First United Methodist Church sits on Diamond Drive in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a town better known for its national laboratory than its houses of worship. In September 2026 the congregation marked seventy-five years of ministry with a special celebration that brought back former clergy and filled the sanctuary with both contemporary and traditional music. The church is rooted in the town's life in ways both old and new: it runs one of the area's longest-serving childcare centers, hosts a 24-hour food pantry accessible any time of day, and pulls the community together most Sunday evenings for an evening it calls Programming Night.
The congregation greets newcomers with words from Romans 8:39: "There is nothing in all of creation which can separate you from the love of God." It is a fitting summary for a community that describes itself as seeking "radical hospitality and love which God demonstrated to the world." The welcome statement is unusually broad, extending to persons of every age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, marital status, family situation, nationality, physical or mental ability, religious background, political affiliation, or life circumstance. That welcome shapes everything from the seating chart to the sanctuary's accessibility features.
Sunday Mornings: A Weekly Rotation Between Contemporary and Traditional
Worship gathers at 10 a.m. each Sunday in the main sanctuary. Rather than picking one style and sticking with it, the church alternates each week between a contemporary service built around recent praise songs and a traditional service that draws on hymns and older selections. The sequence and feel of the two services differ, but both follow the broad Protestant pattern of scripture reading and a teaching on the day's texts, with music as a central act of worship. The service is livestreamed each Sunday at 10 a.m., and recordings of recent sermons and complete services are kept online for those who would like to see a service before attending.
Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, with exceptions for special seasons of the church year. The table is genuinely open: everyone, regardless of background or belief, is invited to receive the bread and cup together. The church teaches that Christ is present at the table without holding that the elements become the literal body and blood, and it regularly reaffirms baptisms in worship at least once a year.
What to Expect on Your First Visit
Ushers greet visitors at the main entrance and offer a name tag, and because everyone wears one, first-time guests are not singled out. First-time visitors can fill out an information card with as much detail as they wish, and they will be handed a worship guide if they want one. Coffee, tea, and water are available to the right as one enters the sanctuary, and seating is open. There is no moment in the service when newcomers will be asked to introduce themselves.
Apparel is intentionally casual. The church encourages worshippers to come as they are comfortable, whether that means business attire or shorts and summer dresses. During worship there are times when the congregation stands, but anyone who prefers to remain seated is welcome to do so. The words to songs and communal prayers are projected on screens.
Parking is straightforward. Accessible parking spaces sit close to the front door, and the parking lot and building have no steps or other obstructions. Overflow parking is available in the lot next door, in front of the high school's track and field.
Children in the Sanctuary
Children are an expected and welcomed part of worship. At the back left of the sanctuary, a children's section holds toys, coloring materials, and special children's programs; rockers are also available for parents. The church's stance is that "a church without the sound of children is the sound of a dying church," and families are encouraged to relax into worship with their kids present. Two children's bulletins, designed for ages 3 and up and 7 and up, are part of the regular worship resources.
Accessibility as a Practice, Not a Feature
The sanctuary is fully wheelchair accessible, with a ramp leading to the altar area and shorter pews that allow a person in a wheelchair to participate fully. The whole campus sits on a single floor. A hearing loop allows anyone with a T setting or T-coil hearing aid to tune in for clearer audio. Large-print bulletins, announcements, and Bibles are available, and the church prioritizes large, readable typefaces in its lyric projections. Two bathrooms connected to the sanctuary are gender neutral, wheelchair accessible, and equipped with changing tables. The church invites feedback on what could be even better.
Programming Night: Most Sunday Evenings at 4 p.m.
Programming Night is the congregation's signature weekly gathering and the event its leaders describe as the largest and fastest-growing opportunity for connection. Most Sunday evenings begin at 4 p.m., with adjustments by season and breaks around holiday weekends. The rhythm runs in three parts: a short devotion and check-in from 4 to 4:15 p.m., small group time from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. with small groups, pastoral study, lectures, or service projects depending on the season, then a shared dinner from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., middle and high school youth meet separately.
Programming Night is built for the whole household. Mission Kids gives younger children a fun and safe environment with Bible lessons and crafts, described by the church as "more than just nursery." The youth group offers teenagers a place to ask difficult questions about life and faith. Family Circle gathers parents of children to explore faith together and to support one another, including welcoming new families to Los Alamos. The dinner is a potluck in spirit but a blessing in practice; participation in classes is not required to attend the meal, and no one is required to bring a dish.
The ARK Child Development Center
Since 1978, the church has operated the ARK Child Development Center as a Christian-based childcare ministry on the same Diamond Drive campus. Beginning in January 2026, the ARK serves children from six weeks up to three years old and provides year-round, part-time, or full-time care. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that welcomes children and families of every background.
The ARK's educational philosophy centers on teaching with compassion and empathy, shaping young people into future leaders who work together and inspire hope. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and can be reached at (505) 662-4822 or arkdirector@lafumc.org. Enrollment is handled through ProCare, and the ARK partners with the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department, the Family Strengths Network, and Las Cumbres Child and Family Services for additional family support.
Serving Los Alamos and the Wider World
Missions and service are framed in plain terms: "We are called not just to come to church, but to be the church." The clearest example sits just to the right of the main entrance, where a bear-proof food pantry is stocked around the clock so anyone in need can pick up food at any hour. A grocery cart inside the entrance collects donations for the pantry and for LA Cares, which picks up the remainder monthly. The church also provides snacks to Los Alamos High School counselors for students, supports egg carton recycling with the Food Depot, and volunteers at the Food Depot's monthly distribution.
Seasonal projects include the Mendanales Christmas Drive, which partners with Bethlehem Lutheran Church and Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church to provide Christmas meals and gifts to families in need; an Adopt-a-Highway cleanup twice a year on Trinity Drive; the CROP Walk; drives for Afghan refugees in Albuquerque, including a backpack school-supply program that sent thirty-five backpacks in 2024 and an annual winter coat collection; the Mitten Tree; and the collection and distribution of sleeping bags and tents.
The church partners with a long list of community organizations: Scouting America Troops 2 and 122, Narcotics Anonymous, X-ile Ministries, Methodist Children's Home, JJAB (Juvenile Justice Advisory Board), missionaries, McCurdy Ministries in Española, Paper for Water Ministries, El Cavario, Peaceful Habitation, Four Corners Ministries, and Self Help. Volunteers also travel to McCurdy on the third Tuesday of each month to sort clothing, level books, and help with whatever else is needed. Clubhouse Knitters meet on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. at Ridge Park Clubhouse for fellowship and shared projects.
Beliefs Rooted in the Wesleyan Tradition
First United Methodist Church traces its identity to the eighteenth-century Methodist movement begun by Rev. John Wesley, an Anglican priest who sought to revitalize the church while changing people's lives. As United Methodists, the congregation reads scripture through the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of scripture, tradition, experience, and reason. It does not hold the fundamentalist position that scripture was dictated or is infallible; instead it reads texts within the Bible as a whole and welcomes scholarly inquiry and personal insight under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The church teaches three kinds of grace in the Methodist tradition. Prevenient grace is God's love given for everyone before we recognize the need. Justifying grace is the moment we accept God's grace for ourselves and seek to live centered in Christ. Sanctifying grace, also known in Methodist circles as Christian Perfection, is the goal of growing more and more like Christ until hearts are so full of God's love that we no longer willfully sin, though this is a temporary state and most of life is spent "moving on to perfection" rather than arriving.
Prayer is described as dialogue with God rather than a list of requests, and the church offers classes on prayer and ways of being in prayer on a routine basis. Doubt, the church teaches, is a natural and healthy part of faith. The congregation's stated values are Christ-Centered, Prayerful, Inclusive, Growing Spiritually, Compassionate and Caring, and In Service and Mission. The two sacraments, Baptism and Communion, are practiced as outward and visible signs of inward and invisible grace, with God understood as the primary actor in both.
Music and Weekly Rhythms
Music has long been a backbone of the church's ministry. Handbells rehearse on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and the choir at 7:15 p.m., and new ringers and voices are welcome. The Music Director selects songs that fit the upcoming service's style, rotating between contemporary praise songs and traditional hymns drawn from the United Methodist hymnal. The congregation's printed resources include a worship bulletin, scripture insert, "Work of the Church" insert, and age-appropriate children's bulletins.
Leadership
Rev. John W. Nash serves as Senior Pastor and District Elder. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, St. John's College, Boston University School of Theology (M.Div.), and Harvard Divinity School (Th.M.), he studied the early Methodist movement in America. He and his wife Linda, who works for UNM-Los Alamos, have three daughters and have served the church since July 2019 after pastorates in Albuquerque, Melrose, and House, New Mexico, and in the Boston area.
Phillip Ortega is the Director of Faith Development. Born and raised in El Paso, he has worked in church ministry since 2010 across technical, music, children, and youth programming, and most recently served in a homeless ministry in downtown Albuquerque before joining the staff. He and his wife Norma, a librarian at the Los Alamos Public Library, live in Los Alamos with their daughter and a dog.
Valerie Collins is the Music Director. She grew up attending Central UMC in Albuquerque, earned a Music Education degree from UNM, and has been part of First UMC Los Alamos since 1995, organizing music for the midweek FOCUS worship, leading Kingdom Kids, and serving as Children and Families Director before taking on her current role. She completed an Online Master of Music through UNM in 2022 and teaches music at Barranca Mesa Elementary.
A Congregation Built for the Long Haul
First United Methodist Church is governed by a Leadership Board of nine members elected annually at the fall all-church meeting. Rather than splitting work across separate committees, the board handles finance, buildings, HR, and other functions together, with everyone in the church having voice at meetings and only board members voting. Teams for Missions and Faith Development draw members from anyone with a passion for those areas.
Office hours run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The church office is at 715 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544, and can be reached at 505-662-6277 or office@lafumc.org. Worship bulletins, scripture readings, and church updates arrive in a Wednesday mid-week news email, a Thursday Programming Night newsletter, and a Friday worship update, all available through sign-up. Members and regular attendees can also access giving, event registration, and other tools through the Church Center app.
Three-quarters of a century in, First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos keeps its focus on what it has always tried to do: gather on Sunday morning, serve during the week, feed anyone who is hungry, welcome every child and family that walks through the door, and treat doubt and questions as part of an honest, growing faith.