A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference |
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Bishop Stanovsky to appoint Rev. Christina DowlingSoka as Alaska Conference Superintendent
Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky has announced her intention to appoint the Rev. Christina DowlingSoka as Conference Superintendent for the Alaska United Methodist Conference, effective June 1, 2022. She will also continue as co-pastor of Willow United Methodist Church in Willow, Alaska, alongside her husband, Rev. Joe-d DowlingSoka. Willow UMC is one of three mission churches in the conference.
Rev. DowlingSoka’s appointment to the superintendency comes as the Alaska and Pacific Northwest leaders actively explore what it will mean to be a ‘mission district’ within the Pacific Northwest Conference. Despite the delay of General Conference, members of both conferences affirmed their commitment to “live into the reality” of this change last year even while they await necessary actions by the General and Western Jurisdictional Conferences.
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Easter Blessings from the Alaska United Methodist Conference! |
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Multi-Faith Prayer Vigil
Interfaith Council of Alaska invites you to the World Peace Project on Tuesday, April 19th from 6:30-7:15 pm.
A time of prayer and reflection during so much war and pain around the world. Immediately followed by an outdoor candle light vigil.
All are welcome at this event at E. R. Brown Theatre in Grant Hall on the campus of Alaska Pacific University.
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Calling all Lay Leaders!
The Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders is holding a learning session via zoom on April, 23, 2022 and all lay leadership is invited to attend.
The learning session will be based upon II Timothy 1:8-12 and the theme is "Rise Up! and Reveal God's Grace." Anyone interested can attend from 7 am - 9:15 am Alaska time.
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AK Child & Family seeking donations for fundraiser
AK Child and Family will be hosting a fund-raising concert on May 13th with Amplify Alaska. Pastor Murray Crookes, who holds a seat on their board, is asking if anyone would like to donate items for the fundraiser. The event will have door prizes, giveaways and a silent auction. If you have an item or service you wish to donate, please contact Pastor Crookes directly. Thank you!
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Circle of Indigenous Ministries launches land acknowledgment website for the GNW area
As the Circle of Indigenous Ministries grows, so, too, does the list of resources available for local churches and ministry settings to use. Land acknowledgment is one of the first steps in understanding and beginning to heal the historical traumas perpetuated by the church. Rev. Allen Buck and partners of the Circle hope that this land acknowledgment resource page can guide you in your journey of hope, healing and friendship as United Methodists in the Greater NW Area.
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Annual Conference information
Bishop Elaine JW Stankovsky has asked clergy and lay members of the Alaska, Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences to hold dates in June for online Annual Conference sessions. You can find more information on the Alaska Conference website.
Reports from Conference Board and Agency Chairs are due to the Conference Office by Friday, April 15, 2022. If you have any questions, please email the conference office.
Petitions for the 2022 Alaska Annual Conference Session must be submitted by Sunday, May 8, 2022.
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Bulgaria-Romania United Methodists vote to leave
The Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Annual Conference has voted to leave The United Methodist Church for the Global Methodist Church when that new, theologically conservative denomination begins operations May 1. United Methodist Bishop Patrick Streiff said the disaffiliation vote — as conducted by conference members — was “without legal basis in the Book of Discipline.”
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Tom Locke Innovative Leader Award winners named
The Wesleyan Investive (formerly the United Methodist Development Fund) has announced its latest round of Tom Locke Innovative Leader Award winners. Locke is the longtime president of the Texas Methodist Foundation and more recently of the Wesleyan Investive. He's retiring this year. The four Locke Award winners include Kit Evans-Ford of Davenport, Iowa, who founded a bath and body social enterprise that employs female survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
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Full communion plans with Episcopalians on hold
With General Conference delayed until 2024, Episcopalians are forgoing a vote on full communion until United Methodists vote on it first. One concern among Episcopalians is where the future United Methodist Church will stand on LGBTQ inclusion.
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Heritage Sunday is May 22
Heritage Sunday falls on May 22 this year, and United Methodist Archives and History plans to release several resources around the theme of "Splits, Separations and Reconciliations." The materials will look at church splits over the past 250 years, beginning with the original split from the Church of England in 1784. There will be an interactive timeline, online course, podcasts and more.
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Holy Week daily devotions
Spend time daily pondering the events that lead us to Easter.
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Resurrection signs abound
As flowers and birds usher in springtime, we find reminders of Easter all around.
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15: Annual Conference reports due
15: Good Friday - Office Closed
17: Easter Sunday
18: Tax Day
19-21: GNW Cabinet meeting - Carlo and Lisa attending
21: Mission District Task Force meeting (6 pm))
28: Leadership Team meeting (6 pm)
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5: Cinco de Mayo
8: Mother's Day
8: Petitions Due
8:Award Nominations due
19: Mission District Task Force meeting (6 pm)
31: Memorial information due for Annual Conference
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Upcoming Clergy Birthdays
April 18 - Bertha Koweluk
April 21 - Lucas Boomsma
April 23 - Karen Martin Tichenor
April 30 - April Hall
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Conference Office
907-333-5050
Superintendent - Carlo Rapanut
Director of Connectional Ministries - Lisa Talbott
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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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