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An Old Community Builds a New Church
—by J. David
McNamara, D.Min./Agua Viva Director of Special Projects
 On Saturday, March 8, the
Catholic community of Artesia marked a significant event with the
groundbreaking for construction of a new place of worship for St.
Anthony Parish’s faithful. Las
Cruces’
Bishop Ricardo Ramírez helped turn the first shovel-full of sod to
officially begin the project, following many years of waiting for
just the right moment to gain the diocese’s formal blessing.
“We are trying to build not just
a church, but a community,” says Fr. Paul Murtagh, pastor of St.
Anthony Parish, the older, and smaller of Artesia’s two Catholic
congregations, “and some reconciliation is needed.” Past divisions,
both within and outside of the parish community, have left their
mark, and this Lenten season would seem to be an appropriate time to
set aside the differences of the past in light of a new start
symbolized by church construction. Parochial Vicar, Fr. Benedict
Folger, views the construction process as an opportunity to achieve
that reconciliation, perceiving it to be “. . . a good point for
beginning to live with faith, hope and love.”
As part of a diocesan initiative
aimed at collaborative ministry, St. Anthony Parish is served by
members of the Community of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary who
also attend to the spiritual needs of Catholics at the neighboring
parish of Our Lady of Grace, as well as at Immaculate Conception
Parish in Dexter and its two affiliated missions in Hagerman and
Lake Arthur. In addition
to Fr. Paul and Fr. Ben,
members of the Sacred Hearts ministering to all three parishes are:
Fr. Richard Lifrak, Sister Damien Dang , Sister Marie Lemert, Sister
Edna Demanche, and Brother Brian Guerrini.
Yet another key player in the
life of the community is Parish Life Coordinator, Deacon Pablo
Merjil,
who has spent extensive time and energy preparing the people of St.
Anthony’s for this watershedmoment. Months of meetings with local
groups and individuals, as well as on-going contact with architects
whose plans he transported more than once between Artesia and the
Diocesan Pastoral Center in Las Cruces for review, revision, and
eventual final approval, have left Deacon Pablo exhausted.
Nevertheless, he continues his ministry, frequently mounting his
Harley Davidson motorcycle – his preferred form of transportation –
to visit parishioners with the purpose of keeping them informed of
the status of the construction project’s latest phases.
 “They’re
good people,” says Fr. Paul describing the congregation of St.
Anthony Parish, “and I sense that the new church will attract many
persons who have left back to the parish.” At the same time,
challenges still need to be addressed. “We need to call people to
use their gifts to build a solid foundation,” says Fr. Ben, who sees
an urgent need to expand the parish’s ministerial work-force from
the current few who organize and carry out most church activities to
include every baptized member.
And the key . . .? It is
listening. “The days of people coming to the rectory with
their problems are
gone. We need to meet them where they live,”
observes Fr. Ben. And that understanding fits nicely into the
ministerial philosophy of every member of the Sacred Hearts who,
since their arrival only a few months ago, have been knocking on
doors throughout the Artesia and Dexter communities.
Indeed, they are on a mission –
and they are just beginning.
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