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e~Aurora (a weekly news update)
The Alaska United Methodist ConferenceJanuary 13, 2015
In This Issue
~Superintendent's Blog
~Conference Committee Meetings
~Diana Butler Bass
~Mission u Event
~Hospitality Volunteer Opportunity
~FUMC Anchorage Offers Grants
~Volunteer Opportunities
~Imagine No Malaria
~GBHEM Loans
~Chuck Knows Church
~Bishop Job Passes Away
~Methodist History Journal
~UMM
~Launch Your Leadership


ACS Print  

20/20 Vision:
Leading to God's New Horizons


 

Upcoming  Clergy
 Birthdays!   

January 18 -
Karen Dammann





Contact Information

 

Supt. Carlo Rapanut 
cell 907-854-8340  





Ministry Quicklinks




Join Our Mailing List





2014 Conference Journal
 
 
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.


Reflections of a Running Reverend
My blog for this week is: Controlled Falling.

To catch-up on previous blog posts you may have missed, click here.


Have a great week!
Conference Committee Meetings
The Conference Winter Rendezvous meetings are quickly approaching and will be held around the Diana Butler Bass Learning Event.  The registration has been sent out to the individuals but can also be found here.  You have until this THURSDAY to get your registrations in on time.  The meetings will be held at St. John UMC January 30 and 31.

We are looking for homes for some of our committee members to stay.  If you are able to host, please contact the conference office at umc@gci.net or 333-5050.  Thank you!
Diana Butler Bass 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.  You can visit her website for more information about her.  If you are attending, we encourage you to register ASAP. This will greatly help in our planning the logistics (i.e. materials, space requirements, etc.)
Mission u Event Registration
The Alaska United Methodist Women are hosting their annual Mission u Events soon!  The first event is in the Anchorage area and will be held February 6-7 at Hope Community Resources.  The three featured courses are Spiritual Growth: How is it With Your Soul?, Social Justice Understanding: The Church and People with Disabilities, and the Youth Study: Making a New Picture Together - Welcoming Persons with Disabilities Into Our Lives.  Download the informational brochure and post a poster in your churches for advertisement.  You can register online now at  http://ttclms.org/class_detail.php?z_classid=105681.  Registration deadline is January 26th.  Don't miss out on these greatly anticipated events!  You can view the Mission u blog at http://aumwmissionu.blogspot.com/.  The other events across the state will be: February 20-21 in Juneau at the Tlingit-Haida Voc-Training Resource Center, and March 27-28 in Kenai at the Dena'ina Wellness Center.
Hospitality Volunteer Opportunity

Each summer Ketchikan First United Methodist Church offers a ministry of hospitality by operating a hostel in its building.  Volunteer managers are needed from May 31 to June 15 and from June 15 to August 31.  Housing and a daily stipend of $40/day are provided.  The hostel is closed from 9:00 am to 5:00 p.m. allowing the managers an opportunity to explore and enjoy Ketchikan and the island.  You may visit the hostel website at www.ketchikanhostel.com.  For more information please contact Judy Shoup at 1jashoup@kpunet.net or call the United Methodist Church at 907-225-3780.

First UMC-Anchorage Offering Grants

The First United Methodist Church Foundation is accepting applications for 2015 grants to be used as educational benefits, scholarships, out-reach to the community and the world. Applications should be a concise request that includes the following: Requesting Organization or Person, Contact Name, Contact e-mail, Contact physical/mailing address, Type of grant requested (scholarship, capital improvement, out-reach, education) and Description of how the funds will be used in 2015 that is no more than 250 words. Submissions must be received by February 13, 2015 at the address below. Awards will be posted in March 2015. Those receiving grant awards will be required to submit a report how the funds were used, with documentation, by December 1, 2015.   Send your request to:

FUMC Foundation - Grants

725 W 9th Ave

Anchorage, AK 99501
UMVIM Individual Volunteer Opportunities

Perhaps you have been on a short-term mission experience which had such an impact on you that you want to do more. Perhaps you are looking for a way to put your faith in action through service. The Individual Volunteer Program sponsored by Global Ministries can help you fulfill both of those needs and more. The program offers opportunities for individuals and couples to serve in mission from two months to two years in a variety of placement settings around the world. The opportunities for service are diverse, including such volunteer positions as case managers for refugees, teachers, pastors, camp directors, and children and youth assistants.

 

To learn more about these placements and other details of the program, please visit www.individualvolunteers.info. If you are being called to this important and vital ministry, please contact Malcolm Frazier at mfrazier@umcmission.org or call 212 870-3659.

 

The next training and orientation session will be at the Colby Retreat Center in Palmdale, California February 25-29, 2015. Space is limited so please apply now.
Imagine No Malaria

Julia Frisbie reports on the wonderful things happening for Imagine No Malaria.  You can read her article here about how St. John UMC has gone beyond their original goal for fundraising!

 

There are also Lenten resources for you to use to continue your fundraising.  You can view them here.  

 

Read the World Malaria Report for 2014 here.

GBHEM Loan Applications Available

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry opened applications for spring and summer loans on December 11, 2014 and will accept loan applications until May 5, 2015. The spring and summer loans are for school enrollment between January 1, 2015 and May 31, 2015. Applications are available at www.gbhem.org/loanapplication.

 

The GBHEM board has recently voted to expand the eligibility criteria which will enable Dreamer students to apply for a loan or scholarship from GBHEM under the current Domestic Applicant guidelines. Dreamers are young adults who were unauthorized immigrants brought into the country as children.  

 

They are adjusting the online application questions regarding citizenship status so that they are able to identify the Dreamers who apply this year.  The scholarship application opened on January 5 at www.gbhem.org/scholarshipapplication.

Chuck Knows Church Chuck Knows Church Launches New Show

Chuck Knows Church is expanding to a new series, and this time Chuck is on a church committee!

 

The Committee, a humorous and thought provoking online series produced by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, premiered Jan. 12. In it, the fictitious Park Grove Community Church has lost its way, lost its pastor and is closing its doors ... unless despite itself, it finds a new way of doing church with the help of Chuck. Can it become a vital congregation again?

 

With 4,000 churches closing their doors each year, the questions are important ones. Should an underperforming church shut its doors or reinvent itself? However, all congregations will find the subjects addressed in the series relevant for their ministries.

 

The Committee examines the struggles congregations face as they look toward a preferred future and uses real world topics to hopefully stimulate discussions in local churches.

 

Designed for both individual viewing and group study, each free episode also has a free downloadable study guide.  Learn more and watch the official movie trailer at  www.chuckknowschurch.com.

 

The original Chuck Knows Church series will continue, in addition to The Committee.

Bishop Ruben P. Job
February 7, 1928 - January 3, 2015
Retired Bishop Rueben P. Job died at his home surrounded by family on Jan. 3.  He leaves a legacy of more than 20 books including, "Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living."  Read more about Bishop Job on the UMC Website.

Archives & History Methodist History Journal

The October 2014 issue of Methodist History is available to view for free on the General Commission website www.gcah.org by clicking on "Research" or "UMC History" and then click on "Methodist History Journal."

 

Contents for this issue include:  [1] Methodist Abroad: Matthew Simpson and the Emergence of American Methodism as a World Church; [2] Renewal, Reunion, and Revival: Three British Methodist Approaches to "Serving the Present Age" in the 1950s; [3] "A Very Singular Man": Rev. Moses Dissinger of the Evangelical Association; along with miscellaneous comments from the editor.

 

Larry Hayden, Chair

AUMC Commission on Archives and History
UMM UMM Assist Prison Ministry & National Program for Hunger Relief

At their December meeting the St. John United Methodist Men made two small mission gifts to assist prison ministry and hunger relief.

 

The men made a gift to assist the transportation costs of prison-visitor volunteer, Paul Williams, Pres. of the Willow UMC United Methodist Men. Paul has been involved in weekend retreats at the Wildwood Correctional Facility for the past several years. Volunteers work with individuals on a "one-on-one" basis and join in Bible study, prayer and guided conversation to help the men in their spiritual journey and to sort out the tough decisions they will make on their release.

 

The Saint John Men also made a gift to the Society of St. Andrew (SSA), the official hunger emphasis of United Methodist Men.  SSA organizes UMM groups for field "gleaning" projects and helps distribute surplus potatoes and produce to Food Banks in a number of locations

and works closely with Meals For Millions.

 

It was announced that the annual UMM retreat for men of South Central Alaska will be held at the Hope Retreat Center on Saturday, April 18th. John Campbell will the retreat leader and resource person.

GBOD Launch Your Leadership!

New and returning church leaders can learn their responsibilities and plan the focus for 2015 with these webinars from GBOD:

JAN 13 - Church Council

JAN 15 - SPRC Overview of a year of leadership

JAN 20 - Nominations Committee Develops Leaders

JAN 22 - Trustees Manage for Ministry

REGISTER AT www.gbod.org/webinars

All webinars will be recorded and archived at www.gbod.org.

Upcoming Events

January
     15-17: Carlo in Seattle for Western Jurisdiction meetings
     18: Jewel Lake Parish Church Conference
     18: Anchor Park UMC Church Conference
     19: Office Closed - Martin Luther King Jr's Day
     23-25: United Methodist Women Midwinter Meeting @ Birchwood Camp
     25: Willow UMC Church Conference
     30-31: Winter Meetings and Diana Butler Bass Leadership Event

February
     1-4: Carlo at ADCM Meetings in Nashville
     8: Homer UMC Church Conference

March
     2-4: GNW Younger Clergy Gathering - Carlo attending
     4-5: Carlo in Seattle for Cabinet Meeting
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