A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference
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Hands and Feet | North Star UMC
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Pastor Bailey Brawner (Pastor) and Carolyn Lopez (Layperson) share two stories about North Star UMC in Nikiski
Whether you’re hearing about Alaska for the first time, or you share a deep passion for it, or you’re somewhere in between, I want you to know this is a special place. We are a community of people who have vastly different stories, and come from all over, and yet, we bond over this place, the fact that each of us find ourselves here today.
I grew up in Anchorage, a cradle United Methodist whose experience of the world and church was birthed at the same time. I was baptized inside one of our many doors, the same place that would raise me and help me understand my call to ordained ministry. Alaska is home for me.
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Annual Conference Registration is OPEN
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Annual Conference is coming up May 31 - June 1 at Christ First UMC in Wasilla. There will be workshops held on Thursday, May 30th at Christ First UMC as well. Please make sure these dates are on your calendar if you are the Lay Member to Annual Conference from your church. An email went out to all clergy and voting delegates.
You can view that email here
.
The
Fact Sheet
had an incorrect date (should say
May 30: Pre-Conference Workshops
- not May 31).
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A written report is expected from all committees, units, and ministries of the conference. We are asking for a half page report to be put into the Pre-Conference Handbook. The report request has already been sent out.
The reports are due to the office by TODAY, April 9
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Action items to be brought to the floor of Annual Conference for a vote need to be submitted to the conference office by
TODAY, April 9.
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If your ministry would like to have a table at Annual Conference, you will need to fill out a request form. Our space is limited so plan your display accordingly.
Requests are due by May 1.
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Each year we ask for nominations for two awards. The first is the Outstanding Lay Person of the Year award. The second is the Harry Denman Evangelism Award (individual Lay, Clergy & Youth nominations). If you know a deserving person,
nominate them by May 1.
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Alaska Disaster Response mini-academy
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The first Alaska Disaster Response Mini-Academy will be happening on April 26
th
and 27
th
at Birchwood Camp. This will be an opportunity to receive Basic Early Response Team (ERT) training and certification, as well as training as an Volunteer In Mission Leader. Plus extras! Cost is $75 for those staying, and $50 for those commuting. For more information or to register, please check out our registration page:
Alaska Disaster Response Mini-Academy
. For any questions, please contact Disaster Response Coordinator, Daniel Wilcox at 907.414.7078 or
danielpwilcox@gmail.com
.
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Appointment announcement correction
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In our appointment announcement on Sunday, we inadvertently had wrong information about Nico Romeijn-Stout's current appointment. He is currently serving Sand Point Community UMC in Seattle, Washington.
It is Bishop Elaine Stanovsky's intention to appoint him as pastor of Girdwood Chapel UMC in Girdwood starting July 1.
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COB President says bishops committed to unity of UMC
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The United Methodist Church Council of Bishops President Bishop Ken Carter today said bishops of the church are committed to the unity of the church and to the mission of God who breaks down barriers and transcends languages. “The faithfulness, unity and fruitfulness of the church form a whole. We cannot be one without abiding in Jesus; we cannot be spirit-filled without loving our neighbor; we cannot experience revival as we sow divisions in the body,” Bishop Carter said.
He was speaking at the Methodist Mission Bicentennial Conference. The conference is celebrating Methodism’s mission heritage and looking at the future of Methodist mission.
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Resistance to GC2019 spreads
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United Methodist Communications is pleased to announce their new leadership-focused website
ResourceUMC.org
. The site—that launched this month—was developed as a centralized portal to equip United Methodist leaders across the globe with helpful information, tools and multilingual assets. This single web address eliminates the need to bookmark multiple denominational websites, as it provides easy access to all of the agencies of The United Methodist Church and their ministry resources. The easy-to-navigate website simplifies locating relevant and engaging content aggregated from across the connection, saving leaders precious time. The robust mix of insightful materials provided include the how-to’s of doing ministry, as well as ones that will motivate, encourage and inspire those in leadership roles.
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Groups approve plan to divvy up slashed budget
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After almost a week of sometimes tense conversation, the Connectional Table and General Council on Finance and Administration each approved allocations in a slashed budget. A big sticking point was the 35 percent budget cut for United Methodist Communications, which includes UMNews.
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Standing Rock, 3 years later
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April 3 marked the third anniversary of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s protest against building a 1,200-mile-long Dakota Access Pipeline near the North Dakota reservation, which the tribe said threatens its water supply and sacred sites. It’s estimated that 17,000 “water protectors” from around the world passed through the Sacred Stone Camp from April 2016 to February 2017, including United Methodists who came to show support and witness history.
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Fire destroys part of United Methodist school
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Fire destroyed the junior block at Hartzell High School, a United Methodist school at Old Mutare Mission, leaving hundreds of students with no classrooms. The blaze also gutted the storage area that houses the school's textbooks and two specialty classrooms with more than 30 sewing machines and stoves.
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Retired Bishop Cho receives pastoral appointment
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Greater New Jersey Bishop John Schol and the cabinet announced the appointment of Bishop Young Jin Cho to Calvary Korean United Methodist Church in East Brunswick. Calvary Korean is one of the conference's flagship churches and among the 25 fastest growing United Methodist churches in the U.S. Cho was the first Korean-American elected to the episcopacy in the Southeastern Jurisdiction, where he led the Virginia Conference from 2012 until he retired in 2016.
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8-10: Methodist Missions Bicentennial Event
10-12: GNW Cabinet Meeting
11-12: GBGM Board Meeting
12-13: GNW Stakeholders Summit 2.0
14: Palm Sunday
15: Tax Day
21: Easter Sunday
22-26: Carlo on retreat
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5: Cinco de Mayo
11: Leadership Team meeting
12: Mother's Day
14-16: GNW Cabinet meeting
27: Memorial Day - office closed
30: Pre-Conference Workshops
31-June 1: Annual Conference @ Christ First UMC, Wasilla
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Upcoming Clergy Birthdays
April 23 -
Karen Martin Tichenor
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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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