What started as a small Christmas Day meal at a restaurant 30 years ago has now grown to a community gathering of more than 500 people at Salida United Methodist Church in Colorado. Click to learn how Salida UMC pulls off such an endeavor.  

The Rocky Mountain Conference e-newsletter will not be sent on Monday, Dec. 29, in observance of the Christmas and New Year holiday. Urgent news will still be communicated as needed. The regular newsletter will resume on Monday, Jan. 5. The deadline for submissions is by noon on Fridays.

Congratulations to the Rev. Emily Flemming, pastor of Lyons Community Church, who was selected by the Rocky Mountain Conference Cabinet to represent the conference at the General Board of Church & Society Young Clergy Leadership Forum from Jan. 25 to 28, 2015 in Washington, D.C. This trip is sponsored by the Church & Society Committee and made possible by the Conference Peace with Justice Sunday offerings. The gathering encourages young clergy from various conferences to build relationships, learn from one another and develop bridges for further ministry. The 2014 participants from the Rocky Mountain Conference were the Rev. Sarah Beck and the Rev. Elizabeth Jackson.   

The Rocky Mountain United Methodist Foundation has awarded grants ranging from $1,800 to $3,000 to various churches and organizations to assist in their local ministry. These recipients include First United Methodist Church of Grand Junction, Parker United Methodist Church, Community United Methodist Church of Keenesburg and DenUM (Denver Urban Ministries). Read more on the conference website what these churches and organizations are doing with their grants. 

Chuck Hamilton, President of United Methodist Insurance (UMI) has announced that UMI has selected Swiss Re (rated A+ by A.M. Best) as its new reinsurance partner, effective Jan. 1. Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurer and founded in 1863, operates through offices in more than 25 countries. Read more about this on the General Council on Finance and Administration page.  

Individuals or groups requesting sponsorship or endorsement of a petition from the Church & Society team of the Rocky Mountain Conference at the 2015 annual conference, please email it to Rev. Dr. Scott Schiesswhol at rdscott@wispertel.net by Jan. 9. If you or your group plan on requesting endorsement or sponsorship from the Church & Society team but will not have the full petition completed by the January date, please send a brief email outlining 1. the goal of your petition and 2. the nature of the support you are seeking before the January deadline.

Each year, the Rocky Mountain Conference reports to the Western Jurisdiction on all mission trips taken by conference churches (do not need to be VIM sponsored). To date, only 10 reports have been received for 2014. Please contact Anita or Roger Williams at anitaandroger@msn.com or 970-613-1521 if you need a trip report form or have any questions. The deadline to send reports is Jan. 31.

Formerly the Iliff Week of Lectures, the TLC (Thought Leaders in Conversation) Conference now features multiple days of practical workshops, Th.Ed Talks (Theological Education Talks), faculty lectures, ministry panels with special guest speakers, an alumni, faculty, and staff book sale, annual alumni awards banquet and alumni reunions. Click to learn more and register.

In the interest of reducing the length of RMC newsletters, most events will now be included in the newsletter just once, and then moved to the Events page on our website.

In the interest of reducing the length of RMC newsletters, most events will now be included in the newsletter just once, and then moved to the Events page on our website.