Thank you, and keep up the good work!

September 8, 2014

When you first heard we were trying to raise $1.2 million in the Rocky Mountain Conference to help end deaths from malaria in Africa, did you think we would make it?

At Annual Conference in June, the Steering Committee reported that not only did we achieve our goal, we surpassed it, with gifts and pledges totaling $1,414,000! And since then, we have received another $75,000 in goals and contributions, bringing our total commitments to $1.489 million as of July 31!

If that's not exciting enough, here are some more details on the work that has made this possible:

Members from 203 different churches made a contribution. Eight more have set goals, but haven't yet sent in their funds. That means 81% of Rocky Mountain Conference churches participated in this extraordinary effort!

Specifically:

• Wyoming churches collectively raised $26.30 raised per member
• Newcastle First (Wyoming)  raised $4,985 - that's $22 per member
• Grace (Cheyenne) raised $3,833 - that's $26 per member
• Yuma (CO) set a goal for $100 and raised $998
• Steamboat Springs exceeded their $8,000 goal and raised $13,967 - that's $34 per member!
• Ogden Community raised $5,724 - that's $24 per member!
• Montrose First (CO) is still working toward their $20,000 goal, but they have raised $31 per member - so far.
• Limon (CO) raised $78 per member by raising $20,046.
• Rush (CO)  did not set a goal, but raised $88 per member
• Last Chance (CO) raised $24 per member
• Hope (Greenwood Village) raised $15,375, or $23 per member
• Heritage (Littleton) raised $8,236, or $28 per member
• Colorado Springs First raised $50,700
• Trinity Denver has raised $110,330 - so far - they are still working toward their goal of $123 per member!
• St. Andrew's (Highlands Ranch) has raised $20,964 and are still working to achieve their $24 per member goal.
• St. Luke's (Highlands Ranch) raised $26,099!
• Arvada is 20% of the way to reaching their $33 per member goal
• Good Shepherd (Thornton) raised $25 per member
• Glenwood Springs raised $22 per member
• Mountain View and St. Paul's (both in Boulder) raised $8,615 and $3,618 respectively - even though they were dealing with flood waters and a community in crisis. Perhaps they know a thing or two about mosquitoes!

Communication Changes

In the interest of saving administrative expenses for the campaign, the Steering Committee has decided to discontinue our email newsletter account. Updates will still be sent out periodically through the Rocky Mountain Conference weekly e-newsletter; you can sign up for that list here. If you do nothing, you will not receive any further communications from us, except for updates on your individual giving from the Rocky Mountain United Methodist Foundation, which continues to manage the donation tracking.

A Few Reminders

If your church has collected funds that you haven't sent in yet, please send those in on a monthly basis - the easiest way is to include donations with your monthly remittances to the Conference office, designated for Imagine No Malaria.

If your church set a goal that you haven't achieved yet, please continue working towards your goal! If you need to adjust your goal, contact Kristi Kinnison, kristi@rmumf.org. 

If you have questions or updates, see whom to contact going forward.

Please continue to pray for Imagine No Malaria, for all who suffer and all who are helping to end unnecessary suffering.

Finally, thank you to all of you who have taken part in any role as part of the network of advocates, ambassadors, fundraisers, educators, donors, and healers in this extraordinary effort to end deaths from malaria in Africa. You may have seen this article from United Methodist Communications:

Efforts to fight Malaria are also good for the communications and medical infrastructure to fight Ebola. According to the article, "Your gifts to Imagine No Malaria are also helping in the fight against Ebola because together, we’ve improved access to health care. A strong health infrastructure, consisting of trained health care workers and well-equipped facilities, is better able to handle other health threats as well." We know that although the article didn't mention this, the publicity, education and communication networks that have been developed about Malaria are the same networks being used to educate people about Ebola.

Together, we are saving and transforming lives!

Utah - we can't do it without U!

United Methodists in Utah have waited patiently all year for a chance to get all the details about Imagine No Malaria and how to join this extraordinary effort to save lives. Some churches have already jumped in and begun raising awareness and funds, while others are eager to learn more. Your wait is almost over!

Next week, I will be offering two training/information sessions in northern Utah - details are below. I regret that time constraints don't allow me to travel to all corners of the state, but I hope folks from several churches will be able to travel to join us in either Ogden or Sandy. I still plan to offer another webinar before the end of the year for those who have been unable to attend a training in person.
 
Imagine No Malaria: YOUtah Can Make It Happen!
It's time to GET INVOLVED!  Learn more about Imagine No Malaria and how you can help save lives. This training/information session begins with a detailed overview of the extraordinary effort by the people of The United Methodist Church to end deaths from malaria in Africa. You will then learn ways to engage your church and community, as well as some of the different volunteer opportunities available. (Attending a training does not obligate you to take on any specific role!)

When & Where:Friday, November 8 at 6:30pm: Community UMC, Ogden
Saturday, November 9 at 10:30am: Hilltop UMC, Sandy
Who:

These trainings are appropriate for anyone who wants to learn more about Imagine No Malaria, as well as for those who want to lead efforts in the local church or volunteer at the district level.

RSVP:
Please email Kerry Greenhill (Kerry@rmcumc.com) by 9am on Wednesday, November 6 to make sure we have enough materials.

Hope to see you soon!

Campaign updates and a friendly competition

Photo by Karen Stoffers Pugh

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

I hope that your Easter celebration included some experience of Resurrection and new life, whether that looked like spring flowers blooming, healing of past pain, new personal or professional opportunities, forgiveness and letting go, the joy of children's energy and innocence, or some other miracle, large or small. As we enter the season of Eastertide, I want to let you know how things are going with the Imagine No Malaria campaign in the Rocky Mountain Conference.

As of February 28, 2013 (the last month for which donations received at the Nashville campaign headquarters have been tallied), RMCUMC is credited with bringing in $42,127.89 to Imagine No Malaria directly, in addition to the $125,673.32 donated in honor of Bishop and Mrs. Brown that was used to purchase bed nets for distribution in Angola last year. In addition, individual members and leaders have pledged another $16,810.00 over the next year. That brings us to $184,611.21 raised, or about 15.4% of our total goal. (We know that a number of additional contributions are en route.)

So far, at least 45 churches in our conference have either taken an offering or been represented by trackable individual donations. The largest amounts sent in so far come from:

• Grand Junction First: $4,000
• Casper First: $1,335
• Arvada: $1,311
• Newcastle First: $1,025
• Montrose First: $1,016
• Windsor First: $1,000

When the amount sent in is divided by the church's average weekly attendance for 2012, the largest donations per capita so far are from:

• Newcastle First:                      $14.44/attendee          (4.58/member)
• Wheatland:                              $13.11/attendee          ($7.02/member)
• Grand Junction First:             $12.94/attendee           ($4.55/member)
• Johnson Memorial, Dolores:   $9.36/attendee            ($3.38/member)
• Ovid:                                       $9.01/attendee            ($5.54/member)
• Estes Park:                              $8.41/attendee            ($5.43/member)
• Windsor First:                         $7.58/attendee            ($4.98/member)

We are off to a great start! Three churches have already reached the level of saving one life per worship attendee ($10). And First UMC in Casper, Wyoming, is the first RMC church to notify us of their official fundraising goal ($11,000).  

Now is the time to start building even greater momentum; our goal of $1.2 million given or pledged by April 2014 requires an average of $20 per UMC member in our conference, or $40 per worship attendee.

To try to spread their enthusiasm for the life-saving mission of Imagine No Malaria, two pastors in Utah are challenging the other members of their sub-district to a little friendly competition.

Rev. Olga Hard of Mountain Vista UMC in West Jordan, and Rev. Dennis Shaw of Hilltop UMC in Sandy, have proposed that the Utah church that raises the highest dollar amount per capita (based on 2012 average weekly attendance) between April 1 and September 30, 2013, will receive a certificate, will be featured on this blog and in RMC News, and will have "bragging rights" - in addition to the satisfaction of transforming lives and communities in Africa! Rev. Shaw clarifies, "Money has to be sent to the RMC and is for money sent during the period of competition."

If any other (sub-)districts are interested in establishing their own competition, please let me know! We will be announcing campaign results to date at Annual Conference this June, and since the Rocky Mountain Conference campaign continues through spring of 2014, there is still time to make plans for congregational education and awareness-raising efforts, community engagement events, and other creative activities.

Check out the latest news article on ImagineNoMalaria.org about the diverse approaches churches in the Holston Conference are taking, and help us change lives and make history as together we seek to end preventable deaths from malaria in Africa!