El Calvario UMC-IAC

Located on the old Camino Real, the royal road from Mexico City to the colonial capital, Santa Fe, this area has always been a place for people on the move. On the original Las Cruces land grant, there has been a Spanish Methodist Church in Las Cruces and Dona Ana since the earliest days of Methodist mission work in New Mexico. We are today located on a major intersection of North-South and East-West interstate, the system used to transport modern asylum-seekers. 

El Calvario’s core values rotate around providing life-nurturing services for our community.  We are a place of hospitality as well as a focal point for advocacy, economic development and inter-cultural engagement. This means not simply moving people from the margins to centers of power and access, but addressing the root causes that keep the whole community from sharing in an economic revitalization. We would leave no one behind by combining strong economic and business solutions with social engagement.

Historically, our church has been a place established by vulnerable people on the margins for vulnerable people. The church’s courageous decision to be true to its historical roots, is a commitment to a long term mission serving the POOR, welcoming the STRANGER and bringing good news to the CAPTIVE.  Our facility is available for hospitality, shelter and emergency operations.  Our Resiliency and Well-Being, Commercial Kitchen Incubator and Mercado are key parts of our inclusive economic development.