By Jo Mixon
Tom Germshed- Chairman of the Building Committee
Many people in Angel Fire are extremely happy to see the fruit of their labors becoming tangibly evident as building takes place on the Holy Angels Catholic Church. On June 7, 2014, sixteen years after the Archdiocese of Santa Fe purchased the land, they celebrated the dedication and ground breaking. Excitement fills the air!
When the parishioners of the Moreno Valley Catholic Church found themselves without a priest for approximately six months, it was decided to look into building a permanent structure on their land. In 2007 under the leadership of Father John Cannon, who was assigned to St. Mel’s in Eagle Nest, the parishioner’s began to look at and set goals. Plans were put into place with five year, ten year and twenty year goals. They presented their plans to the Arch Bishop. He liked it and gave them permission to proceed. Almost immediately Father Cannon contacted Tom Germscheid and asked him to establish a committee. He wanted them to “get crackin”. Tom accepted the challenge. The Building Committee was formed and has, since 2007, been meeting on a monthly basis. The first business was to establish a name. In January 2008 they were given permission to name their church Holy Angels and the Feast of the Angels, September 29 was granted as their Feast Day. All fitting nicely with Angel Fire.
Within their committee have been two sub committees; design and fund raising. The design committee, after many times back at the drawing board, decided on a 6000 square foot building. The fund raising committee were charged with just that, raising money. The Archdiocese agreed to lend them one half of the funds needed for construction, but first they must raise the other half. Both committees hit the ground running!
In September 2013, half of the funds had been raised. They sought permission to begin building. The College of Consulters and the Arch Bishop sent a letter for them to “press on”. After seven years of prayer and hard work, the contractors have been hired and the project is in full swing. Their goal for completion is January 2015. But Tom says to make your plans early because Christmas Mass 2014 will be standing room only in their newly completed sanctuary!
Tom and the parishioners of Holy Angels Catholic Church truly want to express their gratitude to the community of Angel Fire and all of the people in the Moreno Valley who have faithfully flooded their fund raisers with love and donations. Boot scoots, auctions, dinners, golf tournaments, and even a concert by Michael Martin Murphy have been attended by multitudes of people. These people have helped make their fund raising efforts successful. To each and every one they say thank-you!
Building Committee Members: Msgr. SJ Culotta- Advisor, Deacon Michael Sedillo, Tom Germscheid-Chairman, Cindy Germscheid-Secretary, Kathleen Crissman, Gary and Kathy Davis, Jim and Peg Frieden, Chuck Howe, Larry and JoAnn Layden, Tom and Karen Quinn, Bill and Betty Russell, Jack and Lynne Scott, Joe and Carol Stehling, Rick and Beth Tafoya, and Gary and Helen Tucker.
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