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A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
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The conference office has learned that Bee Tindell, wife of longtime Alaskan pastor John Tindell, passed away on February 16, 2018. Her memorial service will be at
11:00 am at Seaside United Methodist Church in Seaside, OR on
March 10, 2018.
The Tindells first moved to Sitka to start the United Methodist Church of Sitka. They eventually lived in Alaska for a period of 35 years serving 4 churches (UMC of Sitka,
East Anchorage UMC, Northern Light United Church, and First UMC, Anchorage).
For those who would like to send a card, John's address is:
Reverend John Tindell
4271 SE Augusta Way
Gresham, OR 97080
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Staffing changes in the Greater Northwest and PNW offices
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 Rachel Fitzgerald, the current administrative assistant in the Greater Northwest Area Episcopal office, will be transitioning to take a position in the Pacific Northwest Conference Office as of March 5th. Rhondalei Gabuat, currently serving in the PNW District Service Center, has been chosen to replace her in the Area Office.
Read more
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World Day of Prayer is a worldwide, ecumenical movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year, and who, in many countries, have a continuing relationship in prayer and service.
- It is initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions.
- It is symbolized by an annual day of celebration observed on the first Friday in March to which all people are welcome.
- It brings women of different races, cultures and traditions together in fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year.
- Through World Day of Prayer, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and have immeasurable influence in the world.
- The motto of World Day of Prayer is "Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action."
This year's World Day of Prayer will be held on March 2 at 11:30 am at Leake Temple A.M.E. Zion Church (430 N. Hoyt Street, Anchorage). All are invited to come. If you have any questions, please contact Alice Owens at 360-2966.
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Have a workshop you would like to present?
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 Are you the leader of a United Methodist related entity and have a desire to teach the Annual Conference delegates more about what your organization does? Do you have updated information that is important to relay to the members of the United Methodist Church and need more time than the floor of AC? Is there a learning event or training that you would like to share?
Well, if you would like to host a pre-conference workshop on Thursday, May 31st in Seward prior to Annual Conference, please submit this worksheet by March 1st and email it to alaskaumc@gmail.com to be considered. These pre-conference workshops can be great learning experiences for those that attend. We look forward to your submissions!
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Get access to media resources for your church in 2018!
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Does your church need videos or printed resources for your Bible study, small group, or just access to media to help grow and inspire? Then join the Regional Media Center (RMC)!
Year after year, the RMC has provided access to media resources - and NOW the RMC is working to make this easier by dropping usage and postage fees!
Learn more |
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
- 1: Workshop requests (if you want to hold a workshop, this is your opportunity. See article in this e~Aurora.)
- 15-April 17: Earlybird Registration
April
- 17: Petitions, Policy Changes, Committee Reports, General Conference Delegate submissions (basically anything that needs to be in the Pre-Conference Handbook)
- 18-May 15: Regular Registration
May
- 1: Harry Denman Award nominations, Outstanding Lay Person of the Year award nominations, Display requests, Memorial lists, Worship packet
- 1: Conference office will email/mail Pre-Conference Handbooks to Annual Conference voting delegates
- 15: Housing, Transportation, and Child care requests
- 15-day of AC: Late Registration
More information will be shared about these items as they become available. |
Alaska United Methodists featured in UMW videos
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This summer, Global Ministries Missionary Journalist and Photographer Paul Jeffrey came up to Alaska to visit some of our mission settings and interviewed folks on assignment for the United Methodist Women. Here are links to the videos of the four people he featured in his interviews:
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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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As Senate debates DACA fate, United Methodists encouraged to speak up for Dreamers
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The
General Board of Church and Society is encouraging all United Methodists to contact their senators and congressional representatives urging them to pass the Dream Act. With the United States Senate actively debating the fate of Dreamers this week before a looming March 5 deadline, I hope you'll seriously consider it.
...supporting Dreamers is not such a selfless idea. It may even be a selfish one because the vast majority of these young people are good for our churches and our communities.
Continue reading Lyda Pierce's commentary
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UMC bishops mourn victims of Florida school shootings
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In the wake of last week's school shooting in Florida, the Council of Bishops has issued a statement of grief, mourning the victims of the shootings and called for prayers of repentance from the culture of death and cycle of violence.
It was written by incoming COB President Bishop Ken Carter.
Read more
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Many U.S. presidents have Methodist ties
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Americans were marking Presidents Day yesterday. Discover the many ties between Methodism and White House leaders from Washington to Lincoln to FDR to Obama.
Read more
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ASL Tutoring for churches
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 The United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries is offering ASL tutoring to churches. ASL (American Sign Language) tutoring is being offered to help raise Deaf awareness and foster interest in learning ASL. The ASL tutoring is FREE, which will include practicing the manual alphabet (the ABCs), an introduction to sign phrases, be shown some religious/church signs (i.e. church), and an overview of Deaf culture. The ASL tutoring program will be for United Methodist churches that do not have a Deaf ministry. The Rev. Tim Hudspeth, the president of the Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries, said, "We're glad to be able to offer this ASL tutoring program to adults and hope it will spark an interest in building relationships with Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and Deafblind people." Using platforms like ZOOM, FaceTime, or Skype is how the ASL tutoring will take place. To sign up or to request more information, contact Rev. Leo Yates, Jr. at leoyjr@gmail.com. |
Northwest Leadership Institute (NLI)
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When the leader grows, the organization grows. Join folks this March in Boise, Idaho at the Cathedral of the Rockies for a few days designed to inspire, strengthen, equip and renew church leadership teams.
NLI is one of the largest mainline leadership events in the Northwest. This year the theme is Re-formation. Semper reformanda ("always reforming") is one of the enduring slogans often associated with the Protestant Reformation. Here we are, 500 years later, reforming again.
The training will feature Brian McLaren, Rev. Cedrick Bridgeforth, Rev. Duane Anders and the Rev. Shalom Agtarap. A pre-conference on the 7th will include extended teaching by McLaren and an evening with "No Joke Live!"
Learn more and register!
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Are you...
- no longer young (or even young-ish) but not yet old (or old-ish)?
- seasoned in ministry, but not yet thinking about retirement?
- excited and terrified of the changes happening in the church?
- past your initial thrill of being in ministry ("I can't believe they let me preach every Sunday!!!") but not yet weary of the call ("How many more sermons must I write, O Lord?")?
- somewhere in the messy middle of life and ministry?
- needing to be restored and inspired by a sacred setting, engaging colleagues and a few days apart?
Join us for the Messy Middle Retreat - May 14-17 at Alton L. Collins Retreat Center near Eagle Creek, Oregon!
We're designing this retreat for United Methodist clergy in the Greater Northwest Area who have been in ministry for 5 years or longer and who are expecting to have 10 or more years of ministry ahead of them.
We'll be worshiping, praying and working collaboratively to imagine our role in leading our church for the next 10-20 years.
For more information, contact
Meredith Dodd,
Clay Andrew or
Jeremy Hajdu-Paulen.
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World Council of Churches Internship Programme
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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting applications to an Internship Programme in 2018.
The application deadline is
15 March 2018. The programme's overarching goal is to strengthen church and ecumenical relations with the churches and create benefits for young people through capacity building, ecumenical formation, regional relations, international and multicultural exposure, and leadership building for work in the churches.
The Internship Programme stretches over an 18-month period, for four young people aged 21-29. Each intern is assigned to work for 12 months at the WCC offices in Geneva, Switzerland, in one of our many programme areas. This is then to be followed by a six-month work placement in the intern's own country.
Available work areas include Communication, Health and Healing, Just Community of Women and Men, and Commission of the Churches on International Affairs.
For more information, and to access the application guidelines, please
visit the WCC website. You may also contact
youth@wcc-coe.org
for more information.
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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
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February
20-22: GNW Cabinet Meeting - Carlo attending
March
2-3: GNW "Table Talks" Facilitator Training event - Carlo attending
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
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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
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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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