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Wellspring Church will celebrate its 17th birthday “as a community of love and joy” will a special service and birthday celebration on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the church, 140 W. Taylor road (also known as County Road 243).
The service begins at 11 a.m. and will be led by the church’s new minister and spiritual director, Rev. Carolyn Wilkins. Speakers in addition to Wilkins will include Wellspring’s founding minister, Rev. Sam Ritchey, and church board President Edward Burlbaw.
With the special celebration, Wilkins said, Wellspring is “honoring the people who have served and grown our spiritual community over the years and setting the vision for new possibilities.”
“I am excited to be here,” Wilkins said. “I know I’m here for a reason.” She became Wellspring’s pastor last summer. At Wellspring, Wilkins said she is “so impressed with the quality and commitment of the team,” which had managed for so long without a minister.
Wilkins grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and began visioning and meditation as a young child. She also developed a strong connection to nature at a very early age, touched by “the spirit of the water, by the butterflies.” She left a long-time ministry in California to come to Las Cruces, where she has discovered “something mystical in the air.”
From Wellspring Church:
“Wellspring Church was founded in October 2002 by Ritchey and 45 excited people from the Las Cruces New Thought/Science of Mind community. Wellspring started by holding Sunday Service in The Arc Life Center on Griggs Avenue. Eventually, the current property on 140 W. Taylor Road was purchased and Sunday services, classes and social events are still held there. Until his retirement in 2015, Rev Sam guided Wellspring with Sunday messages and pastoral care for members of the community.
“For four years without a full-time minister, Wellspring Church was guided by its board of trustees and invited guest speakers from around Las Cruces and New Mexico. After an extensive search this spring, Rev. Carolyn Wilkins was hired in July 2019 as minister and spiritual director.
“From the beginning and to this day, our vision and mission remain the defining and guiding nature of Wellspring Church. Our vision: To elevate our world’s spiritual consciousness. Our mission: To support individual spiritual quests through celebration, study, counsel, loving fellowship and service.”
