A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
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CrossOver to Life! | Week Ten
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KonMari for Ministry with the Multitudes
By Marie Kuch-Stanovsky
CrossOver reflection for
Week Ten
• Beginning February 3, 2019
Standing in the laundry room, I take each unmatched sock into my hand. “Thank you… thank you…" I mutter gratitude to each as I place it in the donation bin.
January was a month of huge transitions, both for my church family and for me, personally. Last week, Trinity United Methodist Church held its final worship service in the building it has occupied for 90 years in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. Our ministry will continue into the future in new spaces. On Thursday, my husband and I finished moving the last of our belongings to a new home. Moving always means confronting the true—sometimes overwhelming—weight of one’s possessions. I used Marie Kondo’s method of thanking and donating each unwanted item (including mismatched socks*) to let go of possessions that were no longer useful or meaningful to me.
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The Life of Rev. David Fison
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A Celebration of Life for Rev. David Fison will be held on February 8, Friday at 2:00 pm PST in the Assembly Hall of Wesley Homes Lea Hill, 32049 109th Pl SE, Auburn, WA 98092 with the Rev. Andy Bartel of St. John UMC Anchorage presiding.
There will be a celebration of life for the Rev. David Fison on February 17 at 3:00 pm at St. John UMC. This service will be live streamed for those that are not able to make it in person.
If you would like to send sympathy cards to Aleen, you may send them to 32049 109th Place SE #253, Auburn, WA 98092.
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Western Jurisdiction updates during General Conference
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The Western Jurisdiction Communicators are pooling their talents and resources together to curate a digest of the Special Session of General Conference in February 2019 in the form of a limited edition newsletter for the Western Jurisdiction. Because of your interest in Conference and District news, you are included in the subscriber email list.
Beginning on February 22, 2019, you'll receive a daily newsletter until February 27, 2019.
When you receive an edition of Western Jurisdiction updates, add the sending email address to your contacts to ensure you don't miss any of the upcoming news. If you don't want to receive the special edition newsletter, you can unsubscribe through the link provided in the footer of the Western Jurisdiction update. You'll find updates about General Conference from this newsletter and other news outlets by visiting
www.greaternw.org/GC2019
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Susie Smalley featured in response magazine
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United Methodist Women interviewed Susie Smalley of Soldotna UMC about her volunteer work in her community. It is a great article. If you would like to read it, you can purchase a hard copy or digital copy
here.
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Annual Conference workshop proposal form
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It does seem early to think about Annual Conference but we are doing it! Do you have a topic you want to present as a workshop before Annual Conference? Do you know someone else who does? Well, now is the time to fill out our Workshop Proposal Form! This helps us plan for the Pre-Conference workshops.
Submit your form by Tuesday, February 12th to be considered.
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Plant seeds of welcome with new Easter resources for local churches
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Local churches are encouraged to plant seeds of welcome this spring with a collection of customizable Easter outreach tools developed to invite the community to events and worship services. The resources, available in English and Spanish, include direct mail postcards, posters, invitation cards, yard signs, outdoor banners and free downloadable graphics. United Methodist Communications is offering grants of up to $250 for local churches to apply to applicable orders.
The resources, which feature denominational branding, can be personalized with information and invitational text, including church logo and location map. The $250 grant per church from United Methodist Communications is applied to all orders and includes fees and shipping costs. Grants are available until grant funds are depleted or until Easter 2019. Please allow a minimum of one week production time, with more time possibly required depending on the product. To order,
use this link and the coupon code of UMCEA19.
United Methodist Communications offers marketing services and promotional grants to help local churches in their communication efforts. Learn more
here.
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Mission volunteer placement
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Current placement openings with immediate need:
Tanzania
– Assistant Women's Program Coordinator needed to support an ongoing women's crafts project for the purpose of income generation for local women in remote area. The volunteer will also be asked to oversee the teaching of introductory business principles.
St. Mary’s, Ohio
– Support needed for transitional Christian home for men. The volunteer will assist with guiding participants in spiritual growth and development of practical life skills such as budgeting and interviewing as well as lead weekly Bible studies and community groups.
For more information, contact the Mission Volunteer Office directly at
mv@umcmission.org
and for a complete list of placement sites requesting long-term volunteers (individuals and couples serving for two months and up to two years) visit
www.missionvolunteers.org
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Church's trust clause: Critical amid struggle?
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John Wesley was thinking about church property when he wrote the first trust clause in 1750. Gracious exit plan petitions going to the 2019 General Conference ask for a temporary halt to the trust clause if local churches decide to leave The United Methodist Church.
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Traditional plans keep status quo
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Two plans to be considered at the special General Conference would continue to restrict the role of LGBTQ persons in the church. The Traditional Plan and Modified Traditional Plan provide penalties for those who act against the Discipline's guidelines on sexuality. This is the final in a four-part series explaining the most prominent proposals.
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Black History at Mother Zoar
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February is Black History Month in the U.S. Visit the United Methodist church that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad and as a refuge for more than 200 years.
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A new animated series looks at John and Charles Wesley with modern eyes. In this episode, the brothers wade into the subject of the sacrament of initiation.
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Top 10 most important leadership competencies
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Most Important Leadership Competencies:
- Integrity: Adherence to a strict moral or ethical code; being honest with oneself and others
- Trust: Do what one says; model the way
- Authenticity: Behave in a fashion that is consistent with one’s values and show vulnerability when appropriate
- Accountability: Willingly accept responsibility for one’s actions and outcomes
- Active Listening: Give full attention to what other people are saying; listen with mutual respect
- Adaptive Leadership: Mobilize people to take on tough challenges and thrive
- Adaptability: Adjust actions in relation to new situations, others’ actions or changes in the environment
- Transformational: Raise others to higher levels of morality and motivation
- Innovative Leadership: Create an environment that is safe to risk innovative change
- Cross-Cultural Competence: Effectively adapt in environments with people from different countries, regions, and who hold different values and viewpoints.
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Process developed to prioritize legislative committee work at Special Session
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The Commission on the General Conference has devised
a process
for determining the order in which legislative proposals will be considered by the single legislative committee during the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference.
Petitions which compose a plan will be considered together as one unit. Petitions which are not part of a plan will be considered individually. On the first official day of the session, February 24, plans and petitions will be listed one at a time on the video screens in numerical order by petition number(s). Delegates will then be able to indicate whether they consider each a high priority or a low priority by pressing either 1 or 2 on their voting device.
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Details set for General Conference prayer event
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Details of the Day of Prayer, planned for the beginning of the special session of General Conference in St. Louis, have been released by the Council of Bishops’ Praying our Way Forward Team. The prayer event is 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. CST Feb. 23, and will be livestreamed.
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Jurisdiction's bishops address GC2019 and aftermath
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The bishops of the North Central Jurisdiction have released a joint statement on the 2019 Special Session of General Conference. "Know that whatever decisions the General Conference makes, the ministry to which we are called in our churches, making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, will continue," the statement says.
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7-8: Learning Event
8-9: Winter Rendezvous meetings
11-12: GNW Cabinet meeting
14: Valentine's Day
18: Presidents' Day
23-26: General Conference Special Session
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5-7: GNW Cabinet meeting
9: Leadership Team meeting
10: Daylight Saving Time starts
11-15: WJ Leadership meetings
17: St. Patrick's Day
24-27: ADCM meeting
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Upcoming Clergy Birthdays
February 19 -
Steve Fisher
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Conference Office
907-333-5050
Superintendent Carlo
907-854-8340
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The Conference Office hours are:
Monday - Thursday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am - 11:30 am
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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 Tuesday at 9:00 am for consideration.
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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 in God's preferred future.
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