NEW MEXICO ANNUAL CONFERENCE
June 13-15, 2018 Albuquerque, NM
An invitation from Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe Annual Conference Scripture - 1 Samuel 17: 39-40 "Then David said to Saul, 'I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.' So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi..."
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Dear Members and Friends, Life goes on in the United Methodist Church. I believe we are at the cusp of either major change or the continuation of the same, knowing that the same is not enabling us to accomplish all that Christ has called the church to be and become. This year’s Annual Conference theme is entitled: “Refine,” where we will be looking at ways in which we can be shaped and molded by the Spirit of God in our midst. We are moving towards the end of our Vision 20/20 themes, whereby we have focused on the things that would enable us to get closer to our vision of relevant, passionate, and life changing churches. If you have followed our plan, you would have known that we have been intentional each year at conference to focus on: sharing our stories and connecting our people; developing effective leaders; forming engaged disciples; fostering and sustaining vital congregations; creating new places for new people and this year – assessing and refining conference structures. I want to thank the Rev. Dr. Randall Partin for his leadership and excellence in picking up the mantle and leading the conference in each of these emphases. I know you will want to join me and share appreciation for his leadership in guiding the conference to the place where we are today. We are beginning the next phase of the journey as we began a new team of leadership focusing on “beyond” Vision 20/20. I know many are caught up in what will happen to the future of the UMC and specifically the New Mexico Conference. Most of the conversations I have heard have to do with fear. Where have we experienced fear in our various churches? Fear of change? Fear of losing something? Fear of not having enough? Fear of differences? Fear of success or failure? Whatever our fears, what would it mean to put our trust in Christ to lead us through our various fears? My hope and prayer is that we will continue to do ministry in our various local settings, regardless of what happens at the Jurisdictional and General Conference levels. I look forward to seeing both clergy and lay leaders at this year’s Annual Conference session. It promises to be one of the best to come as we assess and refine our conference structures to reach the next generation of believers. In Christ’s Name, W. Earl Bledsoe, Bishop
Conference Schedule Tuesday, June 12 10:00 Registration Opens 1:00 – 2:30 Early Bird Workshops 3:00 – 4:30 Early Bird Workshops 5:00 – 7:00 Dinner meetings (Trustees, BOM, CFA, Equitable Comp. , Cabinet) 7:30 – 9:00 Q & A with Bishop Schnase, member of Commission on a Way Forward Wednesday, June 13 7:30 Registration 8:30 Opening Worship 9:30 Opening Business 10:30 Teaching Session with Bishop Schnase 11:30 Break 12:00 Legacy Luncheon 1:30 Break 2:00 Clergy and Lay Sessions 3:30 Break 4:00 Business 5:30 Dinner on your own or at Isotopes Ballpark 6:30 Isotopes Baseball! Thursday, June 14 7:30 Breakfast meetings at the Marriott 8:30 – 10:00 Business 10:00 – 11:30 Teaching with Bishop Schnase 11:30 – 2:00 Lunch meetings at the Marriott Clergy Spouse Reception hosted by Leslie Bledsoe 2:00 – 4:00 Business 4:30 – 6:00 District Meetings 6:00 – 7:00 Dinner on your own 7:00 Ordination and Commissioning Service at St. John’s UMC Friday, June 15 7:30 Breakfast meetings at the Marriott 8:30 Morning Worship 9:30 – 11:30 Business and Teaching Sessions 11:30 Fixing of Appointments 12:00 Adjournment - See you in 2019!
Early Bird Workshops Block One: 1:00 - 2:30 pm UM Insurance – Jeff Sollos In this workshop, you will to learn about what you are paying for when it comes to building insurance, liability insurance, sexual misconduct insurance, and the many other lines of insurance. You will walk away with a greater understanding of church insurance and reducing the risks that you may have at your local church. MissionInsite – Peter Wernett MissionInsite is an online data resource that empowers faith-based and nonprofit organizations with the tools they need to visualize and cultivate their current and prospective members, donors and volunteers and solve their most difficult challenges. This workshop will provide hands-on instruction and experience in utilizing MissionInsite as a ministry tool. “But They’re So Nice....”– Dru Ann Kuntz and Cathy Anderson Are your church’s finances in disarray? Are you being good stewards of the offerings you receive? Are funds being handled properly? The people who donate to your church and the people you employ trust you. Have you earned that trust? Come and hear from Cathy Anderson, former Conference Treasurer and Dru Ann Kuntz, Conference Benefits Officer about best practices to ensure integrity and compliance of your church’s finance ministry. Small Church Checkup – Kay Kotan Author and coach, Kay Kotan, presents insights from the book of the same name. Learn tools and strategies to help you measure your church's vitality, evaluate the results, and diagnose your church's condition, along with several options for treatment plans as you seek to faithfully serve your community. Focus on what Matters...Simplify – Doug Mills This workshop will introduce a unified, simplified church structure for governance that keeps the congregation focused on its mission, points the church in a direction with purpose and accountability, and reduces the length of time it takes to make a decision. One of the biggest impacts with simplified structure is more time to do ministry, and more people involved in doing ministry. Communicating through Crisis – Diane Degnan, UMCom This workshop is designed to guide preparation for responding to crisis through media relations, effective strategic, and communications planning. Diane, Director of Public Relation at UMCom, will share tools and techniques that help church leaders set clear communication goals and the key messages to support them.
Block Two: 3:00 - 4:30 pm Beyond the Disaster – A Long Road to Recovery – Audrey Phelps, UM VIM Disaster events are a common occurrence, and when we hear of the devastation we often feel a desire to serve the site we see on the news. However, there are many families waiting to return to their homes from events that occurred two to three years ago. Disaster recovery can take a community many years. Learn how VIM Teams help communities recover in the long-term. Are You Ready for Survival? – Hap Escue Don't wait until the next ice storm (flood, fire, pandemic…) to realize that you need a plan for emergencies. This workshop will help you know what emergencies to be prepared for, and what you need to do to communicate with family and to get help, to have the equipment and supplies you need, to deal with pets, to cope with age issues and with special needs, and other issues to be prepared for any emergency. Gear Up! – Kay Kotan In "Gear Up!", Kay Kotan outlines nine areas of ministry where congregations must intentionally design a process. It is not enough to decide, “We are going to refocus in this direction.” Leaders must decide how and what steps they will take. Who will do what, and when? This concise and exceedingly practical workshop can help. Ministry with the Poor –St. Martin’s HopeWorks Outreach Team This workshop presents practical information on working with those experiencing homelessness and poverty. Participants will come away with a better understanding of issues, services, and needs for these neighbors and how we as Christians and a Church can be helpful. Benedictine Spirituality – Greg Kennedy The guidebook St. Benedict wrote for formation in community, known as "The Rule of St. Benedict", has been the source of daily guidance for millions of believers living in Christian community. What can St. Benedict teach us about living in community as Christians in this post-Christian world? What are the Benedictine spiritual practices that can nurture our soul and help us move toward entire sanctification? A Coach Approach – NMAC Coaching Staff Coaching is a process, which builds on each person’s skills and beliefs allowing them to set goals, develop plans of action, accelerate forward movement and achieve at the highest levels. This session will define coaching, provide experiences with deep listening and transformational questions, and how these can be used in your ministry. Open to clergy and laity.
Guest Preacher/Teacher: Bishop Robert Schnase Robert Schnase serves as bishop of the Rio Texas Conference. Prior to that assignment, he served as the bishop of the Missouri Conference from 2004-2016. Schnase is the authot of the best selling books: Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, Practicing Extravagant Generosity, and Seven Levers: Missional Strategies for Conferences. His latest book, Just Say Yes: Unleashing People for Ministry is written for people whose passion has been simmering for years, who yearn to be told YES! Schnase examines the systems and attitudes that restrain and control ministry. He demonstrates practical ways church leaders can rethink fundamental assumptions about organizations and leadership. His teaching during our Annual Conference will focus on Just Say Yes and Seven Levers. As a member of the Commission on a Way Forward, Bishop Schnase will also host a Q&A on the work of the Commission.
Host Hotel - ABQ Marriott 2101 Louisiana Boulevard NE $119/night rate available June 10 -15th. Childcare available upon request at St. John's UMC - 5 miles away/1 minute drive. Contact Roselie: 505-255-8786, ext. 101 Nearby Restaurants: Jason's Deli, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Le Peep, Cielo Sandia, Buca di Beppo, Johnny Rockets, La Madeleine, Ojos Locos, Japanese Kitchen, Macaroni Grill, and many more. Walking distance to 3 malls. Our Cadre of Certified Conference Coaches will be on hand to offer one-hour sessions during the Conference. There are lots of reasons to get coaching: >You feel stuck or need help changing perspective >You've been appointed to a new church >Sticky personal or church-related issue >You need help reaching a goal, etc. Contact Donna Berry at: dbyellow@comcast.net or 505-604-4487
Conference Offering At this year’s Annual Conference session, we will be collecting our Offerings in a different manner. To begin, rather than taking up four separate offerings for four smaller projects, we have identified a BIG project that we hope to get behind financially—Disaster Relief. In response to the hurricanes and flooding in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, a number of congregations have heeded the call to step up and contribute both financially and in volunteer hours for the relief efforts. To support these and other ongoing efforts (as well as prepare us for future needs), we are setting a “stretch” goal of collecting $20,000. This ambitious goal, collected in advance of and during our time together in Albuquerque will be split between UMCOR Disaster Relief work that is ongoing and local Disaster Relief needs in our Annual Conference. Our specific Annual Conference needs include ERT trainings, equipment and maintenance of existing disaster relief equipment and trailer, refurbishment of a donated 5th wheel trailer that will allow NM Emergency Response Teams to be fully self-contained during deployment, and future equipment and needs as our capacity and effective response increases. Our hope is that by identifying a BIG goal, we can make a BIG impact at this year’s Annual Conference! AC On-Site Mission Activity: Hygiene kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Please take up supply item collections prior to the annual conference: Supply List: www.umcor.org/umcor/relief-supplies/relief-supply-kits/hygiene
Voting Information At our upcoming 2018 Annual Conference Session, we will elect clergy and laity delegates to the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences. In the New Mexico Annual Conference, we elect one clergy and one laity delegate to General Conference (who also attend Jurisdictional Conference on our behalf), an additional clergy and laity voting delegate to Jurisdictional Conference (for a total of two voting members each), and two additional clergy and lay alternates. Lay members are eligible to vote in the laity ballot. Clergy members vote in the clergy ballot. In order to avoid confusion, the following is a summary of who is eligible to be elected and/or to vote in the clergy ballot:
Conference Social - Isotopes Baseball Game Join us for our UMC Community Night and Conference Social. Whether you are attending the Conference or not, you and your family are invited to attend the game. We have reserved a block of 200 tickets at $12/person. Even if you are not a baseball fan, you can enjoy watching the silly Isotopes mascot, Orbit and the beautiful Sandia Mountains at sunset. Come out and show Albuquerque that United Methodists are fun folks. Isotopes Park offers lots of delicious food options: hot dogs, Mexican food, pizza, ice cream, and more. There is ample parking near the stadium and across the street at the football stadium. Tickets are available through the registration portal or call 505-255-8786 to reserve your seats.
Ordination & Commissioning Thursday, June 14th at 7 pm - St. John's UMC
Raquel Mull
Ellen Swain
Koreen Guillermo
Scott Meador
Ordinands
Worship at St. John's UMC