News from the Alaska United Methodist Conference

e~Aurora

A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference

Conference News

Birchwood Camp

Final payments due by January 6

A reminder to all church Treasurers that all apportionment payments, insurance payments, and pension payments need to be sent to the Treasurer's Office by January 6th to be counted for 2023. Please send a photo of the check by email to Brant if you are mailing on the 5th or 6th.

If you have any questions or need to give an update on your churches status, please contact the Treasurer, Brant Henshaw, directly.

Methodist History

The most recent edition of the academic publication "Methodist History" has been placed in the conference resource room for checkout.

Articles include:

Teaching a Denomination to be Wesleyan: The Quadrilateral as a Tool of Education and Ecumenism;
An "Insolent" Letter;
The United Methodist Church's Complicated History with Slavery and Racism;
Wesley and Heffner: Reclaiming the Playboyism of Early Methodism;
and 3 book reviews.

Enjoy.

National News

'The Chosen' (TV show) and Discipleship

The Chosen is a multi-season show about Jesus that is not cheesy, boring, preachy, or irrelevant.

Unique in terms of funding, production, and distribution, The Chosen has broken numerous records during its first three seasons (including outselling multiple Hollywood films at the box office when it premiered key episodes at cinemas).

Most surprisingly, in an increasingly secular society, The Chosen is inspiring millennials and Gen Z to view the Bible in a new light.

Read More!

GBHEM Scholarship application open

The GBHEM Office of Scholarships is pleased to announce they have begun accepting applications for their general scholarship program. If you’re an active member of The United Methodist Church and you’re seeking financial assistance to help pay for your education, they encourage you to apply!

Each year, they award an average of $5.5 million to help students in the United States and abroad pursue their dreams through higher education.

Their Scholarships Department administers over 70 scholarship programs with one general application. Students are permitted to submit one application per year where it will be screened for all possible eligible programs.

Scholarship programs are divided into three categories:

The deadline to complete the application is March 13, 2024. Please email umscholar@gbhem.org for more information.

Learn More

Conference Calendar

30: Charge Conference - North Star & Kenai UMC's

1: New Years Day - Office Closed

5: Equity Cohort - Christina attending

5-11: DCM retreat and Equity Cohort - Lisa attending

9-11: GNW Cabinet Meeting

15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Office Closed

21: Charge Conference - Kunéix Hídi Northern Light United Church

23-25: GNW Cabinet Meeting

Upcoming Birthdays

January 3 - Relena Lyddon Meyers

January 4 - David Owsley

January 5 - Janice Carlton

January 13 - Meghan Woods

January 17 - Kris-Ann Wilcox

The United Methodist Church

Conference Office

907-333-5050

Superintendent - Christina DowlingSoka

dwlngsk@yahoo.com

Director of Connectional Ministries - Lisa Talbott

lisamarietalbott@gmail.com

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.

Submit news articles here!

Values Statement

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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