ALAMOSA — A weekend of activities was held in Alamosa on April 28-29, to remember and celebrate the rich history of Mennonites in the San Luis Valley.

The weekend was hosted by the Anabaptist Fellowship of Alamosa (AFA), a small congregation in the Mennonite tradition that meets at the Alamosa Presbyterian Church and sponsors Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) workers in local non-profits. The congregation is affiliated with Mountain States Mennonite Conference and Mennonite Church USA. While arising out of the same Anabaptist stream of the Reformation in Europe, this group of Mennonites is different from the High Valley congregation in the Center area and also the Amish, both of whom arrived somewhat later in the Valley and maintain more distinctive dress, lifestyle and faith traditions.

The history being celebrated began in the early 1960’s with a pioneering health ministry through which Mennonites facilitated the opening of Conejos County hospital and provided healthcare personnel and administrative leadership there for three decades. Since that beginning, Mennonites have found diverse ways to engage and serve the San Luis Valley for over 50 years.

Many of these involvements, which took Mennonites beyond their initial hospital focus, are linked with a national program known as Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS), first begun in 1944. The program places volunteers, often recent college graduates, for one or two years of full-time community service in local settings. This faith-based model grows out of the strong Mennonite values for service and peacemaking - including providing civilian alternatives to military service - and helped to inspire and inform what later became the government-sponsored programs of the Peace Corps and VISTA/Americorps.

MVS began in La Jara in 1983, through the sponsorship of the United Church of La Jara (which became a yoked Presbyterian and Mennonite congregation in 1972). In 2010, the MVS program relocated to Alamosa under the sponsorship of the newly formed Anabaptist Fellowship. 2018 marks the 35th anniversary of MVS in our Valley. During this time, around 120 volunteers have come here, the majority serving for two years and many staying on in staff roles with their agencies beyond their volunteer term. 

At least 35 different non-profit and public agencies have benefited from these services over the years, ranging from healthcare, childcare, public education, youth clubs and economic development projects to long-standing partnerships with agencies such as Tu Casa, Center for Restorative Programs, Immigrant Resource Center and La Puente. More recently, volunteers have also engaged with local environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture and local food system initiatives.

In attendance at the weekend events were congregation members, current and former volunteers, community partners from local non-profit agencies, regional Mennonite Church representatives, and the national director of MVS. Many other alumni also sent their greetings from around the U.S. 

At a Saturday evening dinner, Alice Price, a congregational leader who has helped to coordinate MVS here since its inception, introduced visitors and shared some of the highlights from the timeline of Mennonite involvements. Several community partners also spoke of the important roles that MVS and the Anabaptist congregation have played in their agencies and with various interfaith initiatives more generally in the Valley. These included Flora Archuleta and Carmen Murillo Stevens from Immigrant Resource Center, Paula Medina from Center for Restorative Programs, Liza Marron from the Local Foods Coalition, and Shirley Atencio from the Center for Spiritual Life at ASU. Luke Yoder, who originally came to Alamosa as a Mennonite volunteer and later returned to direct the Center for Restorative Programs, as well as Aaron Miltenberger, newly appointed director at the Boys & Girls Club, also noted the impact of MVS on their experiences. Emma Regier Reesor, a former volunteer who now directs the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project, was acknowledged in the audience as well, along with former volunteers visiting from outside the area.

An evening of live music and storytelling followed the dinner, along with a Sunday morning worship service to round out the celebration.  For more information about MVS or the Anabaptist Fellowship, email [email protected]. 

Captions: From left seated Lizzy Diaz, national MVS director, visits with current volunteers Grantley Showalter (Center for Restorative Programs), Peter Wise (Rio Grande Farm Park & Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project) and Curtis Martin, standing (Habitat for Humanity & Valley Roots Food Hub.)/Courtesy photos

Paula Medina shared from her extended history with Mennonite volunteers an agency partner at Center for Restorative Programs and a long-time member of the United Church of La Jara.

From left Andy Zaugg, Elise Rudolph and Neil Rudolph enjoy a photo history of Mennonites who have served as full-time volunteers in the Valley since 1983.