A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference | |
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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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Administrative Assistant/ Bookkeeper position open again at Anchor Park UMC
Anchor Park is looking again for the right person to fill their Administrative Assistant/ Bookkeeper, part-time position of support. The person who had filled the position resigned due to health issues. If you or someone you know might be interested in learning more about this position, please contact Pastor Ken Hagler at 907-277- 0152 or Jo Anne Hayden at 907-903-5025. Please help us share this opportunity with those who might possess the needed skills to be a match for us. Thanks for helping spread the word!
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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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Northwest Leadership Institute
Let’s gather at the Northwest Leadership Institute in April in Boise, Idaho to worship, dream and strategize the church on the other side. In the midst of quiet quitting, denominational splintering, and generations deconstructing their faith, it’s time to dream about the opportunities of the church on the other side.
Pastor Andy and at least 8 people from St. John UMC plan to attend this event. Are there more Alaskans who would like to join? If so, there is a specific Alaska discount! Use the code ALASKA for a reduced registration of $99.
Find out more information and register here.
Speak to Pastor Andy if you would like to join their group.
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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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Bishop Cedrick offers words of encouragement, engagement opportunity with GNW area
Now in his second month as the episcopal leader for the Greater Northwest Area, Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth has a couple of different messages to offer you in this week’s newsletter.
Last week launched the Ask Bishop Cedrick (ABC) Series! As he gets to know the Greater Northwest Area and we get to know him, Bishop Cedrick wants to hear your questions and offer answers the best he can! Curious about his call to ministry? Want to know what his favorite sport is? Eager to find out about his vision for the GNW Area? Connect with your Conference communicator to submit a question that the Bishop could potentially answer! Check out this week’s video where he responds to Rev. DJ del Rosario’s question about joy!
Additionally, Bishop Cedrick reflects on Black History Month and what it has always meant to him. He offers encouragement for people and churches to more fully engage in understanding the contributions people of color have made – and will continue to make – to our collective work. You can watch the video or use this link to download the message and share it in worship if you’d like.
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New legal ministry helps low-income people
Sixty-eight people have received attorney help with their legal issues since a new ministry started almost a year ago at Cokesbury United Methodist Church. Knoxville Legal Ministry is designed to help people with child support, child custody, debt, immigration, eviction, wills and other legal challenges that might require an expensive lawyer.
Read the story
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Lent begins on Wednesday
This week we celebrate Ash Wednesday, the start of a 40-day journey of reflection. Learn why many United Methodists mark the day with ashes.
Watch the video
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Remembering powerful Black Methodist preacher Harry Hosier
Thomas Coke, one of American Methodism's first two bishops, described Harry Hosier as "one of the best preachers in the world." The historical record includes some "ear-witness" testimony to Hosier's influence.
Read the story
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Campus shooting shatters community
"Ash Wednesday has come early," said Michigan Conference Bishop David Bard at a prayer vigil less than 24 hours after a mass shooting at Michigan State University shook the state. Donning a Michigan State University Spartan tie, Bard stood in solidarity with those gathered and pointed to the ritual of marking foreheads with ashes in the shape of the cross that many Christians, including United Methodists, will participate this Wednesday as the Lenten season begins.
Read the story
Watch video of Bard’s message
Conference plans gun control advocacy day
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The Church Audit: It's easier than you think!
Every congregation needs to do a church audit, but it doesn’t have to be a big expense or an overwhelming obstacle.
Join Ken Sloane Tuesday, March 14 for a free webinar where you will explore the tools that can make the process easier than you thought.
Learn More & Register!
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Fundraising ideas for YOUTH 2023
Youth 2023 is only 5 months away! There is still time to register for this amazing and impactful event! To help make this wonderful investment happen, we wanted to share some ideas on how to raise money to cover some of the costs.
Learn More!
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Disaffiliation shouldn't result in lost history
Church archivists worry that congregations disaffiliating from The United Methodist Church will fail to make arrangements to preserve the papers that tell their story. The key to preserving records is to reach out to the conference archivist, said Ashley Boggan, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
Read the story
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Both sides win Super Bowl food challenge
Super Bowl LVII may have been a hard-fought contest between Kansas City and Philadelphia, but United Methodists in both of those areas collaborated in a different, friendlier competition: collecting food for donation. The Kansas City side — the Great Plains and Missouri conferences — totaled 105,367 pounds. Eagles backers in the Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey conferences collected 74,044 pounds of food.
Read the Great Plains story
Read the Eastern Pennsylvania story
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Hunger for God on display at revival
The revival at Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary has drawn considerable media coverage and large crowds, with United Methodists among those waiting in line to be part of worship services. Alan Wild's on-the-scene account includes comments from a United Methodist pastor who said the revival shows "people are hungry and thirsty for God." The school announced that on-campus public services would end on Feb. 20. But there will be additional services through Feb. 23 for high schoolers and young adults up to age 25. Revival services open to all are expected to shift to other locations in Central Kentucky.
Read the Kentucky Conference article
Read the schedule update from Asbury University
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Amid budget woes, church sees slight rise in giving
Overall giving to support The United Methodist Church's denomination-wide ministries saw a small uptick in 2022 even in a time of rising church disaffiliations. However, worries remain — especially about the funding for bishops.
Read the story
Read the press release
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Online divinity degrees approved
Divinity master degrees earned exclusively online have been approved by the University Senate for the 13 United Methodist seminaries and Asbury Theological Seminary. The University Senate reviews the educational institutions for "institutional integrity, well-structured programs, sound management and clearly defined church relationships." The policy change is effective immediately.
Read the press release
List of 13 United Methodist seminaries
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Agency adds exec for mission engagement
A strategist tasked with broadening the missional engagement of United Methodist Global Ministries has been hired. The Rev. Deanna Stickley-Miner has been a board member of the agency for more than 10 years and leaves a position as director of mission and justice in the West Ohio Conference. Stickley-Miner said she will bring an open, collaborative leadership style to her new role.
Read the press release
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22: Ash Wednesday
23: Mission District Task Force meeting
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1: Women's History Month
2: Leadership Team meeting
9: Mission District Task Force meeting
12: Daylight Saving Time starts
17: St. Patrick's Day
18: Area Wide Lay Leadership Training
19: Ola Toe Fuataina UM Samoan Fellowship Chartering service
23: 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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