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Conference Journal

Superintendent's Blog

I am in meetings this week and do not have a new blog.

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

Have a great week!

Annual Conference Housing & Transportation
We are looking for homes for annual conference delegates to stay in while they are in town for meetings. If you are able to house and/or provide transportation for someone, please contact the conference office at 333-5050 or umc@gci.net.

Annual Conference Information

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

PRE-CONFERENCE HANDBOOK

The pre-conference handbook is now complete and ready for download or mailing. Just visit the conference website and click on the Annual Conference tab to find the information! If you need it mailed to you, please contact the conference office. There is a new, UPDATED SCHEDULE posted as well.

REGISTRATION

Registration is now closed. If you didn't get your registration in on time, please contact the conference office.

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. If you do not plan on attending Annual Conference but want to participate in one of the workshops, you can fill out this form.

East Anchorage UMC Annual Yard Sale
The Annual East Anchorage UMC Yard Sale will be held on Saturday, June 27th, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you have any items in good condition that you no longer want or need, donate them to their yard sale. Please call Valerie Butler (333-7688) or Barbara Gierke (947-1202) to arrange a time to drop off the items at the church located at 1660 Patterson Street, Anchorage, Alaska. 100% of the proceeds will go to Midnight Sun Service Dogs.

Economist: United Methodist Church in Crisis

The United Methodist Church has only 15 years to reverse its decline in the United States if it is to have a sustainable future, an economist warned church leaders. At the same gathering, the church leaders discussed possible missional goals to address that decline and enhance the global denomination's ministries around the world. Read the story.

Quiz Yourself: United Methodist History

The United Methodist Church has existed in various forms for more than 200 years. Test your knowledge of its history with this quiz, a partnership between United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History. A new question will be added each day through John Wesley's birthday, June 17.
Approximately how many hymns and poems did Charles Wesley write?
What do we call May 24, when John Wesley's heart was "strangely warmed"?
Where is Francis Asbury buried?
What is/was the Holy Club?

Connectional Table Wants to Model Worldwide Church
The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church currently has only 10 percent of its members from outside the United States. Members want to change that, to reflect better the worldwide nature of the church. Read the press release.

Volunteer for AK Child & Family Flag Day

AK Child & Family would love to have a total of 15-20 volunteers for their annual AK Flag Day Celebration. They would like two volunteers to fill in when ticket sellers take breaks and to check-in with the bus driver (offer refreshments, watch the bus while the driver takes a break). The rest of the volunteers would help with the food running and offering breaks. Volunteer times are between 5:15-8:15 PM on July 9th. They would also take a few volunteers to come around 2PM to help in the gym getting trays ready. Please contact Angie Rush at arush@akchild.org or 348-9255 if you are interested in helping out.

An Invitation to Come and Celebrate

You are all invited to attend a retirement party for Pastor Julie Wasser. It will be held on Saturday, June 13th at the Ninilchik Senior Center (66265 Aspen Avenue, Ninilchik, 99639). Wine and cheese will be available at 5 PM. Dinner and festivities will begin at 6 PM. To RSVP or ask questions, please contact Linda Hawkins at 907-240-5212.

Eagle River United Methodist Camp

Eagle River United Methodist Camp located in Juneau, Alaska will be having Discovery Camp for kids going into 3rd thru 8th grade. The dates for camp are July 12th - July 16th. This year's theme is "Get Real". To sign-up please contact the Sitka United Methodist Church at 907-747-8775 for a registration form. Children from other communities in Southeast Alaska and beyond are welcome to participate. Let's get together for camp!!!

Birchwood Camp

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.

FREE Webinars

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, 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

Upcoming Events

May

26-28: Carlo at Transforming Ministries 4 in Los Angeles

June

     1-2: Greater Northwest Transitions Workshop in Portland
     4: Pre-Conference Workshops at St. John UMC in Anchorage
     5-6: Annual Conference at St. John UMC in Anchorage
     14-19: Carlo Co-Deaning at Faith Adventure Camp at Birchwood Camp
     26-28: Carlo attending the PNW Annual Conference in Pasco, WA

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