e~Aurora
A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
Aurora
CONFERENCE NEWS
We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration and that 2017 will be a year filled with many blessings.

Your Alaska Conference Staff,
Carlo and Crystal
Learning Event and Winter Rendezvous
Save the Date
Our Learning Event will be February 16-17, 2017 (Thursday 1:00 pm - Friday 3:00 pm) followed by the Winter Rendezvous (Conference committee meetings) on February 17-18, 2017 (Friday evening - Saturday afternoon). The Learning Event will focus on Creating New Places for New People and Nurturing Vital Congregations with Rev. Dr. Bill Gibson and Rev. Steve Ross as our main resource people.

To prepare for the learning event, here's some homework for you.
1. Form a Vitality Team in your local church.
2. Read and study the following documents together
a.  Northwest Adventure: New Church Development in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area ( click here to download)
b. Renewal Northwest: Congregational Vitality in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area (this document is being edited and will be made available soon)
3. Access and study your mission field's demographics through  MissionInsite. Each church in the Alaska Conference has access to this demographic service. For more info in how to log-in, contact Crystal Feaster at the Conference Office.
4. Test the results of your demographics study by interviewing key people in your community. Guide questions for this will be made available soon.
Apportionments & Submission Deadline
Deadlines
Here is the apportionment report as of December 12th.  17 of our churches have paid 100% of their apportionments! Congratulations to you! For those that haven't reached 100% yet, you have a few more days.  The last day of acceptance, IN HAND (NOT mailed-by date), is January 11th.
NATIONAL NEWS
New IRS Rates for 2017
The IRS standard mileage rates for business, medical, and moving have been announced.  View the rate changes here.
UMW Sets Assembly Theme for 2018
The 2018 Assembly of United Methodist Women will mark both the official celebration of the organization's 150th anniversary and a return to the location of the first Assembly - Columbus, Ohio - in 1942. The theme of the May 18-20, 2018, event is "The Power of Bold."

CONFERENCE CALENDAR
December
26-Jan 6: Carlo on vacation
31: New Year's Eve

January
1: New Year's Day
2: Office Closed
8: Charge Conference - Anchor Park UMC
8: Charge Conference - First UMC Ketchikan
8: Charge Conference - Ola Toe Fuataina Samoan Fellowship
9: Charge Conference - St. John UMC
10: Charge Conference - Willow UMC
11:  DEADLINE for ALL Finances for 2016
15: Charge Conference - First UMC Fairbanks
15: Charge Conference - New Hope Methodist Presbyterian Church
17-20: GNW Cabinet meeting in Portland - Carlo attending
25-29: WJ Leadership meetings - Carlo attending
27-29: UMW Executive Team meeting in Anchorage
29-Feb 1: ADCM Meeting in Phoenix - Carlo attending

February
9: Charge Conference - UMC of Sitka
16-17: Conference Learning Event
17-18: Winter Rendezvous Meetings at Conference Center
27-March 3: GNW Cabinet in Seattle - Carlo attending
Conference Office Email Address has Changed
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We have begun the process of changing the conference office email from umc@gci.net to alaskaumc@gmail.com.  For workflow ease, we are consolidating everything to the Google platform (email, calendar, etc.).  Please update your address books/contacts lists and start using alaskaumc@gmail.com for your emails to the conference. Carlo's email ( carlorapanut@gmail.com) will remain the same.
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Upcoming
Clergy Birthdays
 
January 5: Janice Carlton
January 18: Karen Dammann



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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