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A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
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Annual Conference Forms & Nominations
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2020 General Conference Candidate Submissions
If you are interested in submitting your name to be a candidate to the 2020 General Conference, please
review these guidelines and submit your Statement of Candidacy by April 17th. Your statement will be included in the Pre-Conference Handbook.
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Annual Conference due dates
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 Annual Conference 2018 will be held in Seward from June 1-2 with a pre-conference workshop day on May 31. Our office has set due dates for various things related to Annual Conference. Please find all the important dates below.
March
- 15-April 17: Early Bird Registration open
April
- 5: Block of hotel rooms will be released. Notify Conference office by this date to secure your hotel room.
- 17: Petitions, Rules/Policy Changes, Committee Reports, General Conference Delegate submissions due. Basically anything that needs to be in the Pre-Conference Handbook is due.
- 18-May 15: General Registration open
May
- 1: Harry Denman Award nominations, Outstanding Lay Person of the Year Award nominations, Ministry Display requests, Memorial lists, Worship packet due
- 1: Conference office will email/mail Pre-Conference Handbooks to Annual Conference voting delegates
- 15: Housing, Transportation, and Child care requests due
- 15-day of AC: Late Registration open
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 The Outdoor Ministries Committee has announced that the AUMC Camp Sunday will be March 18th or April 8th. Your church can decide which day it wants to celebrate the camps in Alaska.
Here are the camp dates for Birchwood Camp and Eagle River United Methodist Camp:
BIRCHWOOD
God Seekers Camp June 6th-8th
Music, Art, Drama, & Dance (MADD) June 11th-17th
Woodlanders Camp: Session 1: June 5th-8th
Session 2: June 18th-21st Session 3: July 16th- 19th
Faith Adventure Camp June 18th-22nd
Youth Camp: June 24th- 29th
Junior Canoe Camp: Session 1: July 9th-13th
Session 2: July 23rd-27th
Adventure Canoe Camp July 30th-August 3rd
Family Camp: August 3rd-5th All Ages Welcome!
www.birchwoodcamp.org
registration@birchwoodcamp.org 907-688-2734
EAGLE RIVER
Discovery Camp: JUNE 24-29
***Corrected Dates***
(for campers entering 3rd grade - completed 8th grade)
Contact: (907)789-3734 or manager@methodistcamp.org
www.methodistcamp.org
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Clear Appointment Openings
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A list of churches that are open for appointment can be found on the Greater NW Area website. As appointments are announced and the appointment process unfolds, new clear openings will be added to the list. See the latest.
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Bishops see progress in unity effort, focus on 2 plans
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The Council of Bishops wrapped up a four-day, closed-door meeting here, as leaders reported movement and progress in their deliberations about how to prevent denominational schism over homosexuality, with a focus on two possible church futures.
Read the story
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Tax changes & local church giving webinar
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Few of us have seen changes to the Tax system as sweeping as those approved at the end of 2017 (to go into effect this year and beyond). One area of great interest, impact, and anxiety for leaders in the church is the increase of the standard deduction with fewer taxpayers being able to itemize deductions, including charitable giving. Some say the impact will be minimal, others say it could be catastrophic for churches and other non-profits that rely on smaller gift donors. How can we face the future with faith not fear? Join Ken Sloane, Director of Stewardship at Discipleship Ministries, on Thursday March 22 at 6:30 CDT as together we explore ways churches can be proactive with our donors in this new reality.
Click here for the registration site, then click on "
Registration."
Note: the webinar will be made available in the webinar archive for those who are unable to attend the live event.
This webinar is provided at no cost, thanks to your church's support of the World Service Fund!
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Congregations challenged to develop new intentional discipleship systems
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United Methodist congregations are being challenged by Discipleship Ministries to develop new intentional systems of discipleship to creatively engage and form relationships with people outside their churches.
The #SeeAllThePeople Challenge will award $2,500 grants to two congregations who demonstrate how they are reaching out to their broader community as part of a new intentional system of discipleship.
The challenge is part of the #SeeAllThePeople movement (www.seeallthepeople.org), which Discipleship Ministries began nine months ago to encourage United Methodists to think less about "fixing" churches and more about involving people in the community as part of an intentional discipleship system.
To join the challenge, anyone in a congregation - pastors or laypersons - can submit an entry. Applications for the grant will only be accepted from U.S.-based congregations who currently have no discipleship system. All entries must be submitted by midnight April 9.
For more information about the challenge and how to enter, go to http://bit.ly/2GV5aHg. For answers to questions about the challenge, send emails to Info@UMCdiscipleship.org.
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Blackfeet United Methodist Parish in midst of emergency response, support needed
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Multiple winter storms with large amounts of snow, high winds and subzero temperatures have impacted the state of Montana. According to the National Weather Service, "Some parts of the Montana Rockies have seen more than 40 feet of snow this season so far, while some towns are seeing record snow."
Because of this record snowfall, the Yellowstone Conference has initiated a disaster response plan for the communities around Blackfeet United Methodist Parish (BUMP) in northwestern Montana. Approximately 15,000 people are affected in the Blackfeet reservation. Mountain Sky Area Bishop Karen Oliveto has requested an emergency grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
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Secrets of John Wesley's death mask
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Studying John Wesley's death mask, made five hours after his death on March 2, 1791, turns the normal duties of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History into those resembling an episode of "CSI." According to church historian Dale Patterson, the plaster mask shows the cause of Wesley's death and that he needed braces. UMC.org has the gory details.
Watch the video
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Rebels loot health centers, kidnap nurse
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 Mai-Mai rebels looted two United Methodist health centers in the Kibombo and Kasongo districts, stealing all of the centers' medicine and mattresses. The rebels also kidnapped a nurse to treat their war-wounded, although he was released a week later.
Read the story |
In the wake of disasters, UMCOR is present among the devastation to provide relief and hope. All of us can make a difference in these times of need by participating in UMCOR Sunday (formerly One Great Hour of Sharing).
This Special Sunday covers the operating costs of UMCOR, which allows the relief agency to be where it needs to be, when it needs to be there, for as long as it needs to be there. It allows UMCOR to funnel earmarked donations directly to the designated projects.
Encourage Generosity
Watch this wonderful video about UMCOR
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March
8-11: GNW Cabinet Meeting - Carlo attending
24: AUMC Leadership Team meeting
April
12-13: GNW Cabinet Meeting - Carlo attending
12-14: GBGM Board Meeting - Carlo attending
15: UMDF Board Meeting - Carlo attending
May
8-10: GNW Cabinet Meeting - Carlo attending
12: AUMC Leadership Team meeting
13: Mother's Day
28: Memorial Day - office closed
31: Pre-Conference workshops at Seward Memorial UMC
June
1-2: Alaska Annual Conference at Seward Memorial UMC
22-24: PNW Annual Conference
27-29: GNW Cabinet Retreat
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The Conference Office hours are:
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am - 11:00 am
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Upcoming
March 21 -
Nico Romeijn-Stout
March 23 -
Bob Jones Jr.
March 25 -
Evelyn Erbele
April 3 -
Tim McConville
April 23 -
Karen Martin Tichenor
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Conference Office
907-333-5050
Superintendent Carlo
907-854-8340
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Submissions - If you have an article or event that you would like to share with the rest of the conference, submit it to the conference office by Monday evening for consideration.
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 Mission Statement:
The mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Held and supported by the transforming relationship with God through Christ, we of the Alaska United Methodist Conference seek to be a community that creates a home for all peoples, finds our hope through grace and journeys together into God's preferred future.
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