There will be a rummage sale and bake sale at First United Methodist Church, Anchorage on Saturday, May 9th from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Half of the proceeds from the sales will be sent to the Nome Community Center.  They are accepting donations of household items and clothes from infants to adults.  No beds, couches, or heavy items please.  Please contact 272-2112 for more information. 

Annual Conference will be held at St. John UMC in Anchorage on June 5th & 6th with workshops on June 4th.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

The registration process is now open.  You can register and pay online through this link.  If you would like to download a paper copy, you can do it here.  The early bird rate is nearing its end so make sure you take advantage of it by April 30th. 

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

There will be a day of workshops on June 4th.  You can find a list of the workshops and their descriptions here. One of the workshops has been moved from the morning to the afternoon.  The links and forms have been updated to reflect this change.  You can sign up for these workshops when you register to attend Annual Conference.  If you decide to change your workshop after you have already registered, please contact the conference office to change it.  If you do not plan on attending Annual Conference but want to participate in one of the workshops, you can fill out this form.  

FORMS

Churches can submit their names for the memorial service on this form.  If you are part of an organization that would like to reserve a table for a display, fill out this form.

Meeting in Portland, Oregon last week for their final meeting before General Conference 2016, the Commission on the General Conference voted to take the quadrennial legislative gathering out of the U.S. for the first time in 2024 - and again in 2028.

Manila, Philippines was chosen as the site for the 2024 General Conference. The Commission also voted to hold the 2028 conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Judi Kenaston, chairperson of the Commission on the General Conference, said that the Commission has been considering holding the assembly outside the U.S. for some time. Bishop Rodolfo Alfonso Juan of the Manila Episcopal Area and Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area both extended invitations for the General Conference to meet in their respective areas, an important consideration in choosing those areas.

"The Commission wanted to set these locations now to allow plenty of time for all involved to make the necessary preparations," said Kenaston.

"Meeting outside the U.S. is an important statement to say that we're a worldwide denomination," said Sara Hotchkiss, business manager of the General Conference. "The enthusiasm and hospitality in the two host countries has been remarkable."

The people of The United Methodist Church made a historic donation to the Global Fund with a gift of $9.6 million, the single largest contribution made by a faith organization to the Geneva-based institution. United Methodists throughout the world contributed to the Imagine No Malaria initiative through donations and grassroots fundraising efforts, ranging from pancake breakfasts to 5K runs to lemonade stands.

"It is on behalf of and with much appreciation to the people of The United Methodist Church that we make this gift," said Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, who leads the church's Imagine No Malaria campaign. "Today we celebrate, with our partner the Global Fund, the work we are doing to end preventable deaths from malaria on the continent of Africa.  Our work is making a difference."

The contribution makes The United Methodist Church one of the most significant non-government contributors to the Global Fund. The money will be used to purchase and distribute insecticide-treated bed nets and other tools to control malaria in Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

In 2010, the Global Fund and the people of The United Methodist Church joined forces in the fight against malaria.

Join United Way of Anchorage on Saturday, May 2nd for the inaugural Downtown Scavenger Hunt!

Register or donate here: http://bit.ly/UWAScavengerHunt 

Have fun in downtown Anchorage while helping United Way raise money to support programs and special collaborative work like 90% by 2020 that help our children in Anchorage succeed! It takes all of us to build the community in which children thrive. Be a part of it!

Registration is $35 per person, maximum 10 people per team. Kids are free with registered adults.

Von Cawvey will present an overview program on Habitat for Humanity and lift up opportunities for service this coming construction season.  It will be held following the 9AM breakfast on Saturday, May 16th in the fellowship hall at St. John UMC.

All area men of United Methodist churches are welcome to attend. Bring a friend.

Register for Summer Camp at Birchwood Camp

Online registration is now open for Birchwood Camp's Summer Programs. These camp programs provide safe spaces for spiritual formation, genuine community, and character development at Birchwood Camp's beautiful site in Chugiak. Online registration & detailed information is available at  www.birchwoodcamp.org/camps.

After ten years of discernment, two years of predevelopment, and a year of construction, Michael Burke of St. Mary's Episcopal Church is very pleased to announce:

The opening of applications for The Thomas Center for Senior Leadership is now underway!

The Thomas Center is envisioned to be a new living community - one that provides additional support so elders can maintain an active, vibrant lifestyle during their senior years. This unique center would focus on the gifts seniors offer, not on seniors as patients or passive care recipients. As an intentional community, it is uniquely interested in how we can live, not isolated and not entirely dependent on caregivers, but inter-dependently in the spirit of Christian fellowship and faith-centered mutual support.

The target date for opening is this fall, but they are accepting and reviewing applications now.

In the Spirit of the P.L.UM.E. ministry partnerships, they built into this program an eligibility preference for members of their P.L.UM.E. sister churches. It is their hope, that in The Thomas Center we will enter into a whole new facet of the collaborative work and ministry we all do together in Christ's name.

Find out more here.

For a look at the floorplans of the effiency, one bedroom, and two bedroom apartments and spacious congregate living spaces, including craft and exercise rooms, please visit them online at:  www.thomascenterAK.com.

Below you will find a list of webinars for church leaders offered by Discipleship Ministries.  These webinars are free of charge. You can register by going to www.umcdiscipleship.org/webinars.

Tuesday, May 5: Called to Care for God's Good Creation - Intergenerational Environmental Stewardship (In Our Churches and Homes)

Tuesday, May 5: Creating Your Plan for Christian Faith and Discipleship

Tuesday, May 12: Budget-Friendly Creative Ideas in Children's Ministry

Tuesday, May 12: Supporting Your Teachers' Spiritual Formation

Thursday, May 14: Supporting Covenant Discipleship in the Congregation

Thursday, May 14: Stewardship in the Digital World - Has Your Church Made the Leap?

Tuesday, June 9: Children's Ministry - Staying Connected with Families Over the Summer Months

Tuesday, June 9: Where to Get Started with Older Adult Ministry

Thursday, June 18: Planning Children's Sabbath