Our Mission
We are a center for experiential education, rooted in the Gospels, encouraging the transformation of human consciousness through contemplation, and equipping people to be instruments of peaceful change in the world.
Red Mesa
From Center for Action and Contemplation
Board Chair, John C. Riss
October 25, 2011
The CAC Board of Directors has approved a Red Mesa mission alignment study. In doing so, the board has directed its Executive Director to begin the study in early 2012 with the stated goal of clearly defining possible uses of the land at Red Mesa in alignment with CAC’s mission, and quantifying the resulting, ongoing infrastructure, staffing levels, and financial requirements.
The original Red Mesa program, activated in 2010 on CAC owned property in western New Mexico, was significantly underestimated with regards to both the technical complexity of an offsite campus and the full measure of its sustainability requirements. Lacking an adequate, executable, mission-aligned plan, and with heavy financial outflows and no revenue, it resulted quickly in significant, recurring operating costs that created financial risks for the CAC. It was necessary to cut losses before Red Mesa swallowed the whole of the CAC, requiring a pause in Red Mesa’s operations in August 2011. While disappointing, the learning curve served its purpose and the new opportunity to right-size and align Red Mesa’s mission is welcomed, for the benefit of all of its constituents, constituents who are with us because they follow Fr. Richard’s work.
On the local level, current staffing needs have been minimized until the mission alignment study is completed. The former staff assigned to Red Mesa was treated fairly and in a manner consistent with the CAC’s core principles, as were our Navajo neighbors and friends. Maintenance and security continue to operate onsite.
To ensure the Churro sheep received in 2010 and early 2011 at Red Mesa continued to receive the proper care they require, the CAC transferred the remaining 180 animals, out of an original 440, to two groups: several Navajo ranchers received small breeding groups, and the rest found pasture homes with Ganados del Valle (Livestock Growers of the Valley). This group is a non-profit, community-owned development organization founded in 1982 in the fertile Chama Valley of northern New Mexico. The ranchers in the Ganados del Valle communities come from a tradition of raising churro in New Mexico's Chama Valley since the mid-1700's---the original new world migration destination of the breed, which originated in Spain. News of the sheep in their new environment is excellent and conditions are allowing them to flourish.
In gratitude, CAC recognizes volunteers and contributors who have and continue to demonstrate their interest in Red Mesa. Our aim is to find the right set of solutions and implement them with skill and foresight. As of October 1, 2011 the Red Mesa asset is stabilized within the CAC and will be an integral part of our mission-centered thinking and planning for the future.
The Red Mesa mission alignment study will be facilitated by a neutral, third-party entity tasked with fielding the assessment in a way that captures the true long-term costs and technical complexities of sustainable land management and environmental sensitivities. The study will be conducted in a thorough manner, and in line with CAC’s mission, throughout all of 2012. All CAC constituent groups will be asked to participate. Final review of the recommendations will be undertaken by the board in 2013.
