A weekly news update from The Alaska United Methodist Conference |
|
Church as Beloved Community
As we remembered the witness of Martin Luther King Jr. yesterday, Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky offered this pastoral letter, challenging us to consider the work we have ahead of us as a country, and as followers of Jesus Christ, when it comes to racial justice, equity, and inclusion.
|
|
Foundation grant opening
The First United Methodist Church Foundation is accepting applications for grants to be used as educational benefits, scholarships, out-reach to the community and the world, and capital projects of First United Methodist Church, Anchorage. Applications should be a concise request using the form provided by First United Methodist Church, Anchorage and can be found on the FUMC website at http://firstumcanchorage.org/ or at the church office. Submissions must be received by February 26, 2021 at the street address given below. Award recipients will be notified in March 2021.
FUMC Foundation - Grants
725 W 9th Ave
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-272-2112
|
|
Apportionment report
The final apportionement report for 2020 has been posted to the conference website. You can view it here. As a whole conference, we came in at paying 84.70% of our commitment. |
|
Birchwood Camp offers Day Camp for kids
We know that a lot of families are still facing the challenges of the unfamiliar school year. Birchwood Camp is offering Day Camp that will help support the needs of parents and kids.
Days are packed with fun games, music, crafts, hiking, ice skating, sledding, roasting marshmallows, nature exploration, and more. Children are given the opportunity to grow and thrive through these new experiences, all in a safe & fun environment.
Campers can connect to online school and receive homework help from our amazing staff. Campers bring their own lunches and laptops.
For campers in grades 1-12
Registration Fee: $30 per day
Date: starting January 12, 2021
Time: 9 am - 3 pm
HURRY! Enroll your kids now. You may register for a day or several days at a time.
|
|
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA Virtual Prayer Gathering
The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA invites us to join a Tuesday Vigil and Wednesday Twitter Thunderclap. Tonight's virtual prayer service, organized by Sojourner's, will begin at 7pm Eastern Standard Time. It will include people of faith across the country for a non-partisan ecumenical service. RSVP
Then, tomorrow (Inauguration Day) join the nationwide Twitter "thunderclap" starting at 9am EST. With tweets, testimonies, and commitments from pastors, priests and church leaders and members of congregations - we will be lifting our voices online with the hashtag #PeaceWithJustice. This twitter thunderclap will help to change and shape the narrative leading up to the inauguration ceremony at noon with calls for peace with justice in these difficult and turbulent times.
|
|
31 United Methodists serve in 117th Congress
A near-equal number of United Methodists serve on each side of the aisle in the 117th U.S. Congress, which faces the work of responding to a wounded nation and breached Capitol building. The newly started Congress has 31 United Methodists.
|
|
Bishops call for action in changing times
The upcoming commemoration of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Inauguration Day that follows offer some much-needed opportunities for reflection and rededication, writes Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey. The president of the Council of Bishops and her fellow bishops invite United Methodists to take seriously the call to follow Jesus during these challenging times.
|
|
Vanco now offers software for child care
Vanco, a digital-giving platform for churches, has acquired Smartcare, a provider of software specifically for child care centers. Vanco is part of the General Council on Finance and Administration's ministry partner program for churches.
|
|
Africa University vice chancellor Furusa dies at 59
Professor Munashe Furusa, Africa University's fourth vice chancellor, died suddenly Jan. 13 at a local hospital. He was 59. He is being remembered as an innovative educational leader.
|
|
Former megachurch pastor sentenced
Kirbyjon Caldwell, former pastor of Houston's Windsor Village United Methodist Church, was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $3.5 million investment scheme. Caldwell, who has made restitution of more than $4 million to victims of the scheme, apologized for his conduct during a Jan. 13 sentencing hearing in federal court.
|
|
2020: The year in UM News photos
The year 2020 was an eventful and difficult one for The United Methodist Church. Photographers from UM News, the denomination's official news service, documented a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.
|
|
'Light of Peace' book available in Korean
The National Council of Churches in Korea has published a Korean translation of “The Light of Peace: Churches in Solidarity With the Korean Peninsula,” a book the World Council of Churches fellowship is using to recognize 70 years of unresolved conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The translation is available online.
|
|
22: Leadership Team IDI Session 1
22: Leadership Team IDI Session 2
|
|
14: Valentine's Day
15: Presidents' Day
16-18: GNW Cabinet meeting - Carlo attending virtually
26: Leadership Team meeting
|
|
Upcoming Clergy Birthdays
February 19 -
Steve Fisher
|
|
|
Conference Office
907-333-5050
Superintendent Carlo
907-854-8340
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
