e~Aurora
A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
Aurora
CONFERENCE NEWS
T-shirt pillows for AK Child & Family
AK Child & Family
Jan Wachsmuth is organizing a group of women to make 50+ t-shirt pillows for AK Child & Family.  They will be gifts for the children.

The event will be on Thursday, December 7 from 10 am - 3 pm at the Conference Center (1660 Patterson Street, Anchorage).

Ladies should bring their own machine. Lunch will be provided.  If you have questions or want to let Jan know you will be there, give her a call (862-0194) or send her an email! 
Fall 2017 Newsletter from UMFCU
UMFCU Now Available - Read about the added benefits offered through Secure Checking with identity protection.  Auto loans with 90-day no payment OR 1% cash back.  Current Visa promo rates through January 15th offer a 2 year term.  A wealth of additional information on credit union products and services can be found at www.umfcu.org.  To receive a membership packet contact your California Headquarters at 800-245-0433 or your New England Branch at 207-591-6449.
Anchor Park Annual Holiday Auction
Anchor Park will hold its Annual Holiday Auction on Saturday, November 4.  It will be held from 10:45 till 2:15 at Anchor Park UMC.  The cost is $17 which pays for your lunch of soup, lasagna, tossed salad, fresh baked bread, assorted desserts, tea and coffee.  ALL funds raised from the sale of items (live auction, silent auction, and flat fee purchase items) go to missions that support women, children, and youth.  Anchor Park United Methodist Women host the yearly event.  If you would like to come, please contact the church office and let them know who will be attending.  If you aren't able to make it, you can always help by donating a home crafted item or baked goods.  Find the information here. 
Holy Land Tour
Greetings in Christ,
 
As a Host, through E.O. Tours, I have scheduled a Holy Land Tour, Journey Through the Bible, October 15-25, 2018.
     
View a copy of the brochure.  The brochure includes a printable registration form that can be mailed in.  

Click here for a direct link to the tour.  It provides more information and the option of electronic registration.
 
Here are some initial highlights for consideration:
  • The cost of the tour does not include travel to and from Tel Aviv
  • Folks with initial interest are departing from various locations
  • You'll need to arrive in Tel Aviv, October 15, 2018
  • The tour ends (departure from Tel Aviv) October 25, 2018; however, you may make prior arrangements to extend
  • The cost ($1998) listed in the brochure is a cash price (check or electronic debit)
  • You can pay by credit card with a 4% service charge
  • Early registration saves you $150 prior to November 15, 2017
  • Early registration savings reduce as the date draws near (the brochure lists increments)
  • This will be a wonderful & educational tour
  • Our schedule is customized to enable more time at sites of interest
  • While I am the Host; I'm not the Guide...We'll have local Tour Guides  
  • Lynn Kile (member of First UMC) is our Tour Coordinator
There will be upcoming informational meetings at First UMC in Anchorage.  Please contact Lynn Kile, 696-5453, or myself (Pastor Steve Fisher) 272-2112, to let us know of your interest and we will keep you updated on informational meetings.

Many Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Steve Fisher
Call for 2018 Mission u Certified Study Leaders
The Leadership Team of the Alaska United Methodist Women is receiving applications for two study leaders to teach at Mission u events throughout the Alaska Conference.  The time frame for teaching is mid-summer through the end of 2018.
 
The studies that they are recruiting teaching leaders for are:
ISSUE STUDY: What About Our Money? A Faith Response
SPIRITUAL GROWTH STUDY: Seeking Health and Wholeness 
 
Birchwood Camp News
Middle School and High School Students are invited to this year's Winter Youth Break Away camp which will be held January 2 - January 6, 2018.

Bring your sleds, skates, snowshoes, and helmets...play in the snow!!!  Excellent food, fun and fellowship! Join them for Water is Life!

Registration fee: $240
Registration Open: October 1, 2017
***NEW*** Extended Camp Hours!
Check-in/drop-off 11 AM, Tuesday, January 2
Pick-up at 11 AM, Saturday, January 6

www.birchwoodcamp.org/camps
Need a Lectern?
First UMC in Fairbanks is looking to get rid of a large lectern that they no longer need.  It is 48.5" tall, 52" wide, and 24" deep.  If you're interested, please contact Gayle Miller at gaylelm@gci.net or the church office at office@fairbanksfirst.org.

         
NATIONAL NEWS
Episcopalians, United Methodists plan for approval for full communion proposal
The Episcopal Church-United Methodist Dialogue Committee met in Washington, D.C., to continue its work on establishing a full communion relationship between the two denominations.
 
The committee has adopted a draft proposal for full communion entitled A Gift to the World: Co-Laborers for the Healing of Brokenness (The Episcopal Church and The United Methodist Church, A Proposal for Full Communion) and is seeking feedback from laity, clergy and bishops in both denominations before an official resolution could be presented to respective legislative bodies.
 
The meeting concluded with a joint Eucharist with Ohio West Area Resident Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, who is The United Methodist Church co-chair, presiding at the table while his Episcopalian counterpart Bishop C. Franklin Brookhart, who leads the Diocese of Montana in The Episcopal Church, was the homilist during the service.
 
Attached is the full communique issued by the Committee after the meeting.
 
The Dialogue Committee will meet next on April 23-25, 2018 in Chicago.
 
To learn more about the work of the bi-lateral dialogue committee, click on these links:
www.episcopalchurch.org/page/united-methodist-episcopal-dialogue and www.ocuir.org/bilateral-dialogues/episcopal-church/.
 
#GivingTuesday is next month!
The season of giving is nearly upon us and that means it's almost time for UMC #GivingTuesday.

On Nov. 28, you will have the opportunity to once again "Connect Your Passion with God's Mission" to address the needs in the world today.

Last year, nearly 2,550 donors from 19 countries donated more than $850,000 through The Advance to support mission and ministries around the world.  This generosity illustrates the true meaning of the season.

To help you get involved and spread the message of generosity, GBGM has created a host of #GivingTuesday resources. You will find the answers to frequently asked questions, tips for using social media and creative ways to foster the giving spirit.

What project or missionary will you support this year? Through The Advance, you can choose from more than 300 United Methodist missionaries and 600 United Methodist-related projects worldwide. From disaster relief to feeding the hungry to improving the quality of life of women and children around the world, you are sure to find a project that feeds your passion, including several in the Alaska Conference.

As always, 100 percent of your gift to The Advance goes directly to the project of your choice.

The #GivingTuesday toolkit also offers ways to get friends and family involved, including asking them to make an early Christmas gift in your honor to your favorite Advance project or missionary on Nov. 28. You also can make a gift in honor of those on your Christmas list.

This Advent, continue to "Connect Your Passion with God's Mission" through The Advance at www.UMCmission.org/give.

Download your UMC #GivingTuesday resources today.
Pope, Methodists celebrate 50 years of dialogue
Pope Frances 1 To mark 50 years of Methodist-Catholic dialogue, Pope Francis met Oct. 19 with leaders of the World Methodist Council and with the Methodist Roman Catholic International Commission.

Read the World Methodist Council report 
Read and listen to the Vatican Radio report
Marking the 500th Anniversary of Reformation
The United Methodist Council of Bishops (COB) in collaboration with the General Board of Church and Society will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation with a special service on Oct. 25 in the Simpson Chapel at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill.
 
Under the theme "Reformation as Reconciliation," the service will feature several ecumenical participants including those from the United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Roman Catholic Church, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
 
COB Ecumenical Officer Bishop B. Michael Watson will be the preacher for the service that is scheduled for 12:10 pm. The service will also include a baptismal remembrance celebration.
 
Each year many churches observe Reformation Day on October 31st or the preceding Sunday, remembering the day Martin Luther first made his 95 theses public in 1517 in a small German town.
 
"As a body of believers born out of an ongoing movement for reformation and renewal, we Methodists should not let this moment pass by without marking its significance," Bishop Watson said in a letter he sent earlier to fellow United Methodists. "I hope you will join me in remembering the events that sparked the reformation with thanksgiving, repentance and hope."
Filipinos plant 3,044 trees for Mother Earth
More than 500 United Methodists planted 3,044 tree saplings and seedlings across Mindanao, the second largest Filipino island and home to more than 20 million. Bishop Rodolfo A. Juan and his district superintendents and clergy led the Oct. 14 event "to promote ecological balance" in multiple sites.
 
CONFERENCE CALENDAR
October
28: Charge Conference - Homer UMC
28: Charge Conference - St. Peter the Fisherman UMC
29: Charge Conference - Soldotna UMC

November
1: Charge Conference - Unalaska UMC
4: Charge Conference - North Star UMC
4: Charge Conference - Kenai UMC
5: Daylight Savings Time ends
5: Charge Conference - Seward Memorial UMC
5: Charge Conference - Moose Pass UMC
8: Charge Conference - Willow UMC
9: Charge Conference - Christ First UMC
12: Charge Conference - UMC of Sitka
13: Charge Conference - Aldersgate UMC
13: Charge Conference - Douglas Community UMC
16: Charge Conference - UMC of Chugiak
19-20: UMDF Board Meeting - Carlo attending
23: Thanksgiving - Office Closed
24: Office Closed
26: Charge Conference - Anchorage Korean UMC
27: Charge Conference - First UMC Fairbanks
28: UMC #GivingTuesday
28: Charge Conference - Palmer UM Fellowship
29: Charge Conference - Turnagain UMC
30: Charge Conference - First UMC Anchorage/First Samoan UMC of Anchorage

December
2: Leadership Team meeting
3-7: GNW Cabinet Meetings in Seattle - Carlo attending
24: Christmas Eve
25: Christmas Day - Office Closed
31: New Year's Eve
New Office Hours
Office Hours
The Conference Office has new hours!
 
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am - 11:00 am 
happy_birthday_candles.jpg
Upcoming
Clergy Birthdays
 
November 1 -
Phil Campbell

November 6 -
Fa'atafa Fulumua

November 8 -
Jason Cornish

November 17 -
Jean Bruscia



Conference Office
907-333-5050

Superintendent Carlo
907-854-8340
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.
AUMC Logo 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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