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A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
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You are invited to Table Talks!
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Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky is encouraging United Methodist clergy and laypersons across the Greater Northwest Area to attend worshipful 'Table Talk' conversations about human sexuality, and about the future of the Church we love.
 Please watch the Bishop's invitation and share it with your local church! You can download a copy to use in worship and in other settings on the Greater Northwest Vimeo page.
The Table Talks for Alaska have been scheduled.
- April 14: Anchor Park UMC, Anchorage 9 am - 1 pm
- April 21: Soldotna UMC, Soldotna 9 am - 1 pm
- April 28: Turnagain UMC, Anchorage 9 am - 1 pm
- April 29: Christ First UMC, Wasilla 1:30 - 5:30 pm
- May 5: First UMC, Anchorage 9 am - 1 pm
- May 5: Aldersgate UMC, Juneau 1:30 - 5:30 pm
- May 12: First UMC, Fairbanks 9 am - 1 pm
For planning and logistics, we ask that you register if you intend to attend one of the Table Talks above. A minimum of 10 people registered is required for a Table Talk event to happen. REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND ONE OF THESE EVENTS Learn more here
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Invitation letter from Bishop Elaine
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 Click here to read the invitation letter from Bishop Elaine inviting us all to Annual Conference!
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 Registration is live for attending Annual Conference in Seward. It is important for you to read through the FACT SHEET before you register. There are pieces of information that you will need in order to make choices on your registration.
REGISTER HERE and take advantage of the Early Bird pricing ($45)!
April 17 is the last day for Early Bird Registration. General Registration begins April 18 and the price goes up to $60.
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Last day to reserve hotel room
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 *ALL STANDARD ROOMS ARE RESERVED, DELUXE ROOMS REMAIN*
During the registration process, you will select your choice of preferred housing during Annual Conference. One of those options is at the Breeze Inn Motel. The deadline for reserving a room has been extended and will now be released TODAY, April 10th. If you are wanting/needing one of those rooms, please make sure you take part in the Early Bird Registration and indicate a desire for one of those rooms. Otherwise you will have to make your own arrangements at a potentially higher cost.
We have added a
HOUSING CHOICES sheet to the conference website that gives detailed information on some of the housing options. Just a reminder, all housing costs (if any) are the responsibility of the individual. The conference only reimburses travel costs.
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Pre-Conference Workshops | May 31
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Anatomy of Peace
led by Rev. Donna Pritchard
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Health: How do you measure it in your community?
led by Sandra Woods
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Who Did What and Why -- The Local Church Historian's Passion
led by Larry Hayden
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Restorative Justice at 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. It will also be an opportunity to see what goes on at the only maximum security prison in the state. The event will begin at 12 PM. It will be done before the pre-conference workshops begin. If you are interested in this, please contact Rev. Jim Doepken directly and let him know.
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 On the evening of Friday, June 1, there is an opportunity to board a four-hour dinner cruise out of Resurrection Bay. This is a time of hanging out and getting to know each other away from the business of Annual Conference. There is an additional cost of $57.68/adult and $28.09/child (ages 2-11) to participate. This is not a required event. If you are interested, make sure you add this activity to your registration!
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MOST DEADLINES ARE APRIL 17!
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2020 General Conference Candidate Submissions
If you are interested in submitting your name to be a candidate to the 2020 General Conference, please
review these guidelines and submit your Statement of Candidacy by April 17th. Your statement will be included in the Pre-Conference Handbook.
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 April
- through 17th: Early Bird Registration open ($45)
- 17: Petitions, Rules/Policy Changes, Committee Reports, General Conference Delegate submissions due. Basically anything that needs to be in the Pre-Conference Handbook is due.
- 18-May 15: General Registration open ($60)
May
- 1: Harry Denman Award nominations, Outstanding Lay Person of the Year Award nominations, Ministry Display requests, Memorial lists, Worship packet due
- 1: Conference office will email/mail Pre-Conference Handbooks to Annual Conference voting delegates
- 15: Housing, Transportation, and Child care requests due
- 15-day of AC: Late Registration open ($85)
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 In this fast paced world of family responsibilities, career demands and social media, take a break to relax, slow, and grow at the Women's Psalm Retreat at Psalm Lake on Birchwood Camp. We will be digging deeper into Psalms along the shores of Psalm Lake; the perfect place for God to speak peace and joy into our crazy busy lives! Starting on Friday, April 27th at 7pm with welcoming and a restful evening; followed by Saturday, April 28th sunrise beside Psalm Lake praise, worship, meditation, prayer walk and much more! Leave around 8pm refreshed and renewed. Visit www.birchwoodcamp.org for registration.
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Administrative Assistant opening at APUMC
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 Anchor Park UMC is looking to hire an Administrative Assistant to work 20-24 hours weekly. You can find the job description here. Please inquire directly with Anchor Park for questions.
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 First UMC Ketchikan is cleaning out their church storage and have come across items from a day care they housed. There are 8 buckets of beads and a dozen sorting cups/dispensers for them. Pastor Evelyn is willing to bring them to Annual Conference if there is a church that could use them. If you are interested, please contact Evelyn by email.
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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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Bishops seek declaratory decision from Judicial Council on Special Session
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The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is asking the Judicial Council for a declaratory decision on what petitions can be submitted to the denomination's Special Session of General Conference called for February 2019.
In an electronic vote that affirmed the request made at their February 2018 meeting in Dallas, the bishops voted to seek a ruling from the highest court in the denomination on the meaning, application and effect of Paragraph 14 in relation to Paragraph 507 of the 2016 Book of Discipline.
Paragraph 14 deals with how a special session of General Conference is called and conducted while Paragraph 507 deals with how and when petitions to General Conference are to be submitted.
Read the rest of the press release
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Connectional Table letter to UMC members
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Following their spring meeting, April 4-7, 2018, the Connectional Table shared a message of hope in a letter to the people of The United Methodist Church.
Read the letter here
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Two churches vote to leave denomination
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Members of two Mississippi congregations led by the same pastor have chosen to leave The United Methodist Church. Their votes follow the departures of two large churches in the conference last year. In all four cases, pastors cited the ongoing homosexuality debate. Heather Hahn reports.
Read the story
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Pages, marshals sought for special GC2019
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Volunteers can apply online to serve as marshals or pages during the special 2019 General Conference. The top legislative assembly of The United Methodist Church will meet Feb. 23-26 in St. Louis, Missouri. About 150 volunteers are needed. The deadline to apply is July 31.
Read the press release
Apply online
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April is National Financial Literacy Month
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United Methodist Federal Credit Union has financial literacy tools for you and your congregation. The Financial Education tab of www.umfcu.org offers a variety of savings calculators in addition to educational articles and other financial literacy resources.
Here are direct links to two items:
Contact sandra@umfcu.org if you would like paper copies for your church, UM group, or special event.
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Native American Ministries Sunday | April 15
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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
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
April 23 -
Karen Martin Tichenor
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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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