The Road to Roswell
The NM Annual Conference will be held in Roswell this year. 
We will offer a historical look back - The Road to Roswell.   
 
First UMC in Roswell can trace its history back to a small Sunday School organized in a tent in 1885. Helen Johnson is said to have ridden through the village in a springboard wagon with her children inviting people to attend class. This became the Roswell Methodist Mission of the San Angelo District of the West Texas Conference in 1887. There were 9 charter members. It was the first Methodist Church to be established in the Pecos Valley.
Submitted by Rev. Will Steinsiek, NM Conference Archivist
Grace UMC-Alamogordo & FUMC-Tularosa
Working Together!
Submitted by Zach Bechtold & Dustin Wilhite 
We have a new exciting opportunity for building the kingdom of God here in the New Mexico Conference. As of July 1, Grace UMC in Alamogordo and First UMC in Tularosa will officially merge and have Rev Dustin Wilhite and Rev Zach Bechtold as their Co-Pastors. Both campuses will stay open and fully functional, with Grace operating as the main campus leading the charge for ministry and outreach in Alamogordo and First Tuli, as a second campus, will head the charge for ministry and outreach in the Tularosa area. As a merged church, our hope is to keep in place and grow the ministries that already bear fruit and begin to introduce opportunities to be in ministry together.
     We are exploring a model outside the "multiple point charge" to bring life to smaller congregations and excitement and opportunity to the communities involved. With this idea at the forefront, both Dustin and Zach will be in pastoral leadership for both congregations.
Our ultimate goal is to not have two separate churches but to have a true united congregation and community as we work to build the kingdom of God.
     We look forward to the challenge and opportunities that are in front of us and already see where God is at work in these churches. We ask for your prayers and support as we move forward with the merge.

Lay Servant Training in Clovis District - April 30th

Center Street UMC - Tucumcari
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Speakers: Rev. Jane Vaughan - Clovis D.S.
Rev. Joe Whitley & Rev. John Barrett
Cost is $25 with lunch & materials

Clovis District CCYM Work Camp -  April 22-24, 2016
For more info, contact Zach Bechtold: zbechtold@gmail.com
Click here for Zach's FB page to download reg materials



St. Paul's UMC - Las Cruces Serves on the Border to Make a Difference
By Jan Preston Archey, Global Missions Chair
 
Several years ago at an Equipping Disciples for Excellence Border Missions Workshop, my hand shot up and I volunteered our church to travel to Fabens, TX to work on migrant homes! I think it was a 'God moment.' Little did I know of the blessing our team would have as we served and gave hope and shelter to those in need. We completed two homes in 2014 and this spring we are working on another five.Click here to read full article

  
   
 

St. Paul's UMC-El Paso Reaches out to Stranded Norwegian Cycling Family  
 
     The Vestol family, from Drammen, Norway, will be staying at St. Paul's this week, while they are waiting on some parts, for their bikes, to arrive from Norway. They got stranded at the Guadelupe Pass Visitor's Center, Sunday evening.  One of the bikes became disabled, and they camped there overnight. A big thank you to Roger Hanson and Pastor Daniel for taking the drive up there to pick them up and to the Armstrongs, the Sears', the Hansons, Charlene Alba and Janie Shockley for providing meals while the Vestols are with us.
     The Vestol children range in age from 18 months to 17 years with the two youngest - Lydia, 18 months, and Jakob, 4 - riding in Nordic Cab bicycle trailers attached to bicycles ridden by Martin, 42, and Rebekka, 17. The other five children, Esther, 6, Aron, 7, Anna, 13, Ruth, 15, and Daniel, 16, all ride their own individual bicycles, including one recumbent bicycle, that are packed with supplies for the trip. (Herrel Hallmark/Press-Reporter).



Rachel Mull, Randall Partin, Vernon Baker, Leslie Bledsoe, Bishop Bledsoe, James Large, Anthony Tang (Desert Southwest Conf), Rev. Billy John at Blue Gap UMC.
Pre-Conference Meeting Schedule
Dear Friends,
      Very soon our Pre-Conference Journal will be online, and we turn our eyes towards our upcoming gathering in Roswell for the 2016 session of the New Mexico Annual Conference.  Coming up in April, I will be hosting several Pre-Conference Briefings throughout our area, and I hope that you will be able to attend one of these gatherings somewhere near you.  Briefly, here is the schedule for the briefings:

April 16, 2016 (Saturday): First UMC in Odessa, Texas at 9:00am
April 16, 2016 (Saturday): First UMC in Roswell, New Mexico at 4:00pm

April 17, 2016 (Sunday): First UMC in Clovis, New Mexico at 3:00pm

April 23, 2016 (Saturday): St. Luke UMC in El Paso, Texas at 10:00am
April 23, 2016 (Saturday): St. Stephen's UMC in Albuquerque, New Mexico at 6:00pm

April 24, 2016 (Sunday): First UMC in Farmington, New Mexico at 4:00pm

     In addition to reviewing the content, format, and (yes) changes that we will experience during our gathering in Roswell, I've also invited members of our General and Jurisdictional Conference delegations to join us and be present, so that as we anticipate these global and regional gatherings of our connection, we all will know for whom and how to pray for these important meetings as well.
     All members and delegates of our Annual Conference are encouraged to attend these briefings, but I also encourage other lay leaders in your churches to attend as well, particularly as we are offering a number of leadership development opportunities such as coaching and "Early Bird" workshops for anyone interested at this year's Annual Conference (and not just for those lay and clergy representatives who "have" to go to Roswell).
     I look forward to our time together in these briefings!
Blessings,
Randall
--
Randall W. Partin, Provost
(505) 255-8786, ext. 107

GC2016 60 Days Prayer 
 


Registrar - NMAC Board of Ordained Ministry Needed! 
 
     The Registrar works directly with the Chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry (BOM) to facilitate the administrative work of the BOM.  This work ranges from keeping records to advising candidates for ministry.  This is a detail-oriented job that requires precision in record keeping and communication. The office space is in Albuquerque. Some travel is required.  The Registrar must read and understand the current Book of Discipline regarding matters of clergy and ordination and help insure compliance of the BOM. The candidate must have a personal faith in Christ, computer skills, and work well independently.
     This is a salaried, part-time position with an average commitment of 10 hours/week. However, the workload fluctuates with peak times in February, June, and October. No insurance or pension benefits. Some holiday and leave (personal and vacation) are included.
     Please send a cover letter and resume' to maryr@centraltolife.org
by April 15, 2016.  

UPCOMING EVENTS & IMPORTANT DATES 
> April 4-May 9
>April 15-17
>April 16
>April 16
>April 17
>April 23
>April 23
>April 24
>April 27
>April 30  
>May 10-20
>May 21-22 
>June 1 
>June 2 - 4
<July 13-16 
Advanced Lay Servant School
SWIFT Young Adult Spring Work Camp
Odessa Pre-Conference Meeting 
Roswell Pre-Conference Meeting 
Clovis Pre-Conference Meeting 
El Paso Pre-Conference Meeting 
ABQ Pre-Conference Meeting 
Farmington Pre-Conference Meeting
NMAC 24 hours to Pray for General Conf 
Lay Servant Training
General Conference
Lay Servant School  
Early Bird Workshops 
NM Annual Conference
SCJ Conference
FUMC-ABQ
Sacramento
First UMC-Odessa 
Trinity UMC-Roswell 
First UMC-Clovis 
St. Luke's UMC-El Paso 
St. Stephen's UMC-ABQ 
First UMC-Farmington  

Center St. UMC, Tucumcari
Portland, OR
FUMC-Belen 
Roswell, NM 
Roswell, NM
Wichita, KS
 

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.