On the east side of the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe, the Church of the Holy Faith has stood on East Palace Avenue since 1882, but its roots go back to 1863, when a handful of worshipers began gathering as a house church during the Civil War. It is the oldest Episcopal congregation in New Mexico and one of the oldest Protestant parishes in the state. Three Sunday liturgies, a Tuesday Taizé service, weekday Morning and Evening Prayer, and a celebrated music program draw visitors and members into a parish that has been central to the cultural and civic life of Santa Fe for more than a century and a half. The church's identity is firmly Anglo-Catholic: worship follows the Book of Common Prayer, Rite I, incense is used at Solemn High Mass, and the rector describes the parish as "the best that Christianity has to offer," embracing both the Reformed and Catholic streams of Anglican heritage.
A Folk Gothic Church on East Palace Avenue
Holy Faith's stone church has been described as "folk gothic" for its resemblance to English parish churches of the simplified thirteenth-century style. The cornerstone was laid in 1881 and the building completed in 1882, on a lot purchased by territorial governor L. Bradford Prince, who spearheaded an early fundraising drive and "encouraged" ten Santa Fe businessmen to give a hundred dollars each, a significant sum at the time. The stone was quarried outside the village of Galisteo, southeast of Santa Fe, making the first structure one of the first dressed-stone buildings in the city.
Among the early donors were several prominent Jewish merchants. Holy Faith later honored that friendship with a crescent-shaped stained glass window over the entrance to the church bearing the Star of David at its center, a visible reminder of the parish's long history of interfaith collaboration. Prince led the effort in 1880 to rename the parish "The Church of the Holy Faith," an English translation of the Spanish name of New Mexico's capital.
The church has been altered and added to many times, most notably under the renowned Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem. In 1953, Meem, a parishioner whose Pueblo Revival architecture became known as "Santa Fe style," led a remodeling that produced the present chancel and sanctuary. He moved the Good Shepherd window to the left of the altar and replaced it with a triptych of bright red and blue Gothic windows. Upon Meem's death in 1983, some of his ashes were placed in a niche on the east side of the sanctuary he designed.
Behind the altar stands the richly historic reredos, designed in New York by Wilfred Edwards Anthony but carved in Santa Fe by Gustave Baumann, one of the city's most celebrated artists. The Chapel of the Good Shepherd, added in 1966, contains artwork and carvings by local artist W. Shaw, also a parishioner.
In 2012 the parish commissioned a set of fourteen Stations of the Cross from Chilean artist Andrea Pichaida. The clay reliefs line the nave and tell the story of Christ's condemnation, crucifixion, and burial, a devotional practice said to have been promoted by St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the parish and of the City of Santa Fe. On October 5, 2014, Holy Faith celebrated its 150th anniversary with the dedication by Bishop Michael Vono of a six-foot, 500-pound bronze statue of St. Francis, sculpted by Arizona artist Buck McCain. The statue stands in the church's grounds as a permanent witness to the parish's founding devotion.
Three Sunday Liturgies, All in Rite I
Holy Faith offers three Sunday services, each in the Anglo-Catholic style following the Book of Common Prayer, Rite I. At 7:30 a.m., a Spoken Eucharist is celebrated in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. At 8:30 a.m., a Eucharist with Hymns and Anthems takes place in the main church, with the choir singing from a wide repertoire that draws on music from the Renaissance to living composers. At 11:00 a.m., the principal Choral Eucharist fills the church with sung chants and prayers; this service is also live-streamed on the parish's YouTube channel, and recordings remain available there afterward.
Masks are optional at all services. Ushers, greeters, and acolytes help the liturgies run smoothly, and a t-coil hearing assistance system is installed in the church. Visitors who do not have a t-coil-equipped hearing device may ask an usher for alternate assistance.
Weekday Worship and the Daily Office
The Daily Office is prayed publicly every weekday of the year except for church holidays. Silent prayer begins at 9:00 a.m. in the church chancel, followed at 9:15 a.m. by Morning Prayer, Rite II. Evening Prayer, Rite I, is prayed in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A weekday Holy Eucharist is celebrated on Wednesdays at 12:10 p.m. in the Chapel.
Members and visitors can also pray the Daily Office online through Mission St. Clare, and the parish provides links to lectionary resources for those who want to follow the daily readings from home.
Taizé by Candlelight on Tuesday Evenings
Holy Faith is one of a number of Episcopal parishes that has adopted the Taizé form of worship, a meditative practice that grew out of the ecumenical brotherhood founded in Burgundy, France, during World War II. Taizé worship uses calming chant, candlelight, and extended silence to create a contemplative atmosphere.
The parish offers a Taizé Evensong Service with Healing Prayers on the first Tuesday of every month, and a Taizé Eucharist with Prayers for Healing on the other Tuesdays. All Tuesday services begin at 6:00 p.m. in the church. Music is sung over and over again until "words gradually penetrate the whole being, uniting prayer and daily life." The Tuesday service is the one exception to Holy Faith's use of Rite I.
Music That Raises the Worship
Music is central to Holy Faith's identity. The parish's pipe organ, built by M. P. Moller, Inc. of Hagerstown, Maryland, was originally installed in November 1961, with renovations and additions in 1975 and 2001. With three manuals and forty-three ranks of pipes, it is the largest organ in Northern New Mexico.
The Parish Choir sings for the 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Sunday liturgies, supporting the liturgy with anthems drawn from a remarkable range. Recent repertoire has included Renaissance polyphony by Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, and Victoria; Baroque masterworks by Bach, Handel, Monteverdi, and Charpentier; Classical settings by Haydn, Mozart, and Wesley; Romantic repertoire from Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Elgar; twentieth-century works by Vaughan Williams, Britten, Howells, and Copland; and contemporary compositions by Gerald Near, John Rutter, and Joel Martinson. The choir has also performed spirituals with conviction when the occasion calls for it.
Mark Childers, Canon for Liturgy and Music for the Diocese of the Rio Grande and Chairman of the Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, has served as organist since 2006 and as organist and choirmaster since 2009. He became Parish Administrator and Director of Music and Liturgy in 2011 and now oversees all aspects of parish life.
A Bell Choir has also taken its place in the musical life of the parish, ringing at both the 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services on a regular basis. The Children's Choir, open to children ages two and up, learns music during Children's Chapel on Sunday mornings and sings for the congregation several times a year, including the Christmas Eve pageant. A Royal School of Church Music program adds another dimension to the parish's long-standing choral tradition.
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
Holy Faith takes the formation of children seriously. The Nursery, located in Conkey House, is open Sundays from 8:15 a.m. through the 11:00 a.m. service for children four and younger. Children's Chapel gathers in the same space at 8:30 a.m. and again at 11:00 a.m., when children share songs, prayers, and Bible stories in a liturgy adapted for them, then process into the main church to rejoin their families at the sharing of the peace. Children's Chapel is led by trained adult volunteers who have completed the Safe Church and Safe Communities program required by the Diocese.
From 10:00 to 10:40 a.m. each Sunday, children ages three and up are invited to Faith Explorers, a low-key, fun group that meets in the youth room at the end of the hall in Conkey House. Kids learn Bible stories, share snacks, create art, and make friends, with sessions currently focused on heroes of the Bible and the ordinary faithfulness of their example.
The Youth Group, for ages eight through high school, meets on the second and fourth Sunday of each month from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. after the 11:00 a.m. service for pizza, games, and discussion. Pam Jones, the parish's Volunteer Coordinator for Family and Children's Ministries, leads the program. Outside activities throughout the year include hiking, bowling, a river cleanup, a fall lock-in, a laser-tag outing, and a Truck or Treat carnival on Halloween. Children in third grade and older may also serve as Youth Acolytes, carrying the cross, serving at the altar, and bearing torches during services.
Parents consistently identify the children's program as one of the strengths that brought them to Holy Faith. One focus group participant described the parish as offering "a timely and relevant framework that my children can be introduced to God, religion, and the Episcopal Church."
Bible Study, Sunday Forum, and Spiritual Classics
Adult formation at Holy Faith runs deep. Four Bible study groups meet during the week. The Evening Bible Study gathers on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. The Wednesday Bible Study, led by Fr. Simon, meets at 3:00 p.m. The Whirlwind Bible Tour, a Wednesday evening course at 5:30 p.m., traces the main story of the Bible, its writing styles, and its historical contexts. A Women's Bible Study gathers on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.
The Spiritual Classics group meets every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in the Large Conference Room in Conkey House. Since 2010 the group has worked through The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, The Confessions of St. Augustine, and Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Divine Love, among other texts. The current reading is the Life of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure, in preparation for the parish's patronal feast day on October 4.
Between Sunday services, at 10:00 a.m. in Palen Hall, the Adult Forum offers Christian formation that "both informs and entertains." Recent sessions have featured parishioners returning from the Juárez mission trip, a Benedictine Spirituality presentation by Fr. Robin, and a Triduum presentation by Mother Lynn.
Education for Ministry (EfM), a four-year lay theological program of the University of the South at Sewanee, has an active group at Holy Faith led by Steven Berkshire. Each year of the program focuses on a different area: Hebrew Scriptures, New Testament, Christian history, and personal theology. The group meets on Thursday evenings from September through May.
The Women's Spirituality Group meets for study and seasonal retreats, with recent attention to Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Ávila, and Joan Chittister. The Tenth Annual Women's Quiet Day was held in February 2026, featuring theologian Megan McKenna speaking on "Women Rising: First Witnesses and Preachers of the Resurrection."
The Library, Lectures, and a Heritage Lecture
Holy Faith maintains an extraordinary lending library with a current display on Celtic Spirituality. The library's catalog is searchable online. The Carolyn Scheffler Lecture, hosted at Holy Faith, brings a noted historian to Palen Hall each year; the 2026 lecturer was Santa Fe historian Ana Pacheco, who has documented the city's religious and cultural heritage for more than three decades.
Clergy and Staff
The Very Reverend Canon Robin D. Dodge has served as rector since October 30, 2016. A second-vocation priest, Fr. Robin practiced law in Chicago and Washington, D.C., after earning a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a doctorate in jurisprudence from Boston University. He earned his Master of Divinity in 1999 at Virginia Theological Seminary, served as associate vicar of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia, and then as associate vicar and later priest-in-charge at St. Mary Redcliffe in Bristol, England. He came to Holy Faith after eleven years as rector of St. David's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. In October 2017 he was made Canon for Ecumenical and Interfaith Dialogue for the Diocese of the Rio Grande, in December 2024 he was elected President of the New Mexico Conference of Churches, and in December 2025 Bishop Hunn appointed him Dean of La Sierra Encantada Deanery.
The Reverend Simon Carian joined the staff as Associate Rector on November 30, 2025. Ordained a deacon on October 4, 2012, and a priest on May 18, 2013, Fr. Simon previously served parishes in campus ministry, ministry to Native American communities in New Mexico, ministry to Spanish-speaking communities, and most recently as Rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Clovis, New Mexico. He holds advanced degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, the Pontifical Lateran University, and the University of Sacro Cuore, all in Rome, and he is a licensed mental health counselor in New Mexico. He leads the Wednesday Bible Study and the Spiritual Classics group.
The Reverend Madelynn K. Johnston serves as Assisting Priest. A native of Santa Fe and longtime New Mexico priest, she was ordained deacon in 1977 and priest in 2001. She has served parishes in the Trans-Pecos Ministry, at St. Bede's in Santa Fe as associate rector, as Vicar of St. Jerome's in Chama, and as Vicar of St. Paul's Peace in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She is a Fellow of the College of Preachers, completed the College's two-year core curriculum in preaching, and leads the Women's Spirituality Group.
Mark Edw. Childers, Canon for Liturgy and Music for the Diocese of the Rio Grande, serves as Parish Administrator and Director of Music and Liturgy, a full-time position he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians, a three-time Deputy to General Convention, and Chairman of the Episcopal Church's Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.
Pam Jones serves as Volunteer Coordinator for Family and Children's Ministries. A youth minister for fifteen years in Austin, Texas, and three years in Evanston, Illinois, before joining Holy Faith, she leads Faith Explorers and the Youth Group.
Elisheva (Eli) Herrera is Parish Secretary. Marcos Castillo is Facilities Manager. Rocio Salazar heads Housekeeping.
Liturgical Ministries: From Altar Guild to Ushers
The Sunday liturgies rely on a deep bench of volunteer ministers. The Altar Guild is divided into four teams, each serving one week a month and caring for the vessels, linens, paraments, and appointments of the sanctuary. Acolytes, including twenty or more trained youth and adults, serve as crucifers, torchbearers, and servers. Lectors read the Old Testament lesson, the Psalm, and the Epistle at each service. Ushers prepare the church, greet worshipers, distribute bulletins, take the offering to the altar, assist anyone with mobility needs, and reset the books after the service. The Greeters, when meeting in person, are the "first face" of Holy Faith to visitors and newcomers, and the Welcome Ministry follows up with pew cards and new member forms to help newcomers feel at home. The Flower Ministry creates arrangements each Saturday for the altar and chapel, marking the seasons of the Christian year and providing flowers for weddings, funerals, and special services.
Pastoral Care and Prayer Ministries
Pastoral care extends beyond the church walls. Eucharistic Visitors bring Holy Communion to retirement communities and to homebound parishioners, and the priests join them periodically for anointing and blessing. The Lay Pastoral Visiting Team supplements the clergy's pastoral care with friendship and practical help. The Bereavement Ministry maintains the Healing Resource Center, a library dedicated to spiritual health and healing.
Faith Family Ministry provides a parish-based safety net for members who need help with transportation to a doctor's appointment, the grocery store, or a church service, or who would welcome a visit at home, in the hospital, or in prayer.
Prayer ministries knit the parish together. The Prayer Shawl Ministry, founded in 2005, has knitted and gifted more than 880 shawls, which are picked up from the Kinsolving Room for anyone in need of extra prayers. The Society of Mary (Our Lady of the Holy Faith and Consolation Ward) meets every Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd for the contemplative use of the rosary, a practice they have maintained since 1996. The Frederick B. Howden Chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King meets monthly from September through May for fellowship, Bible study, and a service of Evening Prayer; its members include women from Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran (ELCA), and Roman Catholic churches.
Outreach in Santa Fe and Juárez
Holy Faith's commitment to those in need is woven through the parish's life. The Mission and Outreach Grants Subcommittee, supported by a generous bequest from the Carolyn Scheffler estate and by ongoing parish giving, distributes grants to local ministries each year. Recent grants have supported the Interfaith Community Shelter, the Food Depot, Gerard's House, Girls Inc., CASA First, the Friendship Club, Help With Compassion, the Listening Horse Therapeutic Riding program, My Little Horse Listener, Oaxaca Youth Empowerment, Resolve, Scott's House, Sky Center, and Tomorrow's Women, among others.
Feed the Hungry volunteers cook a hot lunch the fourth Sunday of every month and serve it to guests at the Interfaith Community Shelter, supplementing the Food Depot's work and helping cook at Holy Faith on Code Blue emergency weather days. During the Emergency Shelter season, which runs from mid-October to early May, Holy Faith parishioners host guests at the Interfaith Shelter on Cerrillos Road for two separate weeks, providing a hot meal and other support every evening.
The Juárez House Build is a recurring mission partnership with Missions Ministries of Colorado. Parishioners travel to a compound in the Las Colonias neighborhood of Juárez and, with a Mexican building team, construct a 650-square-foot, two-bedroom, insulated, metal-roofed home on a concrete slab for a family in need. Each year Holy Faith takes on a new family. The September 2026 build, for Bryan and Karime Vasquez Esparza and their two daughters, Edna and Sofia, raised $15,500 for construction, $3,000 for appliances and household furnishings, and a $300 per-person fee covering food, lodging, and transportation for the team.
Other outreach includes the Care Kits program, which stocks clear zip bags with water, high-protein food, socks, a multi-use garbage bag, wipes, and dental care for parishioners to hand to those they encounter in the community, and the Recycle for Sight and Hearing Aid Recycling Program, a partnership with the Capital City Lions Club. The Cookie Ministry supplies cookies, brownies, bars, and muffins for the parish coffee hour each Sunday. The Guild welcomes anyone interested in making craft items for the annual St. Nicholas Bazaar, now in its second century. The Twice Blessed sale accepts donations of gently used items, with proceeds supporting parish outreach. The United Thank Offering collects contributions in the little blue boxes that have supported ministries of women and children throughout the Anglican Communion for more than 130 years.
The Sacraments
Holy Faith observes the five Baptismal Feasts set forth in the Book of Common Prayer: All Saints Sunday, the Baptism of Our Lord, the Easter Vigil, Pentecost, and the Bishop's annual visitation. Parents and godparents attend preparation meetings before baptism. Confirmations, receptions, and reaffirmations take place once a year during the Bishop's visitation, preceded by an Inquirers' Class on the Friday and Saturday of that weekend. Weddings and funerals are arranged in consultation with the clergy and the Parish Administrator.
The Saint Francis Legacy Society
The Saint Francis Legacy Society recognizes those who have included Holy Faith in their wills or other estate planning documents. Bequests may take the form of cash, real property with retained life estate, life insurance, retirement plan beneficiary designations, gifts of stock or other in-kind property, charitable remainder trusts, or charitable lead trusts. Contributions to the Saint Francis Legacy Society are added to the Endowment Fund to benefit future generations.
Music of the Building: Stations, Windows, and the Way of the Cross
Devotional spaces within the church reflect the parish's Anglo-Catholic identity. The Andrea Pichaida Stations of the Cross line the nave. The bright red and blue Gothic chancel triptych above the altar depicts the Nicene Creed in stained glass. A presentation of the triptych and its iconography is available as a downloadable PDF.
Parish Administration and Giving
The Parish Office is open Monday and Tuesday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to noon, and Friday 9:00 a.m. to noon. The annual Stewardship campaign, "Pray-Participate-Pledge," invites every parishioner to make a pledge of support, online or by paper form. Gifts can also be made online, with the option to direct contributions to specific ministries such as the Juárez House Build.
The Vestry, which oversees the temporal affairs of the parish, is currently led by Jacki Walker as Senior Warden, Preston Stone as Junior Warden, Charles Rountree as Treasurer, and Pam Jones as Vestry Clerk. Other members include George Case, Kelly Enos, Kaki Grubbs, Paula Price, Steven Shore, Michael Adam Smith, and Rebecca Tobey. Parish Delegates to the Northeast Deanery and Diocesan Convention are Alice McSweeney, Ruth Rael, Charles Rountree, and Steven Shore.
A Welcoming Community
When asked why they came to Holy Faith, parishioners in a focus group for the 150th celebration said it was the worship that brought them in the door: the "Bible preached from the pulpit," "beautiful hymns," "the great organ," and the "deep sense of the Holy Spirit moving through the congregation." Many started as visitors before sending friends of their own and then joining. The parish is known for being "high church" without being austere, for embracing its Anglican Catholic heritage, and for a continual commitment to outreach to the hungry and homeless of Santa Fe. Masks are optional at services. Newcomers are encouraged to contact the parish office at (505) 982-4447 or info@holyfaithchurchsf.org, or to speak with a member of the clergy after a Sunday service.