Saint Paul's Peace Church

This spiritual community has a long, strong history in Las Vegas, the territory, and the State of New Mexico. Since 1876 the Episcopal Church has had a presence in Las Vegas. In 1993, St. Paul's Peace and since that time this dedicated group has worshipped together as one congregation using both Episcopal and Lutheran services.

 

Las Vegas boasts of having the first Episcopal Church in New Mexico as well as the first church in the district designated as a Cathedral. In 1876, The Rev. Henry Forrester visited the city and conducted services. In 1879 he returned and resumed services. During that year an adobe mission was built and dedicated. Four lots had been obtained at this site. The adobe mission, which became known as Guild Hall and then the Children's Chapel, is still standing and is currently used for meetings and Coffee Hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1880 Bishop Rev. George Kelly Dunlop was elected bishop of the district and held his first service in his new jurisdiction in St. Paul's December 5, 1880. St. Paul was organzed as a mission church in January, 1880 and the Rev. John McNamara was appointed minister in charge.

 

Later Bishop Dunlop met with members of the congregation to discuss funding new buildings. He made a substantial contribution and said a friend in the East would also contribute to the project. In 1886, construction began on a new church which was to serve as the cathedral.

 

The building was beautiful with native sandstone and stained glass windows. However, funds were exhausted before the sanctuary was completed. One end of the church was closed in by a temporary wall of lathe and plaster. That "temporary wall" always waved back and forth when the winds blew, but it stood for sixty years. The building, in which Bishop Dunlop took such pride, had hardly been completed when the Bishop died on March 12, 1888. His body was brought to Las Vegas and interred within the walls of the church at the spot where the marble altar now stands. The name of the church then became St. Paul's Memorial Church.

 

In 1950 the church building was finished using matching stone from an old court house that had been torn down. In 1964 Faith Hall was built as a fellowship addition with Sunday School rooms, offices, and a small chapel. It is used by many twelve-step programs and other groups in the community.

 

Peace Lutheran

 

In 1974, a group of Las Vegas area Lutherans started meeting in homes for worship. Towards the end of the year the group was too large for homes and sought other meeting places. In 1975 they incorporated Peace Lutheran Church and subsequently became part of the American Lutheran Church. In January 1988, the American  Lutheran Church merged with two other major Lutheran bodies in the United States to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

 

St. Paul's Peace Today

 

In the 1980's, Peace Lutheran began renting Guild Hall for it's services and functions. In1988, St. Paul's Memorial Church and Peace Lutheran initiated negotiations concerning a joint parish. In 1993, with the blessings of both the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande and the ELCA Lutheran Bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod, the two became one congregation respecting the commonalities and the differences of their denominations. Since that time we have operated under a simple two page Memorandum of Understanding. We are currently working on by-laws.

 

Mission     As part of the church of Jesus Christ, the mission of St. Paul's Peace church is to worship God and to further God's kingdom; by teaching of the word; administering the Sacrements; encouraging and supporting one another and by reaching out to the community.

 

Through God's grace Christ came to earth, suffered and died for us to take away our sins and give us eternal salvation. We respond to his love through:

 

Worship as the cornerstone of our faith life. The Word and Eucharist are our source and summit, our primary commitment and privilage.

 

Stewardship as a way of life. We do not own the gifts and talents we have been given so we give back gratefully and faithfully to help others less fortunate.

 

Hospitality as our connection to the community and to one another. As a reflection of God's love we continually strive to reach out to others in welcoming love.

 

Formation as Christ's disciples; we begin in childhood and continue throughout our earthly life.

 

We have a strong ecumenical relationship with several other churches. We have joint Thanksgiving Eve services, a joint hospital chaplain group, rotating early morning radio devotions, and transient funds. With the Presbyterians and the Methodists we have a combined text study, youth group, campus ministry program, and monthly movie nights.

 

In 2007, a Memorial Garden was established in honor of a deceased member, Ron Prieskorn. In 2009 - 2010 a labyrinth and the Memory Garden completed the landscaping surrounding Faith Hall.

 

We feel we are involved with God's work and our hands. We are grateful and we welcome our new Bishop.