News for the week of April 4, 2016
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In this edition
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Children, Youth & Young Adults
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> The Easter Season Memory Book
> SWIFT Work Camp > How to Plan a VBS Calendar
> Annual Conference - What has to Happen?...
> Annual Conference Info
> Native American Ministry Sunday - April 10th
> GC2016 Prayer Vigil
> Save the Date - Into the Deep
> Greg Henneman is here - April 9th
> Upcoming Events & Important Dates
> Classifieds, Calendars & Connections
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The NM Conference Easter Season Memory Book
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S.W.I.F.T - April 15 - 17, 2016 @ Sacramento C&C Center
S.W.I.F.T is our work camp held twice a year at Sacramento Camp & Conference Center in Sacramento, NM. SWIFT is a great time of fellowship and worship together with Young Adults from around the Conference! We would love to see some, or all of you, there! It's only $40 and that includes lodging and meals!
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How to Plan a VBS Calendar
By Concordia Supply I already see theme & schedule info for many of our churches. Here are some tips that might be helpful!
3 to 6 Months Before VBS:
Begin praying for your church's VBS. Ask God to prepare the hearts of church members, workers, and children who will attend VBS.
Choose a format for your VBS:
- Will you meet in the morning, afternoon, or evening?
- Will you meet every day for a week or once a week for several weeks?
- Will your program be for children only, or will entire families be invited to attend?
- Will you meet at your church or another location?
Set VBS dates: As you're considering dates, you may want to find out about other summer programs offered by your church or your community so you can avoid conflicts.
Choose a Director: If you're reading this, that's probably you! The Director is responsible for planning, recruiting staff, and overseeing all details to ensure that VBS flows smoothly. For an even easier adventure, consider recruiting a Crew Leader director who will train, encourage, and check in on other Leaders throughout VBS . (Remember, your new favorite word is delegate!)
Set a budget: Look through the entire VBS catalog to get an idea of what you'll need for your program. Write down the cost of each item you'll need, and then tally the total cost to set your budget. Your church may already include VBS in its budget. If so, find out what funds are available. If your church doesn't have a VBS budget in place, don't worry! Money for a quality VBS program needn't be a stumbling block.There are countless ways that you can easily (and painlessly) raise the funds you need.
Click here for the full article
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 Annual Conference: What has to happen?
How will we know we've succeeded? by Linda Nash, Annual Conference Planning Committee
In a previous newsletter article, Randall and Peggy summarized the answers to the first two of six questions that guided our planning process. The third question answered here is what has to happen?
The obvious answer is Annual Conference is the yearly business meeting. This business includes but is not limited to Nominations, budget approval, ordination and commissioning, reports of and collections for missions, farewell to retirees and memorials to those that served alongside us who have moved on to their eternal reward. This year we will also be doing an Act of Repentance as called for by the last General Conference.
But, while much of this work is important and keeps me abreast of what is going on in the church and the greater church, the reason I like going to Annual Conference is because of the connected-ness of the annual conference as a body. This includes breaking bread together, having fun together and celebrating the work we've done since we last met. I like the idea of gathering with others who share my call to service and leadership in the church and the world. These connections build relationships; these connections serve to build leaders and renew our work; these connections are at the heart of our business. They are the motivating factor for the expense, time and energy needed to attend a multiple day event.
When I volunteered to serve on this committee at last Annual Conference, one of the things I had heard from both laity and clergy, is what they hoped for at annual conference was to be able to learn something that they could take back to their local church to make what they do even better. This is the reason I am excited about the workshops that are being offered this year. The people of this conference have so many gifts, talents and experiences to share. These workshops were designed to offer an array of learning opportunities for different interests and needs in a small group environment. I know that the timing may be inconvenient for some, but if we want to see these workshops continued, expanded and sustained in future years it is critically important for people to take advantage of these early bird workshops. It is by sharing in these opportunities that we can be greater than the sum of our parts and allow us to grow in the fullness of Christ.
A natural closing to what has to happen is, the fourth question, how do we know if Annual Conference has succeeded? I believe the most powerful indicator is how we feel as we leave. I hope to feel inspired and excited and refreshed and reconnected. I also hope to have lots of celebrations, new ideas and information to be able to give back to my local church to make us even better in fulfilling our mission.
Registration is open, so I hope to see you in Roswell in June as we seek to Grow in the Fullness of Christ.
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Native American Sunday - April 10th
UMC Giving has provided a Pastor & Leader's Kit to prepare for Native American Sunday. Click here
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GC2016 60 Days Prayer
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Tom Albin conducting Prayer Vigil Workshop at FUMC-ABQ with Doug Mills & Eddie Rivera.
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Rev. Tom Albin visited our Conference for a prayer vigil workshop. Every spot in our 24-hour prayer vigil schedule is filled. Thank you for your faithfulness! If you, your church group, or your church would still like to sign up to lift up GC2016, please do!
Click here for Doodle sign-up link
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SAVE THE DATE! Into the Deep - August 17-20 @ Evanston, IL
The School of Congregational Development is a premier event for United Methodist Leaders for equipping conference leaders, clergy, and laity to lead vital, dynamic, life-changing congregations. Sponsored by Discipleship Ministries, Global Ministries, and Path 1, this year's event is being hosted by the Northern Illinois Conference and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.
At SCD 2016 Evanston, we will be called to go Into The Deep to Discover, Engage, be Equipped, and to live into the Possibilities that surround us as we share the grace and love of Jesus Christ in our congregations and communities.
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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
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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
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FUMC-ABQ Sacramento
First UMC-Odessa
First 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
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Classifieds
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Conference Calendar
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UMC website
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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.
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