The Conference Journal is posted on our website and you can access it anytime you would like. Download it onto your computer desktop for easy research.

Conference Journal

Reflections of a Running Reverend

My blog for this week is: Immigrants and the Table of Thanksgiving. If you have ever missed a week, you can read my previous blogs here.

GivingTuesday, December 2
GivingTuesday is 1 week away!!! The Alaska United Methodist Conference is a missionary conference so there are several projects within our state that count on donor dollars to fund some of their work. You can find a listing of our Missionaries and local projects with Advance numbers here. Along with those projects is our Missional Priority - Imagine No Malaria. Read Julia Frisbie's latest blog post here. You can donate to this cause as well and even indicate your church in your donation so that your dollar amount donated can be added to your church's goal. It really is a win/win situation! You can download the directions on how to donate here.

Every gift made online through The Advance this year on December 2 will be matched up to $1 million (*see website for stipulations).

UMC #GivingTuesday offers an opportunity to start off the holiday season by giving instead of getting, through supporting organizations and missionaries that have been researched and approved by Global Ministries. And 100 percent of all gifts made through The Advance are given directly to the designated project.

World AIDS Day - December 1, 2014 (or Sunday, November 30)

World AIDS Day, observed each year on December 1, provides an opportunity for people around the world to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS and to show their compassion and support to those living with the disease.

World AIDS Day is one of the UMC's Special Offering Sundays providing a great way for our churches here in the Alaska Conference to help raise funds for the UMC's next great priority: eradicating HIV by 2020. The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund invites you to participate in the Just Save One initiative. 75% of the funds for the Global AIDS Fund will be used for projects to educate, prevent, and treat HIV/AIDS all over the world. 25% of the funds we raise stays in the Alaska Conference to be used for HIV/AIDS ministries!

Let people know how to donate! There are a few ways to give:

1. Drop a check made payable to UMCOR in your church offering plate and indicate Advance #982345 on the memo line. Doing it this way will assure that the Alaska Conference receives 25% of your donation.

2. Mail your contribution to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087.

3. Go to Give To Mission and type #982345 to access the UM Global AIDS Fund giving page.

Congratulations!

We are pleased to announced that Rev. Karen Dammann, pastor at East Anchorage UMC, is now the Chaplain at Alaska Pacific University.

It is also with great pleasure that we announce that Jo Anne Hayden will be the Conference Assistant Lay Leader. She will work alongside Conference Lay Leader Lonnie Brooks.

Baby News
Nora Jozan Thuya arrived Sunday, November 16. She is the very beautiful granddaughter of Pastor Janice Carlton.

Diana Butler Bass Rescheduled for 2015
Diana Butler Bass will be in Alaska January 30-31, 2015. Her learning event will be held at St. John UMC and the FREE public lecture will be held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Here is the information sheet and registration form. Stay tuned for more details in the weeks to come. You can visit her website for more information about her.

United Methodist Women

The "Save the Date" flyer is out and ready for posting on your church's bulletin board. Make sure you don't miss out on the event happening in your area!

The latest newsletter is available for download as well. To read about the latest events going on with Alaska United Methodist Women, read the newsletter here.

Finally, the executive board of United Methodist Women of Alaska is accepting applications for Mission u Study Leaders for 2015-2016. Please find attached, in WORD and PDF, a summary of the courses to be facilitated throughout the Alaska Conference. Information and an application is included. Please note the deadline for applications is December 15, 2014. You may contact Bonnie Miller at bonitajane@yahoo.com or 907-776-8555 or 907-440-1636 with any questions.

Bonnie has started a Blog in which news about Alaska Mission u will be posted periodically. You can see it at http://aumwmissionu.blogspot.com/.

Grants Available to Spark Creative Vital Congregation Growth

Grants totaling $200,000 are now available from Discipleship Ministries to encourage local churches, annual conferences and central conferences to experiment with innovative and creative approaches to growing vital congregations.

The grants seek to spur quantifiable growth in worship attendance, professions of faith, small groups, mission engagement and missional giving.

The experimental funds are being offered to help any local church, annual conference or central conference develop new projects or events to inspire vital congregation growth.

To obtain a grant application, contact Jeffrey Campbell, Director of Annual Conference Relationships at Discipleship Ministries, at jcampbell@gbod.org.

The grant application deadline is Jan. 30, 2015.

Upcoming Events

November
27: Thanksgiving - Office Closed
30: Christ First UMC Church Conference

December

     1: World AIDS Day
     2: #GivingTuesday
     2: St. John UMC Church Conference
     7: First UMC, Fairbanks Church Conference
     13: Homer UMC Church Conference
     14: Anchorage Korean UMC Church Conference
     15-17: Carlo in Seattle for Greater Northwest Cabinet Meeting
     24: Office Closed half day - Christmas Eve
     25: Office Closed - Christmas Day
     26-Jan 4: Carlo on vacation
     31: Office Closed half day - New Year's Eve

January

     1: Office Closed - New Year's Day
     7: UMC of Sitka Church Conference
     8: First UMC, Ketchikan Church Conference
     10: Aldersgate UMC Church Conference
     10: Douglas Community UMC Church Conference
     11: Northern Light United Church Conference
     13-18: Carlo in Seattle at meetings
     18: Anchor Park UMC Church Conference
     21-23: Carlo in Portland for Greater NW Cabinet Retreat
     23-25: United Methodist Women Midwinter Meeting @ Birchwood Camp
     25: Willow UMC Church Conference
     29-31: Winter Meetings and Diana Butler Bass Leadership Event

Submissions

If you have an article or event that you would like the rest of the conference to know about and participate in, feel free to submit them to me each week by Monday evening. I ask that you type up what you want included and let me know how many weeks you want it published for. Thank you!

Contact Info

Crystal Feaster

Administrative Assistant

907-333-5050 phone

907-333-2304 fax

www.alaskaumc.org

umc@gci.net