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e~Aurora (a weekly news update)
The Alaska United Methodist ConferenceDecember 1, 2015
In This Issue
~Bishop's Blog
~Superintendent's Blog
~Office Changes Next Week
~Prayer Requests
~Mission u Event
~Sager Brown
~2015 Racial Justice Award
~Giving Tuesday
~UM Global AIDS Fund
~Annual Christmas Brunch




ACS Print  

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



 

Upcoming  Clergy
 Birthdays!   


December 23 -
Curtis Matz

January 3 - 
Bishop Grant Hagiya

January 5 - 
Janice Carlton

January 18 - 
Karen Dammann



Contact Information

 

Superintendent
Carlo Rapanut

cell 907-854-8340  





Ministry Quicklinks





Join Our Mailing List





2015 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.


Bishop Grant Hagiya
Bishop's Blog
We just want to remind you that Bishop Hagiya wrote a blog a few weeks ago about how close The United Methodist Church is to their fundraising goal for Imagine No Malaria.  The goal is to raise $75 million by General Conference 2016 and we only have $7 million more to go.  That is right, we have reached 90% of our goal already!!!  The season of Advent is a great time of year to give a little extra.  Imagine No Malaria is a great place for that.  Lets finish early in reaching our denomination wide goal!  Read his blog here.
Superintendent's Blog
Carlo's blog this week is: A time to listen.

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

To catch up on previous blog posts you may have missed, click here.
Office Changes for Next Week
While Crystal is out of the office December 7th-15th, emails and phone calls may not be answered in the speed at which they normally are.  Carlo will be in the office all of next week but is out the following week. There will also be a break in the e~Aurora.  There won't be an edition next Tuesday, December 8th.  The next edition will be sent out on Wednesday, December 16th.
prayer hands Special Prayer Requests
Rev. Lisa Talbott would appreciate prayers for surgery she is having on Wednesday morning for issues related to endometriosis. Please pray for her doctors, her caregivers, and a speedy recovery.

Let us also pray for Rev. Karen Dammann and her son Beckett who are trying to heal and move on from a traumatic experience over Thanksgiving weekend. Beckett was visiting his parent, Meredith Savage, in Massachusetts when he woke up in the middle of the night to see smoke and flames in the apartment complex they were at. He awakened his mother and then went to all of the other apartments waking people up and getting them to safety. Beckett lost everything he brought with him on his trip. He put other peoples' lives before his own needs. Beckett lost everything but the clothes on his back and his cell phone. Let us celebrate this brave young hero and continue to pray for him, Karen and all others affected.
Mission u Event Scheduled for Kenai Peninsula
Every year the United Methodist Women of Alaska put on educational events based on study topics.  This year the studies are Created for Happiness: Understanding Your Life in God which is led by Susie Smalley and Latin America: People and Faith led by Walt Hays.  The first event will take place on the Kenai Peninsula.  It will be held at North Star United Methodist Church on January 15-16, 2016.  Please contact Bonnie Miller or Jennifer Miller if you have any questions.
Honoring Memory, Mission at Sager Brown
The new Dixon-Rabb Hall at the Sager Brown supply depot, which will allow the United Methodist Committee on Relief to respond quickly to any major disaster, is a fitting tribute to the two colleagues who lost their lives during the 2010 Haiti earthquake while engaged in mission. Read the story.
Susie Smalley 2015 Racial & Social Justice Award Winner
Each year, the Alaska Conference United Methodist Women honor individuals or organizations whose efforts to overcome the barriers of racism, prejudice or injustice have made an impact in our communities. This year's award recipient is Susan Smalley. Susie, as she is called, was honored October 10th at the Annual Gathering of Alaska United Methodist Women held at North Star Bible Camp in Willow, Alaska.  Read more about how much she is involved in her community and why she rightly deserves this award!
TODAY is Giving Tuesday
It isn't too late to contribute to #GivingTuesday.

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.

Alaska Ethnic and Rural Camping and Conference Fund
931024 - Flying Native American and Alaska Native children to Christian camps for church and spiritual activities.

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.

Downtown Ministries, First United Methodist Church Ketchikan
3020487 - Providing a place for the homeless or temporary housing to spend daytime hours.

Girdwood Chapel United Methodist Church
931007 - Building larger facilities to greatly increase the breadth and scope of worship and social services.

Hope Retreat Center
3020590 - Replacing kitchen floor and cabinets and installing energy-efficient windows and insulation.

931855 - Ministering to the Bering Sea Fishing Fleet, processors, stranded crew members and workers.

Willow Alaska United Methodist Church
931511 - Serving poor rural communities spiritually, with basic physical needs, and with help in emergencies.

Willow Church and Community Ministry
931520 - Providing Christian education to children in Anvik and Grayling and also responding to emergencies.

Missionaries
  1. Erbele, Evelyn (10832Z) - Co-pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ketchikan, Alaska.
  2. Erbele, Terence (10831Z) - Co-Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Ketchikan, Alaska.
  3. Lynch, Wilma Frances (982950) - Deaconess serving as a Church and Community Worker in Willow, Alaska.
Conference Missional Priority
United Methodist Global AIDS Fund
Giving Tuesday! Donate to the UMC Global AIDS Fund today!! Contributions to UMGAF will support projects that help women access testing and, if needed, treatment so, if pregnant, they can deliver an AIDS-free child.

When you make an online donation today, you will "Activate Love. Transform Lives. Change the World." Use our Advance Special Number to Search for our Project: Advance # 982345.

Upcoming Dates!
World AIDS Day - December 1st - Advent is a perfect time to lift up the issue of AIDS given the increases in infections in women around the globe.  Stigma continues to impact people living with AIDS, and Jesus' love and healing words call us to work to eliminate all discrimination against people infected with HIV or AIDS.

May 9, 2016 - One-day conference sponsored by the UMGAF - "AIDS Is Not Over! ... Global Issues and the Church".  Location: Rose City Park UMC, Portland, OR. Time: 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: Free will offering. Participants will need to secure their own housing and transportation for this event. Free transportation will be available from the Portland Convention Center to Rose City Park UMC. For more information, visit here.

AIDS Memorial Service at General Conference - UMGAF is sponsoring a Memorial Service during General Conference to celebrate the lives of those who have died from AIDS.  We invite you to send us the names of people you would like to lift up during this service.  Please send names and their country to: Linda Bales Todd, joylab47@yahoo.com.

Passed joyously on by your Alaska UMGAF Ambassador,
Rev. Melissa Engel
poinsettias.jpg Annual Christmas Brunch
St. John United Methodist Women will host their Annual Christmas Brunch on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 10am.  Cost of the brunch is $10.  Nursery will be provided.
 
A skit, Don't Let the Grouches Steal Your Christmas, will be presented.  We'd love to have you join us for great food, grand fun and gregarious fellowship!

Please bring a new children's or youth book to donate to Bethel.
 
To purchase a ticket or make a reservation, please email lindalouheim@gmail.com or call the church office at 344-3025.

Upcoming Events

December
     1: St. John UMC Church Conference
     6: Anchorage Korean UMC Church Conference
     7-15: Crystal on vacation
     8: Willow UMC Church Conference
     9: First UMC Anchorage & First Samoan UMC Church Conference
     11: Seward Memorial UMC & Moose Pass UMC Church Conference
     12: Kenai UMC Church Conference
     12: North Star UMC Church Conference
     13-16: Carlo in Seattle for GNW Cabinet meeting and Tuell Center planning meeting
     24: Christmas Eve - Office open half day
     25: Merry Christmas!
     31: New Years Eve - Office open half day

January
     1: Happy New Year!
     3: First UMC Ketchikan UMC Church Conference
     9: UMC of Sitka Church Conference
     10: Aldersgate UMC Church Conference
     10: Douglas Community UMC Church Conference
     11: Anchor Park UMC Church Conference
     12-16: Carlo in Portland for GNW Cabinet meeting
     17: First UMC Fairbanks Church Conference
     17: Carlo visiting New Hope Methodist Presbyterian Church
     19: East Anchorage UMC Church Conference
     21-25: Carlo in Portland for Briefing of First Elected to General Conference and DCM Meeting
     28-31: Carlo in Cal/Nevada Conference for DCM and Mission Cabinet meetings

February
     7-9: Carlo in Seattle for GNW Cabinet meeting
     18-19: Creating Congregational Cultures of Generosity (CCCG) at UMC of Chugiak
     19-20: Winter Rendezvous meetings at East Anchorage UMC
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