Rethink Church in Denver for Advent campaign

United Methodist Church offers the gift of hospitality

A warm welcome can happen anywhere … and so can church

The United Methodist Church is taking to the streets of Denver from Dec. 15 to 18 to offer the gift of hospitality this Christmas with a warm invitation and a hot cup of cocoa. As commuters, holiday shoppers and eventgoers crowd the city’s most trafficked areas, United Methodists will be among them – hoping to warm their stomachs and warm their hearts with the message of "When we find the true meaning of Christmas, church can happen anywhere."

It is part of a national Rethink Church Advent "creative outreach campaign" planned by United Methodist Communications for nine major cities this month, focused on high-pedestrian traffic areas. Aside from Denver, the other cities include Chicago, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, Portland, Oregon, and Cleveland, Ohio.

Volunteers are needed to accompany the street teams to help hand out postcards and talk about local United Methodist churches in the area. This will be an opportune time to welcome people as Christmas nears. Messaging on the postcards and cups will point people to www.rethinkchurch.org/find-a-church so they can find a United Methodist Church near them. A mobile billboard cruising the streets will do the same.

Local media will be sent a press release about the campaign and invite them to report about this creative outreach effort. National advertising will also be running on digital media and cable television.

If you want to volunteer, please email communications@rmcumc.com or call 303-325-7054 as soon as possible. Please provide your name, contact information and days and times available.

Here is the schedule for locations in the Denver area:

• Thursday, December 15: 16th Street Mall (9 to 11:30 a.m.) and Christkindl Market (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• Friday, December 16: 16th Street Mall (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• Saturday, December 17: University of Colorado at Denver (10 a.m. to noon) and Larimer Square (noon to 4 p.m.)
• Sunday, December 18: Cherry Creek Shopping Center and NorthCreek Shops (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)