A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference |
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Mission u 2022
Great news— COMMUNITY is God’s desire for us! Please join us at Mission u 2022 as we reflect on the community that Jesus is calling us to be!
This year, as we study Luke 13, we find ourselves in a period of disruption and uncertainty. In the midst of a devastating pandemic, divisive political climate, unaddressed systemic racism, ecological crises and economic turmoil, we turn to the stories of Jesus that have anchored Christian communities for two millennia.
Our hope is that we will leave Mission u with a bigger and broader vision of the community Christ is calling us to be in times of loss, grief and massive disruption. What would be possible if we tend to the needs of our communities in small yet radical ways, as Jesus did in Luke 13?
Join us September 6, 8, 13, and 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Each session will cover two chapters of the study book.
Who Can We Be Together? is the book and it can be found at the e-store.
Register here. Deadline is September 1st. Zoom links will be sent to registered participants.
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United Women in Faith Annual Gathering
"Finding Joy in Faith and Action: Changing the World from Where We Are" is our theme for the hybrid meeting (live and zoom) at St. John UMC in Anchorage on September 30 - October 2.
Our very own retired Deaconess Fran Lynch will be doing a 2-part Bible Study.
Our scripture focus is Romans 15:4-6 and James 2: 14-17. While we would love to have everyone physically present, we are offering ZOOM as well. Masks are encouraged and we will make every attempt to provide safe space for us all.
Showered in Grace is a mobile shower trailer which is used to offer showers to the homeless in and around the Anchorage area. They will be the recipient of the tangible giving with supplies such as soap, shampoo, etc. There will also be a silent auction and an online auction with proceeds going to AK Child and Family and Nome Community Center.
Hoping to see you in September where we can spend time to get acquainted, get revived, educated, inspired and sent home with joy to change the world.
Susie Smalley, AUWF Vice President
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Nome Mission Trip (Sept. 18-24) -- Looking for 2-3 more team members
Pastor Jim Doepken (UMC of Chugiak) and three members from a July trip are headed back to Nome Community UMC to install more vinyl flooring and are looking for 2-3 more team members. No experience necessary but good knees are a requirement. This is a great way to learn about Nome and see future work that your church could do there.
Our work: installing underlayment and vinyl flooring in the parsonage.
Our accommodations: Multiple rooms at the church available for sleeping. We will share kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Skills needed: None really. But experience with table and circular saws would be helpful and flooring experience would be awesome.
Travel arrangements: Once confirmed you are joining the team, you would make your own arrangements to get to Nome the afternoon of Sunday September 18th and leave Nome on the evening/later flight on Saturday, September 24th. Your home churches may be willing to help with airline miles to get you there.
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2023 Mission season requests
The 2023 mission season is approaching, and I pray it will be a blessed and busy one. Alaska VIM Coordinator, Don Olson, would like Alaska churches, camps, and any other Alaska ministries to please contact him if you would like to host a mission team for a mission project (repairs, community service, VBS, etc.). Contact him or the conference office to get three Host Church information forms that will need to be filled out and then given to Don. It is information that will be provided to the incoming mission church, with the details of the project’s needs, skill levels required, your ability to house the missioners, and local attractions. Don will then have the information on hand if mission teams ask about missioning in Alaska. Completed forms need to be completed and sent to Don by 15 October as mission churches need time to organize and raise funds. When he has the forms from both Host and Mission churches, he will exchange the information and allow the churches to work out the details. Blessings to all. Stay safe.
Don Olson
olsondon44@yahoo.com
907-770-0792
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Save the Date!
The Alaska Professional Church Workers' Fall Retreat will be October 7, 8, 9. In order to be as inclusive as possible of all our siblings in professional ministry, particularly those who are bivocational, these dates are a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you are outside of the Anchorage area, please plan on traveling the 6th and 10th so you don't miss any of the activities. Anchorage area clergy, you should also plan on taking that Sunday morning off as there will be other worship activities planned. More information about the theme and agenda will follow. Please direct questions to Lisa Talbott.
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Youth Retreat
St. John UMC is hosting a youth retreat and area churches are invited to join from September 3-4, 2022!
Our theme is Balance and Rhythm – we’ll talk about how will we find balance and rhythm this year and what does that look for you?
Overnight Youth - $40
Day only 5th-12th - $25
Registration closes Aug. 17th
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Abundant Health ministries to host virtual training
Abundant Health ministries will be hosting a virtual event on Tues., Aug. 23, from 6-7 p.m. PT on the topic ‘Nutrition and Healthy Eating on a Budget.” The presenter will be Siew Guan Lee, MS, RD, who is an extension educator in family & consumer sciences for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho Extension in Twin Falls County.
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Certified Lay Servant classes offered
Rev. Andy Bartel will be offering the Certified Lay Ministry BASIC and PREACHING courses again this fall on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m., both in-person in Anchorage and via Zoom.
The Basic class will run Sept 14, 21, 28, Oct 5, and 12. The Preaching class will run Oct 19, 26, Nov 2, 9, 16. Space is limited, and is open to all Alaska United Methodists.
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Kentucky churches care for neighbors hit by floods
After record flooding in Eastern Kentucky, United Methodist volunteers are serving as God's "hands and feet." Bishop Leonard Fairley, episcopal leader of the Kentucky Conference, visited portions of the flood-damaged area to offer prayers and thank people for their help.
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Some large Texas churches vote on disaffiliation
Texas has long been a stronghold of The United Methodist Church in the U.S., but this summer has seen many traditionalist congregations in the state weighing whether to leave the denomination. The Woodlands Methodist Church, one of the denomination's largest, voted Aug. 7 to disaffiliate.
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Laity leadership revitalizes young adult ministry
Instead of relying on a pastor to oversee its young adult ministry, First Korean United Methodist Church entrusted it to a devoted and committed volunteer layperson with a calling and vision. The once-struggling program now has 50 to 60 young adults worshipping together every Sunday.
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Church helps transform troubled community
For more than a year, the Rev. Susan Manyange of Seke East United Methodist Church has been leading a worship service in a neighborhood where women often work as commercial sex workers, and alcoholism and substance abuse are rampant. The church’s outreach has inspired some residents to make changes and deepen their faith.
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Bishops address misinformation
Bishops are addressing misinformation they say is being spread about the future United Methodist Church as some congregations are considering leaving the denomination. In a letter to the North Texas Conference, Bishop Michael McKee makes clear that United Methodists are not altering their foundational doctrines. Bishop Kenneth Carter provided a resource to the Western North Carolina Conference about addressing misinformation.
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Disaster response church established
A church plant specializing in disaster response is up and running in Panama City, Fla. Abide Community Church studies the Bible and prays together like other United Methodist churches but also has a case manager, construction coordinator and operations director striving to be prepared to respond to disasters.
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Register now! Facing the Future virtual conference
Registration is now open for this one-day virtual event for clergy serving in cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry settings. The conference takes place on Wednesday, November 16th but the price increases September 1st, so register today!
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Grants available to help strengthen the ethnic local church
Discipleship Ministries is pleased to offer the Racial Ethnic Local Church Concerns (RELCC) Grant, which provides funding to support the ethnic local church through leadership training, small groups, worship, stewardship, and spiritual formation as it engages in developing disciple-making systems inside the church walls and in the community.
Two grants per jurisdiction, of up to $10,000 each, are available. Please click the link below to see eligibility criteria and apply.
Priority will be given to new programs/ministries that move churches to places where disciples are formed, grow, and make new disciples of Jesus Christ who will transform the world.
Applications are due September 10, 2022
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Caring for the dying and grieving
United Methodists experience and express Jesus' promise of abundant life in the face of death and grief. The church's Social Principles remind the faithful: "Even when one accepts the inevitability of death, the Church and society must continue to provide faithful care, including pain relief, companionship, support and spiritual nurture for the dying person in the hard work of preparing for death." Ask The UMC has more on end-of-life care and grief in its Valuing Life series.
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Adaptive VBS welcomes autistic children
When Rachel Casper's now 11-year-old son was a baby, she was asked not to bring him back to her church's nursery because he was "too much to handle." That was in another state and before he was diagnosed with autism, but it's something she's never forgotten. It ultimately inspired her to create a specialized vacation Bible school for kids on the spectrum.
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16: Primary & Special General Election Day
16-19: GNW Cabinet Retreat - Christina & Lisa attending
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5: Labor Day - Office Closed |
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Upcoming Clergy Birthdays
September 4 - Ken Hagler
September 11 - Emily Carroll
September 17 - Autumn Krueger
September 28 - Darla Bradley
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Conference Office
907-333-5050
Superintendent - Christina DowlingSoka
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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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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