PLEASE NOTE: The Bishop Itineration has been Postponed.
Bishop Bledsoe was recently diagnosed with pneumonia & the flu. To support a work and travel schedule that advances his full recovery, the Bishop Itineration for the NM Conference has been postponed until the fall. Dates will be available shortly.  We apologize for any inconvenience. Please continue to lift up the Bishop & Leslie for healing. 

Questions?  Contact Randall Partin at (505)255-8786 or randall@nmconfum.com.
Click here for the details 

The NM Conference Office is Closed
in Observance of Presidents' Day.
 
photo: Wikimedia 
 
Bishop Bledsoe & Commission on Religion & Race
Travel Across the Border

Click to read more about the Commission & the trip

The 2016 Conference Journal is Now Available!

Due to turn-over in the staff who were working on the Journal and some unexpected difficulties, the production of the Journal was postponed.  The people who pre-paid for the hard copy of the Journal and institutions that must receive a copy of the Journal as per the Book of Discipline, will receive one.  However, we will not send out CD's this year.  Go to the Archives page to download  If you would like a hard copy of the Journal, you can download and print it in its entirety or the parts that you use regularly.  Thanks so much for your patience!   
 
2017 Pre-Conference Journal
 
Reports, petitions, and resolutions for the 2017 Pre-Conference Journal are due March 15, 2017.   Please send your report electronically to Roselie Johnston at rjohnston@nmonfum.com as a Word document in the following format:

1.            Paper size 8.5" x 11"
2.            Font Style: Calibri (body), Font Size: 11
3.            Margins: Top 1", Bottom 1", Inside 1", Outside 1",Gutter .5"
4.            Orientation: Portrait
5.            Pages - Multiple Pages: Mirror Images
6.            If you have a table included in your report, the maximum width is 5.5"

 
If the deadline is missed, the following procedure will be followed:  Petitions or resolutions not in the Pre-Conference Journal will be considered by the Annual Conference if (a) sufficient copies are available for distribution to each of the registered members of that session of the Annual Conference, and (b) an electronic version is provided to the Conference Secretary.  Questions:  Roselie Johnston - 505-255-8786, ext. 101.










     On Saturday, February 11th, a workshop on "Messy Church" was offered by the Office of Congregational Vitality and the NM Conference.  Rev. Cheri Lyon was the organizer and M.C.  Rev. Nicole Reilley, Director of New Ministries for the Cal-Pac Conference was our presenter.  Approximately, 60 people attended from all over the NM Conference. 
     Messy Church is not intended to grow churches' Sunday service (although some do).  It is not intended as a children's program.  It is an inter-generational program to reach people who would not feel comfortable in a typical church service, where adults, youth and children are separated.  The values of Messy Church are: creativity, celebration, Christ-centered & all-age. 
     What is Messy Church?  It is a program once per month that is focused on a theme, such as friendship.  Since it is stressful getting anywhere on time, especially with children, there is a casual welcome time to arrive and visit.  Participants have a choice of crafts, sports, or other activities.  At least one will be messy!  The worship or "celebration" time is limited to 15 minutes and it is interactive and fun. Every Messy Church always incorporates a shared meal - the easier, the better.  Bottom line - It is about creating disciples. 
    Cheri Lyon, who pastors Grace UMC-ABQ, will be partnering with St. John's UMC, ABQ to offer a Messy Church.  Their goal is to roll it out during the summer.  If you would like more information, please contact Cheri Lyon at cherilealyon@gmail.com or 505-440-6849.  We will be producing a video shortly to provide more details for those who were unable to attend.  Our thanks to Nicole, St. John's for their hospitality, and all the participants. 
    
Grants & Scholarship Application Deadlines in March!
 
Do you have an idea for a ministry but lack the funds to make it happen effectively?  There are CBGM & Conference Endowment Distribution Grants available.  The application deadlines are in March.  Apply today! (So far, we haven't received very many.)
Click here for all the info

 

'Hidden Figures' Mathematician Raised Methodist 
by Deborah Coble   
 
Photo by Hopper Stone, "Hidden Figures" (20th Century Fox) 
 
     United Methodists in White Sulphur Springs remember Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson - the main character in the movie "Hidden Figures" - counting steps as a child.
Sara Carter and Carolyn Bond, members of St. James United Methodist Church, recalled that Johnson grew up near the church. Johnson attended St. James Methodist, which was then an African American church and was the predecessor of the current St. James.
"She definitely was known for counting her steps. She knew exactly how many steps it was from her house down Church Street to St. James Methodist Church," Bond said. In the movie, Johnson is shown counting steps in the country.
     The  movie depicts the important role that Johnson and two other African-American women played in NASA's Mercury Space Program. Based on the book by the same name, "Hidden Figures" is the true story of Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson.
     Johnson, a physicist and mathematician, is 98. She lives in Hampton, Virginia.
 Read the full article

The New Mexico Conference of Churches Benefit Event
April 1, 2017 - 6:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church

Upcoming Events

February
Feb. 20-22 - Board of Ordained Ministry Meeting
March
March 3-5 - ROC & CCYM - Sacramento
March 26 - Mountainside UMC's 50th Anniversary - Bishop Preaching
April
April 9-15 - NM Conference Pray Our Way Forward Week
May
May 31-June 2 - Annual Conference, Las Cruces, NM 

Bishop's Itineration Schedule 
 March 4 - FUMC-Childress - 10:00 am
March 5 - St. Stephen's-Amarillo - 2:30 pm 
March 11 - Trinity-First-El Paso - 2:00 pm - Postponed 
March 18 - FUMC-Odessa - 10:00 am - Postponed
March 19 - FUMC-Lamesa - 3:00 pm 
March 25 - St. John's-ABQ - 2:00 pm - Postponed
April 2 - FUMC-Lubbock - 2:00 pm
April 8 - FUMC-Plainview - 10:00 am
April 22 - FUMC-Roswell - 2:00 pm - Postponed 
May 13 - FUMC-Farmington - 10:00 am - Postponed

 
Click here for the Conference Calendar

Classifieds
Conference Calendar
UMC website
 


RELEVANT, PASSIONATE, AND LIFE-CHANGING CHURCHES

New Mexico Annual Conference  

11816 Lomas Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87112

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Receptionist Hours: 9:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

(800) 678-8786 toll free; (505) 255-8786; (505) 265-6184 fax

 Click here to view our staff listing  

 

 

Please send photos, articles, events, etc. to Alli Costello, Communications Director at alli@nmconfum.com.  Send classified ads to frontdesk@nmconfum.com.