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A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
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Late Registration continues
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 Click here to read the invitation letter from Bishop Elaine Stanovsky inviting us all to attend Annual Conference!
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IMPORTANT If you have a spouse or child(ren) that are coming with you to Annual Conference and you have not notified the conference office that they will be participating in the meals, please do so ASAP! You have until
TODAY, May 22 to let us know. The adult lunches are $10 and the child lunches are $4.
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Signing up for optional family activities
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There are many things to do in Seward. The people of Seward and Moose Pass United Methodist Churches would like to offer some optional activities for those who don't have to be in meetings. This is so spouses, family members, and (maybe most importantly) kids can have some time to connect.
If you sign-up on the "
Sign Up Genius HERE" we can get a sense of how many participants we may have. This is particularly helpful to know how many kids and youth may participate and how many the Park Rangers will prepare for at Exit Glacier.
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The Lay & Clergy sessions will be held on Thursday evening, May 31st. They will take place from 7-8:30 pm at Seward Memorial UMC.
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 The pre-conference handbook with all the reports, budget, statistics, etc. is complete. For those that wanted them mailed to them, they have been mailed.
For the individuals who wanted to download the handbook themselves, you have been emailed the link. If anyone else would like to access it, you can view it here.
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Visit to Spring Creek Correctional Center
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 On Thursday, May 31, clergy and lay have been invited to Spring Creek Correctional Center to hear about their work on Restorative Justice with inmates and victims. If you are interested, please contact Rev. Jim Doepken directly and let him know.
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Kelly Marciales consecrated as Deaconess
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Twenty four women were consecrated as Deaconesses this past Friday, May 18 at the United Methodist Women's Assembly in Columbus, Ohio. One of those women consecrated was our very own, Kelly Marciales. The PNW conference put together a news article about the Northwest ladies prior to them getting consecrated. You can find the article below. Congratulations Kelly!
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Peace with Justice Sunday - Impact in Alaska
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Peace with Justice Sunday is one of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church. Peace with Justice Sunday enables The United Methodist Church to have a voice in advocating for peace and justice through a broad spectrum of global programs.
Typically received on the First Sunday after Pentecost (May 27 of this year), these funds are split 50/50, with half going to General Board of Church and Society as grant funds, and the other half retained for Peace with Justice work in the Annual Conference.
In 2018, the Leadership Team of the Alaska Conference voted unanimously to grant $5,000 from these funds to the
Alaska Innocence Project, an Alaska-based non-profit corporation that provides legal, educational, and charitable services to identify and exonerate individuals who have been wrongfully convicted in the state of Alaska, and to provide educational opportunities that foster a culture that champions the defense of the innocent.
The Alaska Innocence Project's most famous case to date was the Fairbanks Four. In 1997, four native teens were falsely accused and convicted of a crime they did not commit. After 18 years of imprisonment, the Alaska Innocence Project working on their behalf helped to free these wrongly imprisoned men.
The Alaska Innocence Project currently has four cases filed, and 90 cases in investigation and review. It is difficult work, but as Jesus declared in his reading from the scroll of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19 NRSV
Because of your generosity as Alaska United Methodists, we are able to partner with organizations like the Alaska Innocence Project to bring about Peace with Justice right here in Alaska. Thank you for your generous support of this year's Peace with Justice offering on May 27, 2018.
Where should a local church send offerings for Special Sundays?
Forward offerings to your conference treasurer's office
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Paying for the special General Conference
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The Commission on General Conference, which plans the legislative assembly, approved registration fees for visitors to help pay for the special session in 2019. A big concern of the meeting was helping delegates do their work.
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Bishops clarify statement on Way Forward recommendation
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The Council of Bishops has issued a clarifying statement about its recent recommendation based on the work of the Commission on a Way Forward.
The May 18 statement from the council says that its members voted by an "overwhelming majority" to share the commission's work and to recommend the One Church Plan to the special General Conference of The United Methodist Church, which will meet early next year.
The One Church Plan would remove from church law the statement that the practice of homosexuality is against Christian teaching. It would give clergy, local churches and conferences more freedom with practices that are currently restricted by the Book of Discipline, such as performing and hosting same-sex weddings, and ordaining openly gay persons as clergy.
Read the full statement
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Council of Bishops invites applications for three ecumenical programs
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The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is inviting applications for the following three programs:
- Grant application for the 2019 Local Ecumenical and Interreligious Ministries
- United Methodist Ecumenical and Interreligious Training: Young Adult Network Application (UMEIT: YAN)
- Scholarship to attend The Ecumenical Institute at Bossey
Read the full release here
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United Methodist Women urged to boldly change world
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More than 6,000 women gathered for three days of listening, learning and social action geared toward giving them the power and inspiration to make a difference in the world. The United Methodist Women's Assembly was held May 18-20 with the theme "The Power of Bold."
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New survey ranks welcoming the top factor in church choice
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A new survey of spiritual "seekers" finds that the top motivators for considering a church are knowing that everyone will be welcomed (32%), making friends and nurturing friendships (29%), support during difficult times (28%) and learning more about God (27%). Less motivating are opportunities for Bible study, volunteer opportunities, discussions of issues and topics and the provision of child care. ( Download the infographic here.)
The survey, conducted by the
Barna Group on behalf of United Methodist Communications, included people aged 25-49 who consider themselves spiritual, socially conscious and seeking meaning in their lives, but who are not affiliated with a church.
"The findings point to a desire for genuine community," said Dan Krause, general secretary of United Methodist Communications. "About three-quarters of those who might visit a church said that having friendly and welcoming people might cause them to continue attending."
Among survey respondents, women were more interested in being welcomed into a church and the relationships that might develop, while men were relatively more interested in knowledge about God. About one in three said they do not believe church has anything to offer them.
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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 - Carlo attending
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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
June 8 -
Jim Doepken
June 10 -
Carlo Rapanut
June 15 -
Matt Reinders
June 27 -
Teri 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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