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

Bishop's Blog
Bishop Hagiya has written a new blog for December. He talks about slowing down and simply being. He says, "We must stop and listen for God, as we will otherwise crowd God out of our lives where the pace does not allow for such moments of grandeur." You can read it here.

Reflections of a Running Reverend

My blog for this week is: Bridging the Disconnect. If you have ever missed a week, you can read my previous blogs here.

GivingTuesday
On December 2nd more than $2.5 million was donated to over 770 projects around the world! Congratulations!!! You can read the official press release here. Next week we should learn how much our Alaskan projects and missionaries received.

Apportionment Report
The November 2014 apportionment report is complete and posted on the conference website. This is the last month to get your apportionments in! You can view the report here.

Winter Youth Break-Away at Birchwood Camp: December 27-30, 2014

Register now for this exciting winter camp for students in grades 6-12. Enjoy four days full of sledding, friends, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, delicious food, broom ball, worship, games, snow shelter building, crafts, a sweat-prayer experience in our sweat lodge, ice skating, and much more! Registration & more information is available online at http://birchwoodcamp.org/camps/; register before December 17 or pay a $20 late fee. Questions? Contact Birchwood Camp: 907-688-2734.

Diana Butler Bass Learning Event
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.

Annual Youth Mission Immersion Registration Open

The annual P.L.U.M.E. Youth Mission Immersion weekend is coming up Friday-Saturday, January 16-17, 2015. It's open to youth 7-12th grade. They will gather on Friday evening and serve all day Saturday. This year, they are going to end after dinner on Saturday night. Information and Registration can be found at www.plumeyouthak.com. Any youth from across the state can attend!

AK Child & Family Christmas Wish List

The children at AK Child & Family have created their wish lists. They need your help to make their wishes come true. By sponsoring, donating or contributing (whether your money or your time) you can do just that. Sadly, the holiday season can be a terribly stressful time for the youth in their care, especially if they are away from their family for the first time. See how you can help with these children's wishlist at www.akchild.org.

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 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/.

2015 United Methodist Special Sundays

The United Methodist Church has 6 special Sundays they use to raise money for specific causes throughout the year. Here they are:

Human Relations Day Sunday - January 18

Donate

Learn more

One Great Hour of Sharing Sunday - March 15

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Native American Ministries Sunday - April 19

Donate

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Peace With Justice Sunday - May 15

Donate

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World Communion Sunday - October 4

Donate

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United Methodist Student Day Sunday - November 29

Donate

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Upcoming Events

December

     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 for Western Jurisdiction meetings
     18: Jewel Lake Parish Church Conference
     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