A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference | |
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Laity welcome to come meet Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth
Alaska lay members are invited to stop by First UMC Anchorage on Saturday, March 18, from 6-8pm for a meet and greet with our new Bishop, Cedrick Bridgeforth. There will not be a program; this is an opportunity for people to stop by to say hello and welcome him to Alaska. Light refreshments will be provided.
There is no need to register for this event.
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Professional Church Workers invited to meet Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth
You're invited to have lunch with Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth on Saturday, March 18, from noon-2 pm at St. John United Methodist Church in Anchorage.
It is necessary for our hosts to know the number of guests for lunch, so please register to RSVP by March 8 if you will be attending.
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Bishop Carlo Rapanut to be installed Saturday, you're invited!
The Episcopacy Committee of the Desert Southwest Conference invites you to the Service of Installation of Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut on Saturday, March 11th at 9:00 am (AKST).
The service will be available via live stream and Zoom with closed captioning services for those who join using those methods.
The registration deadline on their website does show a March 1 deadline but since the live link will likely be utilized by most of us here, I would suggest you still register to obtain the live link. We are sorry we did not get this information out to you earlier.
Register here
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Local church leadership training online
Join Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth, district superintendents and staff of the conferences of the Greater Northwest Area for a free online training for local church leaders, Saturday, March 18th from 9-11 a.m. AKT, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. PST, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. MST. The training will start with words of greeting and worship, followed by a message from our new bishop. The second hour will allow participants to receive focused training in one of several workshops on managing financial assets, engaging in conflict, working with staff (lay, clergy or volunteer), exploring single-board governance, and a Spanish language cohort.
Registration is required to receive the Zoom invite, but there is no fee. Please forward this invitation to the leadership in your church you wish to consider attending.
Register here to attend!
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Commentary: Disaffiliation, deception and the foundations we build upon
In commentary, Pastor Dan Wilcox reflects on reports of misleading and sometimes false information shared with local congregations about The United Methodist Church to guide them toward disaffiliation. Thinking about Jesus' teaching about the importance of building upon solid foundations, he considers the impact of this misinformation, and the anger it breeds, upon those seeking to build whatever comes next.
Read his reflection
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Chartering of Ola Toe Fuataina
We are excited to announce that Ola Toe Fuataina United Methodist Samoan Fellowship will be chartering on Sunday, March 19. Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth will be here to help them celebrate! It will be recorded and posted so everyone can enjoy the celebration!
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Nome Community UMC seeking a mission team
The Nome Community Methodist Church is seeking a mission team to help complete its flooring project that was started by two work teams last year with participants from our United Methodist Churches in Kenai/Nikiski, Fairbanks, Chugiak, and Anchorage (St. John). We have laminate flooring that needs to be placed in the Fellowship Hall, the kitchen (adjacent to the Fellowship Hall), the hallway, one bedroom, an entrance and the Pastor’s office to complete the project.
The two mission teams came with 7-8 people in each team and kept everyone busy. If you would like a sneak peak of what the former teams did you can go to the United Methodist Church of Chugiak Facebook page and scroll to July and September and see all they were able to accomplish. You can also check their website. We also have some carpet that needs to be installed in four bedrooms in the parsonage and two bedrooms in the apartment we rent out to former mission participants. Please contact Jennifer Reader at 907-304-1785 or jeffy12@mac.com if you would like more information.
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Birchwood Camp registration now open!
It's time to register for summer camps!
Registration opened February 1st at www.birchwoodcamp.org.
Spaces are limited, so register early! Only 12 spaces for each session of outdoor camps and 40 spaces for age level camps.
Learn more about camps and how to register online here
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Annual Conference related dates
We want to keep the preliminary dates announced for clergy sessions, annual conference sessions and special-called sessions to consider church disaffiliations in front of you. More details on each session will be forthcoming.
Alaska Specific information is:
- Service of Installation for Bishop Bridgeforth & GNW Opening Session, May 20, livestreamed from Aldersgate UMC in Juneau
- Alaska Clergy gathering, May 25, online only
- Alaska Conference Session, June 4-6, hybrid from First UMC Fairbanks in Fairbanks
- GNW Closing Session, June 15, livestreamed
- Alaska Special Called Session, May 6, online only
Read more of this story on the GNW News site.
Below are some tentative dates related to the Alaska Conference Session. Please note that some of the dates may shift a little:
- Send out Award Nominations Requests - March 14
- Registration Opens - April 4
- Reports Due - April 15
- Award Nominations Due - April 23
- Petitions Due - April 23
- Publish Pre-Conference Handbook - May 1
- Registration Closes - May 16
- Memorial Information Due - May 16
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Greater Northwest Area News | |
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'Ask Bishop Cedrick' video series continues with third installment
This week we bring you another video in the ABC (Ask Bishop Cedrick) Series. Sarah Richard, a member of Hillsboro UMC in the Oregon-Idaho Conference, asks Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth "What experiences do you have that shaped your call to ministry and leadership?"
Bishop Cedrick shares a sweet story of how his calling began as a young person in the church growing up in rural Alabama and more!
Click here to watch the second question video. Did you miss the first one? Click here to watch it.
Do you have a question for the bishop? Reach out to Jim Doepken, Alaska Communications Coordinator, for information on how to submit your question.
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Bishop: Time to move from rancor to revival
Amid the vitriol about rising church disaffiliations, Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton called people who are staying United Methodist to change the conversation and reclaim God’s calling on the church. Heather Hahn reports on the bishop’s midterm State of the Church address.
Read the story
Watch the video address
Read the press release
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Report sheds light on disaffiliating churches
A new Lewis Center for Church Leadership report finds that churches disaffiliating from The United Methodist Church are overwhelmingly in the South and Southwest. Compared with remaining United Methodist churches, they also are more likely to have a male pastor and a majority white membership.
Read the story
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Church court addresses disaffiliation questions
The United Methodist Judicial Council released nine rulings March 1 dealing with the church law that governs church disaffiliations. The church court addressed such matters as the eligibility of some churches to exit and the role of conference trustees in setting the terms for disaffiliation.
Read the story
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Resources for Disability Awareness Month
March is Disability Awareness Month. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has a host of resources to help churches hold a Disability Awareness Sunday service and conduct an accessibility audit. The Baltimore-Washington Conference Disability Commission also will hold an "Accessibility Conversations" webinar at 11 a.m. U.S. Eastern time May 5.
Resources for Disability Awareness Sunday
Training for an accessibility audit
To sign up for webinars
More information
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Group plans for budget cuts, regionalization
The Connectional Table set in motion some changes that will guide The United Methodist Church as it ministers in an uncertain time. During meetings last week, the leadership body's efforts to come up with a consensus budget, move toward a U.S. regional conference and streamline its own membership all moved forward.
Read the story
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Welcoming people from disaffiliating churches
Spearfish United Methodist Church has joined other Dakotas Conference churches as an Oasis Network church, indicating it will welcome United Methodists who plan to leave a disaffiliating church and are looking for a new church home. The Oasis Network was started in the Texas Conference.
Read the story
UM News: Conferences reach out to those grieving disaffiliation
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Celebrating women who tell our stories
Eight women were elected to the episcopacy in The United Methodist Church in 2022, five of whom are people of color. All bring unique gifts and experiences to the table, and all are changemakers with a heart for mobilizing the church in Jesus’ name. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, GCSRW is publishing a series of blogs to help you celebrate these wonderful leaders and find ways you can continue to celebrate women in ministry in your area.
Let's celebrate
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Webinar aims to sharpen advocacy skills
The Wednesday Witness Skill-Building Series is a four-part series that will deepen the capacity of United Methodists to advocate for justice. Part two of the series will be held via Zoom at 3 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on March 8. The focus is identifying best practices for a successful call with a representative or decision-maker.
Read more and register for event
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Studying African American history
In celebration of Black History Month, the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History offers a collection of resources on African American United Methodist history. Highlights include digitized versions of the church's 1960s "Night Call" talk radio program, which focused on issues of civil rights and race relations and featured guests including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jackie Robinson, the Rev. A. Cecil Williams and Shirley Chisholm.
See the resources
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UMCOR Sunday is March 19
As war, humanitarian crises and natural disasters cause pain and devastation, followers of Jesus are called to be the hands and feet of Christ and bring hope and healing to a broken world. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is dedicated to ensuring this work happens, and you have the opportunity to support this mission! We have ready-to-use resources in multiple languages to help you prepare your congregation for UMCOR Sunday. Find resources for worship, promotion, age-level groups and more in the pastor and leader kit!
Download now
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12: Daylight Saving Time starts
14-15: Cabinet meeting
17: St. Patrick's Day
18: Area Wide Lay Leadership Training
18: Professional Church Worker lunch with Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth
18: Lay Member Meet and Eat with Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth
19: Ola Toe Fuataina UM Samoan Fellowship Chartering service
23: Mission District Task Force meeting
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2: Palm Sunday
6: Leadership Team meeting
7: Good Friday - Office Closed
9: Easter Sunday
18: Tax Day
25-27: Cabinet Meeting in Idaho - Christina and Lisa attending
27: Mission District Task Force meeting
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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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