the land, the people rejoiced in His goodness.

After worship, the congregation gathered for a bountiful potluck and fellowship as well as a time of sharing in the annual pie sale and future treasures sale. Available were homemade goodies from the member's kitchens as well as home grown produce, hand made quilts, and other treasures.

The worship was suplimented with sign language to "How Great Thou Art"

Members dress for the occassion,

vintage homesteaders attire

Church grounds manicured and stately in the fall sunlight.

Cleanup along the Highway consisted of tractors, mowers, weed eating and tree trimming.

The "new" church building is nearing completion. Perhaps

Old Fashioned Day 2011 will be held at this new location!

Mission work

This is one of those lonesome roads that we would take to a countryside village. The beauty of God's creation never fails to stir my heart.

Always be ready to answer God's call, Acts 9:6 Lord, what will thou have me to do?

For the past several months I had been putting off making a trip to Sierra Vista, Az. and then on to Nogales, Mexico. This past week I convinced myself that I should get this trip out of the way.

On Tuesday morning the 9th I left Albuquerque Sunport on Southwest Airlines and flew to Los Angeles and then back to Tucson. (Strange flight pattern - no, when you fly free you take whatever gets you there.) In Tucson I rented a car and drove to Sierra Vista, AZ. There I spent the night and the next morning with the help of a friend we made the trip to Nogales, Mexico to deliver a van to one of our Mexican pastors who had ridden the bus up from Alamos, Mexico where Ginger and I had served as missonaries for 11 years. This aged van (1996) was donated to our work in Mx and it had been a faithful friend for all those Mexico years. It allowed us to ferry special education students to school each day and provide transportation to folks wanting to attend church as well as delivering food boxes for 11 years to our needy families in Alamos.

A Mexican pastor Matias is a very dear friend of ours and one of the most dedicated workers for the Lord that I have ever known. This man is one of the men whom you may remember us referring to as the "Lazarus Brothers" He is one of those workers who has truly denied himself, taken up his cross and followed Jesus wherever he leads. The van was truly needed for his ministry work there in Mexico. Many small mountain villages which have no church receive the message of Jesus Christ from this dedicated man of God. It was truly a blessing to get to see him and enjoy fellowship with him although it was only for a short time. When I think of this man who has forsaken all the comforts of life as we know them and totally dedicates his life, body, soul and Spirit to serving the Lord it makes me wonder how many of us would be willing to do the same for our Lord and Savior. Let's pray that the van continues to serve our Lord for many more years.

There are many pastors in Mexico who love and serve our Lord in just the same way as Hermano (brother) Matias and everyone of them should be very precious to us. I would ask all of you to please lift them up in prayer each and every day.

The Stanley Union Church is very generous in their financial support of our Mexico mission work. I would like to say a big thank you to the church for allowing Ginger and I the time to visit with our Mexican pastors two or three times a year as it is wonderful to visit with them and see first hand the work that God is doing through these wonderful God fearing men.

Please remember them in your prayers.

Stanley Singers

This is a snapshot of our new singing group. This was a practice session Sunday before last. Yesterday (Sunday 7th) was their debut for the congregation. They sang Amazing Grace. I'm not a singer so I can't render a professional judgement but it sounded good to this old southern gospel ear. Channah Edwards is the director and pianist for the group.


Nancy Shiver gave a short history of Amazing Grace and John Newton who wrote it. I knew he was a slave ship captain before being saved. Newton later became a curate in the Church of England. God surely knew what he was doing when he gave inspiration to its writing and for it being passed down through history over for over two hundred years. It has and will continue to bless and move us all. Praise God.


We have a wonderful video entitled, Amazing Grace. It was a PBS documentary by Bill Moyers. It aired back in the late '80s. I was able to order from the PBS store. Recently I tried to order it on DVD but learned it was no longer available. I have asked a friend to copy the video to DVD format. Hopefully he will do so soon.

Dedication of Baby Sarita Murillo

What a wonderful Sunday we had yesterday. Stephen and Melissa Murillo came forward to have thier precious, 3 month old daughter, Sarah Judith dedicated to the Lord. What a blessed event a baby dedication is. It's so wonderful to see parents be willing to make a promise to raise their little one in the ways of the Lord. Pastor John made a point of saying, "when you raise a child in church, that child gets a grounding that is so important in life and gives them a firm foundation on which to base their life." They may at sometime stray from that teaching but in the end they will return to those blessed roots. Both John and I strayed but thank God for the grounding that our loving parents gave us, we knew where to turn when the worldly life became a burden.

John and I were invited to the Murillos after services to finish the day's celebration with a barbeque. The guest of honor was not impressed with the hoopla and slept through much of the afternoon. We did so enjoy getting to know the entire Murillo family. As many of you know the family roots reach deep into Mexico. So John and I felt right at home. Much food, chatter and music swirling around us. In Mexico one does not attend an event that isn't accompanied with loud music, food and wonderful fellowship. Thank you Stephen and Melissa and the entire family for making us feel welcome.

**Bit of a footnote - Sarita is the Spanish diminutive for Sarah. I love that affectionate "little" name. For those of you who do not know Stephen's parents raised Stephen and his brother, David in church here at Stanley. It's good to see that tradition being brought forward with a second generation.