A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference | |
Multiple save the dates
Fall Pastoral Leader Retreat
We want to share that the Fall Pastoral Leader Retreat will be held September 21-24, 2023 at Alaska Pacific University. More details and a registration will come in a few weeks. This is a required event for those under appointment/assignment.
Winter Learning Event
The Winter Learning Event will be open to anyone interested, clergy and lay. Pastors are required to attend. The dates will be February 2-6. The location is still being determined.
Annual Conference 2024
Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth did announce during the summer's Annual Conference Session that the 2024 AC will be June 27-30 in Anchorage.
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Charge Conference paperwork coming soon!
***Heads up to Churches, Pastors, and Church Leadership***
We will mostly be using an online reporting system for church charge conference paperwork this year. Most of the forms will have the identical questions as in past years but you will not be filling out a PDF or Word document out anymore, you will be answering the questions online.
You will have access to these forms through your People Portal. Clergy should have accessed their People Portal at lease once already and some church leadership may have as well. Here is a link with a step by step process on how to login.
We suggest that you take the time now to try to login so that when the paperwork is available, you can easily log in and begin. Please note that I am here to help! If you have a question or are having trouble logging in, please contact Crystal in the conference office so I can assist you. This is what I am here for!
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Free worship planning retreat for GNW area churches with Marcia McFee
Through worship, people find a sense of belonging and community, coming together to share common beliefs and values. A well-planned worship service can foster a connection with the divine, promoting a deeper understanding of one’s purpose and encouraging a life of compassion, love, and selflessness.
Worship planning can be a lot of work. What if you don’t have to do this planning alone? What if you could participate in a worship planning retreat from the comfort of your home, for free?
Empowered by a gift from a generous donor, the Greater Northwest Area is pleased to offer United Methodist local churches in the Alaska, Oregon-Idaho, and Pacific Northwest Conferences the chance to participate in Dr. Marcia McFee’s 2023-2024 livestream worship planning retreat at no cost to you on August 13-16, 2023 (recordings are also available in perpetuity afterward). Please consider participating and share this with members of your congregation who help to plan worship for your faith community (pastors, lay ministers, worship leaders, and team members). Our participation gives you access to the entire event for free!
Learn more and register here
We encourage you to take advantage of this free offer (usually $150 per church) made possible through our conference’s participation.
Click here to read the entire announcement and to share this opportunity online.
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Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course
The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference is opening their basic lay servant ministries course to people throughout Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. If you were unable to attend the course by Pastor Andy Bartel in August, here is another opportunity. Emilie Kroen is an experienced instructor of Lay Servant Ministries.
September 7 - 21, 2023
TIME: Thurs & Tues 7 – 9 pm PDT; Sept 7, 12, 14, 19, & 21, 2023
LOCATION: On Line Zoom Course
INSTRUCTOR: Emilie Kroen, Oregon - Idaho Ann. Conf. Director of Lay Servant Ministries
COST: The cost of the book
REGISTER By Aug 31, 2023:
Email: ekroen@yahoo.com. Provide your Name, Address, Phone #, and your local church setting. Courses fill quickly so register as soon as you can commit to the schedule and course participation expectations. *Each participant must have a book, attend all 5 sessions with audio and video functions active throughout each session.
BOOK: Lay Servant Ministries by Sandy Zeigler Jackson and Brian Jackson
Participant’s Book • DR626 • 978-0-88177-626-3 • Participants’ books available in paperback at Cokesbury $9.29, Upper Room $12, and Amazon $11. ebooks are also available.
The “Introduction to Lay Servant Ministry: The BASIC Course” is the foundational course for Lay Servant Ministries. This is the gateway course for those who are called to be Certified Lay Servants, Lay Speakers, and Lay Ministers. And can also be part of a person’s discipleship plan to acquaint you with their gifts, calling, and responsibilities as followers of Christ.
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Early Response Team basic training being offered
Be ready when the next disaster strikes to help those most in need. The Early Response Team Basic Training offered on Sat., August 26, at Mount Vernon UMC (Washington), will prepare you on ways to clean out a flooded home, haul debris, sift through ashes and work alongside survivors while staying safe. The class is taught by United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) certified trainers and includes examples of recent missions, hands-on activities, and an opportunity to meet people with a passion to serve. Anyone 18 years or older is welcome to attend.
Click here to register, learn more, and for a downloadable flier to share.
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Draw the Circle Wide
Alaska United Women in Faith will be holding their Annual Gathering at Anchor Park UMC September 29 - October 1, 2023.
The scripture focus for the weekend is Romans 15:7, "So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! (The Message)"
The keynote speaker will be the United Women in Faith National Board President 'Ainise 'Isama'u and the worship leader will be Rev. Bennie Grace Nabua of UMC of Sitka.
Registration form will come out soon. Save the date now! Learn more about the schedule here.
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Bishop Talbert, advocate for justice, dies
From humble beginnings as one of seven children born to sharecropper parents in rural Louisiana, retired United Methodist Bishop Melvin G. Talbert took his ministry of justice and love for all people around the globe. Talbert died last week at the age of 89.
Read the obituary
Read the Council of Bishops press release
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New date, place set for bishop's trial
The church trial of Bishop Minerva Carcaño will be moved to the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church, Bishop Alfred W. Gwinn announced on Aug. 4. Gwinn, a retired bishop from the Southeastern Jurisdiction, will preside over the trial, which will begin Sept. 19. The trial will be held at the headquarters of Wespath Benefits and Investments in Glenview. Bishop Frank Beard, president of the North Central Jurisdictional College of Bishops, will assist active bishops in the college in selecting approximately 50 jurors from around the jurisdiction. Carcaño, who has been suspended for more than a year, is facing a church trial after a Western Jurisdiction committee brought charges under church law. The charges are undisclosed.
Read the press release
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Girl's lemonade stand benefits UMCOR
Six-year-old Etta Bolte contributed $400 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief from sales at her lemonade stand — and a few large donations. Etta and her mother, Ann, traveled from their hometown of Augusta, Arkansas, to Little Rock to present a check to Arkansas Conference Bishop Laura Merrill.
Read the story
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Vonner installed as women's group leader
Sally Vonner’s installation as top executive of United Women in Faith took place in her native Texas, before a crowd that included many family members and longtime friends. She’s the second African American woman to lead the New York-based mission group, which last year changed its name from United Methodist Women
Read the story
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10: Professional Church Workers check-in @ 10 am
Superintendent consultations throughout the month
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4: Labor Day - Office Closed
7: Leadership Team meeting @ 6:30 pm
21-24: Professional Church Workers Retreat @ Alaska Pacific University
28: Mission District Task Force meeting @ 6:00 pm
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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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We acknowledge that the Methodist Church is complicit with and rooted in the colonization of Alaska and recognize that we live in that ongoing legacy. We lament the harm and trauma that our faith community causes. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Movement, summarized God’s directives with three Rules: do no harm, do good, and attend to the ordinances of God. We also celebrate the grace, the love, and the good that our church does that calls us to re-imagine mission through intentional discipleship with one another.
We will live into the transition to a Mission District committed to:
Alaska Conference Values
- The love of God, neighbor, and self, demonstrated by the deliberate embracing and valuing of differences, the leveling of imbalances between people and systems, and the intentional dismantling of inequities in whatever forms they present themselves.
- Healing, grace-filled mission with communities and churches that prioritizes local experiences and shares resources across time and distance through equitable relationships.
- Living into connectionalism by belonging to and trusting in one another to nurture relationships that celebrate the gifts each of our communities bring, allowing us to move forward in a decolonized way.
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