The Episcopal Church began its relationship with the Navajo Nation in mid-1800s with the establishment of medical missions at Good Shepherd Mission in Fort Defiance, Arizona, and All Saint’s Church in Farmington, NM. These missions were among the first hospitals to be based within the borders of the Navajo Nation. In the early to mid-20th century, several churches were planted within or near Navajo country, including St. Christopher’s Mission in Bluff, Utah, Good Shepherd Mission, and All Saints Church in Farmington. In 1979, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church grouped churches in three regions of Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona into a single mission called The Episcopal Church in Navajoland (ECN). Each of the three regions, presently defined as Utah, San Juan, and the Southeast, has a main hub church with smaller outlying mission churches.
The Episcopal Church in Navajoland (ECN) seeks to invite people in the region into loving, liberating, and life-giving relationship with God, with each other, and with the Earth. ECN works to respond to human needs in the community through loving service; safeguard the integrity of creation and the traditional homelands of the Navajo; and support the spiritual development of Navajo Christians while also honoring Navajo beliefs and practices.
To learn more about funding needs in the Navajoland Area Mission and how you can help, visit: http://www.ecofnavajoland.org/, or contact Cecilia Malm in the Office of Development at (212) 716-6062 or Cecilia J. Malm or donate here.
