20/20 Vision: Leading to God's New Horizons
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Upcoming Clergy
Birthdays!
October 31 - Sandy Ward
November 1 - Phil Campbell
November 6 - Tafa Fulumua
November 17 - Jean Bruscia
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Contact Information
Superintendent
Carlo Rapanut
cell 907-854-8340
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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.
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 Superintendent's Blog
To catch up on previous blog posts you may have missed, click here. |
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 Stewardship Training Opportunity
On Tuesday October 27, the Rev. Dr. Ken Sloane, director of Stewardship with Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church, will be at St. John to lead a workshop for local church leaders. This 90 minute workshop is meant for lay people and clergy alike. We will gather from 6:30-8pm in the St. John sanctuary. We are hoping to livestream this event so that churches from all across Alaska can participate and glean from Ken's wisdom. Please join us as we learn and discover new ways to cultivate great stewardship practices within our local churches.
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 5 Ways to Celebrate Imagine No Malaria During Your Church's Fall Events
1. Trick or Treat or Trunk or Treat for Imagine No Malaria using INM donation boxes, which are available for free. Make sure to snap a picture of you or your kids with the box and tweet it with hashtag #MalariaIsScary or email it to inminfo@umcom.org! 2. Family game night featuring the malaria-themed Jeopardy game 3. Pumpkin decorating contest with voting for best pumpkin donations to Imagine No Malaria 4. Include an Imagine No Malaria display at your church's Fall Festival with facts about malaria deaths in Africa and facts about how The United Methodist Church is helping 5. Invite children to make Imagine No Malaria-themed crafts, including fans, donation boxes and pipe cleaner mosquitoes
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 Calling All Quilters!!!
United Methodist Women are actively preparing for the church's 2016 General Conference in Portland, Oregon, May 10-20. As in previous General Conference meetings, United Methodist Women will again have an active role in the General Conference prayer ministry. One prayer ministry activity planned is to offer quilted finger prayer labyrinths for delegates and guests.
We are seeking UMW members that enjoy quilting to assist us by making the finger labyrinths. Do you have women in your conference, district or local units who would like to help by volunteering to quilt finger prayer labyrinth squares for the delegates and guests? We need 2,000 and the variety of labyrinths made by women from all over the country will bless the recipients and lend to the support and outreach we hope to extend. Here is the pattern for the finger labyrinths. Each labyrinth will be tagged with a card identifying that the labyrinth is "handmade with love and prayer by United Methodist Women".
Anyone interested in quilting the finger prayer labyrinth squares should email GCprayer@unitedmethodistwomen.org with an estimate of how many they might be able to make and to receive further instructions for shipping the completed labyrinths by the deadline.
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 Church Sexual Ethics Website Relaunched
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 Inclusive Church Workshop: Welcoming Transgender Persons
Saturday, Nov 7, 10am - Noon. Lutheran Church of Hope 1847 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Anchorage
For clergy, church leaders, youth & children, hospitality ministry leaders, and any interested congregants
Free of charge; good will offering will be taken for Identity, Inc.
Public testimony before the Anchorage Assembly showed misunderstanding about transgender people. Join us to better understand: Who is your [transgender] neighbor?
Topics include:
** What are we talking about in "gender identity?"
** How can I better understand my transgender neighbor?
** How can the church support transgender persons and their families?
** How do we educate others? And thoughtfully address those pesky bathroom questions?
** How can we help transgender people know they are invited and welcome at our church?
Presented by Christians for Equality & Identity INC. Workshop leader is Rev. Drew Phoenix of the Balimore-Washington (UMC) Conference. For more information or to register by e-mail, contact christiansforequality@gmail.com or call Nora at (907) 250-3642 |
Cameroon Team Provides PET for Polio Victim
The 2015 Cameroon Mission team, sponsored by St. John United Methodist Church, delivered a PET mobility cart to a young university student as part of its volunteer work in Kribi, Cameroon in West Africa this past May.
Paul Obam Mambo, 23, was selected by the Kribi Handicap Association to receive this sturdy, hand-cranked cart. Paul was victim of polio at an early age and has no memory of being able to walk. As a child he was carried everywhere. Later, he learned to walk with crutches. He will begin his university studies this fall and the PET cart will enable him to transport books, bags and groceries as a student. He sends his profound thanks to the generous donors that provided the PET cart for him.
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 Giving Tuesday, December 1
The United Methodist Church is again encouraging you to participate in Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday in December. After spending money on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday celebrates the ability to give to organizations and charities. There are hundreds of Advance projects within the United Methodist Church. We have several within our own conference. Here is the website that gives the specifics for your donation and the matching plans from the General Board of Global Ministries. As Alaskans we are able to start giving at 9:00 p.m. on Monday, November 30! This is a time change from previous years as the new beginning time is based on Central Time NOT Eastern Time. Here is a list of the Alaska projects you can support!
Mission Contexts and Relationships
Alaska Churches 931027 - Strengthening local church mission and ministry while launching new leadership for new programs.
Birchwood Camp 931068 - Building community on holy ground by providing program spaces and year-round staff housing. 931602 - Reaching out to all of God's children through a variety of faith based activities 3021214 - Creating a sustainable home and developing leadership for CUMC and its ministries. Hope Retreat Center 3020590 - Replacing kitchen floor and cabinets and installing energy-efficient windows and insulation. 3021099 - Providing tuition assistance for students majoring in education, human services and healthcare. 931855 - Ministering to the Bering Sea Fishing Fleet, processors, stranded crew members and workers.
Missionaries - Erbele, Evelyn (10832Z) - Co-pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ketchikan, Alaska.
- Erbele, Terence (10831Z) - Co-Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ketchikan, Alaska.
- Lynch, Wilma Frances (982950) - Deaconess serving as a Church and Community Worker in Willow, Alaska.
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 FREE Webinars
Church leaders from around our denomination are eligible to participate in these upcoming free webinars offered by the GBOD Leadership Ministries division. You can register online by going here. Here are a few of the webinars coming up: ~Tuesday, October 27 - Covenant Discipleship with Children ~Tuesday, November 3 - Children's Spirituality: 8 Tools Children Use to Help Them Experience God ~Thursday, November 5 - Children's MInistry: Worship in Contemporary Settings ~Thursday, November 12 - The Means of Grace ~Thursday, November 12 - Ending the Year Strong: It's Not Too Late to Have a Better 2015 ~Tuesday, November 17 - Measuring Your Effectiveness ~Monday, November 23 - 51 Ideas for Children's Ministers |
 2016 UMW Call for Study Leaders
The Executive Team of United Methodist Women of Alaska are accepting applications for Study Leaders for Mission u events to be implemented from late summer 2016 through the end of 2016. Please find 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 November 15, 2015.
You may contact Bonnie Miller at bonitajane@yahoo.com or 907-776-8555 or 907-440-1636 with any questions.
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 Mark Your Calendars Now!
We have some dates to announce so that you can get them on your calendar now. More information will be given in the upcoming weeks.
#GivingTuesday: Tuesday, December 1 (November 30 at 9:00 p.m. for Alaskans)
Creating Congregational Cultures of Generosity (CCCG): February 18-19, 2016
Annual Conference: June 3-4, 2016 with Pre-Conference Workshops on June 2, 2016. |
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