Conferences & Events

Reaching out to the general public is an important part of the work of the Center forChristian Community. Even though Christians make up about 65% of the adult population in Santa Fe, more than 85% of Santa Fe adults had some Christian influence growing up. Conferences are an important way of making contact with both Christians and non-Christians in the community.

Sometime a conference presents the results of the Barnabas Institute's own research, such as the seminar titled "Responding to the Needs of People Seeking God." This conference compared the results of the Institute's 1,000-person telephone survey of Santa Fe adults with findings of the Institute's own national survey conducted about the same time. Findings for Santa Fe adults are strikinging similar to those for adults all over the nation, in terms of the faith backgrounds and prevalence of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and so on in the population. However, Santa Fe's Catholic heritage produces a preponderance of Catholics in the area, whereas Protestants and other Christian faiths predominate in most of the country.

An important activity of the Center for Christian Community is partnering with other Christian organizations to accomplish goals that are important to both organizations. Such collaborations of involve jointly sponsored events, such as a luncheon jointly sponsored by Vista Ventures and the Barnabas Institute.

At this luncheon conference, titled "Helping the Neediest in Santa Fe and the World, two speakers told of the programs of their agencies in helping those in need.

• Marilee Pierce Dunker, representing World Vision, provided an Update on Asia Tsunami Relief in her talk presentation, titled "Help for the World's Poorest Children."
• Meredith Lowry, Director of Faith at Work Community Outreach in Santa Fe, told about some of the people in crisis who come to her agency's doors. Referred by other agencies, these desperate people include homeless pregnant teenagers as well as those who have turned a corner from homelessness and need help in furnishing their first home or apartment, or those who just need clothes to wear in prospecting for a job.

To stay abreast of conferences hosted by the Center for Christian Community or others in Santa Fe or New Mexico, subscribe to the Center's newsletter, On the Way with Barnabas, or visit the Santa Fe Local Information section of this Web site.