A Call to Celebrate Alaska Conference Sunday by Responding to Wildfires
Dear Friends,
In last year’s Annual Conference session, we designated the second Sunday of September as Alaska Conference Sunday where we can highlight and celebrate our ministries and take a special offering to support these missions and ministries. That is this coming Sunday, September 13.
However, with the focus of our work shifted to respond to the twin pandemics of COVID 19 and Racism, we confess that we have not made any preparations on how to celebrate this special Sunday. In many ways, we also felt it inappropriate and insensitive to celebrate and ask for a special offering for our ministries while the whole world continues to struggle with COVID 19; while our Black and other siblings of color continue to be victims of systemic racism and now also while wildfires rage in communities of our siblings in the other three states in the Greater Northwest Area. Bishop Elaine Stanovsky wrote about the latter in her letter sent earlier today: https://greaternw.org/responding-to-wildfires-across-the-greater-northwest-area/
We echo Bishop Elaine’s call for prayer. We also echo her call to action through our gifts of financial resources. We invite you to celebrate Alaska Conference Sunday on any Sunday this month by taking a special offering and/or donating from your mission, discretionary or personal funds to support the disaster response work in the Oregon Idaho and the Pacific Northwest Conferences. Here's how:
Give, electronically, to the Oregon-Idaho Conference Disaster Fund
You can also give to the OR-ID Conference’s Disaster Fund (Fund #260) through your local church or by sending a check made out to the Oregon-Idaho Conference Treasurer with Conference Advance #260 on the memo line to:
Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference Center
c/o Conference Treasurer
1505 SW 18th Avenue
Portland, Oregon, 97201-2524
Give electronically to the PNW Conference's Disaster Fund
You can also give PNW Conference’s Disaster Fund (Advance #352) through your local church or by sending a check made out to the PNW Conference Treasurer with Conference Advance #352 on the memo line to:
Pacific Northwest Conference Office
c/o Conference Treasurer
P.O. Box 13650
Des Moines, WA 98198
What greater way to celebrate the Alaska Conference Sunday than in an act of spiritual and financial solidarity with our siblings in Oregon, Washington and Idaho!
Sincerely,
Jo Anne Hayden
Conference Lay Leader
Rev. Lisa Talbott
Leadership Team Chair
Rev. Carlo A. Rapanut
Conference Superintendent
