A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference |
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Happy Thanksgiving
Our office will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. We hope everyone stays safe and takes time to reflect on all that you are thankful for.
Blessings,
The Alaska United Methodist Conference Staff
Carlo, Lisa, and Crystal
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St. John UMW Holiday Auction
St. John United Methodist Women are sponsoring an online virtual auction. All proceeds will go toward supporting UMW programs and missions. What a perfectly timed event for gift giving over the holidays! Be sure to check out the site often. Register to bid and you will be notified when someone else outbids you so that you can up your own bid as desired. The auction opens on Thanksgiving Day and runs through 1 pm on December 5th. Item pickup will be from 4-8 on December 5th at the church. Payment can be made by cash, check (at time of pickup) or credit card (online). The auction link is auctria.events/St.JohnUMCHolidayAuction Share this opportunity with others and enjoy the fun while supporting important mission work!
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Christmas Cookie backing party
Join Birchwood Camp in this annual holiday tradition!
There will be 6 sessions and only 4 families can register for each session to limit the number of people in the Lodge. Each family will be making 4 different kinds of cookies in addition to the sugar cookies that Birchwood will make for everyone to decorate. Families can only take home the cookies they actually make. Please bring your own container.
Session 1 – Dec. 2, 6-9pm
Session 2 – Dec. 3, 6-9pm
Session 3 – Dec. 4, 2-5pm
Session 4 – Dec. 4, 6-9pm
Session 5 – Dec. 5, 2-5pm
Session 6 – Dec. 5, 6-9pm
Registration Fee: $40 per baking kit. A family can share one baking kit.
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Thank you from Anchor Park UMW
Anchor Park's United Methodist Women want to thank all who participated in our Holiday auction.
They enjoyed the fun of the event, acquired some very special items, and enjoyed a special homemade soup, bread, dessert lunch all while supporting mission work with women, children and youth locally, nationally, and internationally. Through everyone's support, over $5,000 was raised. THANK YOU!
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Conference Journal
We want to give you a heads up that the 2021 Journal has been sent to the printer. The journals will be mailed directly from the printer if you are on the distribution list. Please be on the lookout in the next few weeks for them to arrive in your mailbox!
As a FYI, this will be the last year we will be printing them in the same way we have for years. Starting next year, we will move to a print on demand option for those that would like a hard copy of the journal. There will be a small cost to this feature for those wanting to utilize it. Otherwise, you can continue to download the journal for free from our website.
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November is Native American Heritage Month
Pastors reflect on impact of Native American boarding schools. Retired Alaskan pastor Charles Brower is one of the individuals interviewed for this Real Talk session through the General Commission on Race and Religion. Garlinda Burton hosts.
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Native American Heritage Month Worship Resources
Check out these wonderful worship resources written by Rev. Delana Taylor, local pastor from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Enjoy Prayers, Responsive Readings, and Calls to Worship that recognize and support Native American Heritage Month.
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Setting criteria for a 2022 General Conference
General Conference organizers plan to decide early next year whether the pandemic-postponed legislative assembly can go forward as scheduled next summer. In the meantime, commission members approved a list of values that will guide their decision.
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Connectional Table aims to restructure
The United Methodist leadership body that coordinates the denomination's mission and ministry is looking to both shrink and become more global in membership. The goal is to become a body that serves the whole church rather than certain constituencies.
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Judicial Council to review church-exit rules
The United Methodist Church’s top court faces multiple docket items stemming from a new church law that allows congregations to leave with property. The court also faces questions about the deadline for submitting legislation to the pandemic-postponed General Conference.
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Churches who help Afghans eligible for grant
Churches helping refugees from Afghanistan resettle in the U.S. are eligible for $1,000 grants through a partnership between the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Church World Service. Recognizing that providing resettlement support to refugees presents congregations with new responsibilities, the relief agency is offering to share some of the costs. Applications are being taken through April 30.
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'Doing Ministry from the Right Side'
The United Methodist Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century's national conference is coming up Dec. 1-2. "Shift Happens: Doing Ministry from the Right Side" will be at St. John's United Methodist Church in Houston. The hybrid event is expected to attract 200 in-person attendees. Participants will learn tools for effective ministry post-pandemic and ideas for cultivating new voices. Key leaders also will discuss the future of the church.
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Neighborly Community Celebrated in National Advent Advertising Campaign
To assist people seeking an escape from the holiday blues and connection to the true source of joy and love, United Methodist Communications, the global communications agency for the denomination, has launched their Advent-Neighbors national advertising campaign.
After 20+ months of a pandemic, many individuals are looking for ways to find meaningful connections with others. In the bustle of the Christmas season, it’s not uncommon for people to experience stress, woes from unmet expectations and feelings of depression and isolation. The advertisements share that The United Methodist Church provides a way to hear a voice of positivity, and experience community and connection in a meaningful way this holiday season.
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Where and why to donate on Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday emerged in 2012 to encourage people all over the world to embrace generosity. As the movement has grown, an increasing number of nonprofits, including denominational agencies and local churches, have taken the occasion to promote special opportunities for giving. Ask The UMC has more on Giving Tuesday and suggestions for how United Methodists can make good decisions about entities they may want to support on Nov. 30.
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Invest in students on UM Student Day
The denomination has dedicated Nov. 28 as United Methodist Student Day, where we set aside time to honor and celebrate students in our congregation and around the world. With this special offering, we invest in their future. Build awareness and encourage generous support with the help of offering talks, sermon starters, liturgies, age-level resources and more.
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Church and Society announces 2021 winter webinar series
Climate & Community: A Faithful Action for Climate Justice will be held on Zoom December 6-9, 2021.
Register for each session below:
As a special offering, we invite you to gather with your family, friends, and fellow church members and watch a screening of “This Changes Everything,” a documentary film based on Naomi Klein’s book, “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate.” The documentary is available for three days (December 9-11, 2021), but requires a special viewing link, which is limited in numbers.
Please register to receive the special link and discussion guide on December 6, 2021.
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A Special Christmas Celebration with United Methodist Missionaries
You’re Invited to a very special #StillInMission Episode!
As 2021 draws to a close, United Methodist Missionaries want to celebrate the Advent season with you! Join us on December 9, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST for a virtual Christmas celebration with missionaries from everywhere to everywhere. During this event, we will join with missionaries in worship, praise, and reflection on holy scripture. We are grateful for the partnership of the United Methodist Missionary Association to bring this event to fruition.
We hope that you will join us for this special time.
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COVID sparks interest in BeADisciple courses
BeADisciple, an online Christian learning program that encourages small groups, was a rare business aided by the coronavirus pandemic. It has offered more than 2,000 courses since 2006 and taught close to 20,000 students. Its number of students and classes actually went up in 2020.
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Students raise awareness of missing girls
The Wesley Foundation at Howard University recently welcomed a group of students from Frostburg University in Maryland to hold an awareness campaign on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The trip included a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian. The idea for the trip was sparked by news reports about unmarked graves being discovered on the sites of former schools for Native children.
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23: Charge Conference - Douglas Community UMC
25: Thanksgiving - Office Closed
26: Office Closed
29: Charge Conference - UMC of Sitka
30: Charge Conference - First Anchorage UMC
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5: Charge Conference - Turnagain UMC
6: Charge Conference - First UMC Fairbanks
7: Charge Conference - Ola Toe Fuataina UM Samoan Fellowship
8: Charge Conference - Willow UMC
9: Charge Conference - Anchor Park UMC
13-15: GNW Cabinet meetings - Carlo and Lisa attending virtually
20-30: Carlo on vacation
24: Christmas Eve - Office Closed
25: Christmas Day
31: New Year's Eve - Office Closed
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Upcoming Clergy Birthdays
December 23 -
Christina DowlingSoka
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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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