AUMC Banner
e~Aurora (a weekly news update)
The Alaska United Methodist ConferenceMay 24, 2016
In This Issue
~Annual Conference
~Pre-Conference Handbook
~Eagle River UM Camp
~FREE Webinars




ACS Print  

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



 

Upcoming  Clergy
 Birthdays!   


June 8 -
Jim Doepken

June 10 -
Carlo Rapanut

June 27 -
Teri Erbele





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.


Superintendent's Blog
Here's my post-General Conference reflection: But God Was Not In The Wind.

Have a great week!
Council of Bishops Letter from the Council of Bishops
The Council of Bishops follow tradition and write a letter to the church.  This tradition is more than a century old.  They write this letter to the people of The United Methodist Church following the 2016 General Conference.  Read it here.
Annual Conference
HOUSING!  We have 6 people and 2 sets of couples that need housing for when they are in Anchorage attending Annual Conference.  We have many wonderful folks that have offered their homes in the past.  Are you able to do it again?  Please contact the conference office at 333-5050 ASAP so that we can get these delegates matched up!  Most of them will need transportation too but if you are coming to Annual Conference then that shouldn't be a problem!  Two ladies have their own transportation.

AWARDS BANQUET & FAREWELL LUNCHEON  This year the Harry Denman, Outstanding Lay Person, One Matters, and Bishop's Awards will all be presented during the Awards Banquet on Friday, June 3 at 5:00 PM.  The Farewell Luncheon will take place on Saturday, June 4 at noon.  This is the conference's time to recognize the clergy that will be leaving Alaska as well as recognize Craig Parish and Lonnie Brooks who will no longer serve in the their current roles at the conference level.  Lonnie will give his last Lay Leader's Address at 3:30 PM on Friday, June 3 for those who would like to hear it.  If you would like to attend either of these events and participate in either of the meals, make sure you pay for your meal(s) by May 31st so we can ensure there there is enough food for everyone.  Friends and family that are invited to participate in meals also need to pay for their meals in advance.  Pay for them here.

WORSHIP SERVICES will be held during Annual Conference.  The opening worship service will be at 10:45 AM on Friday, June 3.  We will recognize those that have passed away since we last met as well as take communion.  The offering from this service will support Unalaska UMC.  The closing worship service will be held at 4:00 pm on Saturday, June 4.  General Secretary of GBGM, Thomas Kemper, will preach and the clergy will be commissioned and appointments will be read.  The offering from this service will go to our host church, St. John UMC.  The worship services will be held at St. John UMC (1801 O'Malley Road) and are open to the public.

On the conference website, you will find an array of Annual Conference related items: forms, workshop information, schedule, etc.
GC2016 Puts Hold on Sexuality Debate
General Conference delegates have hit the pause button on the denomination's quadrennial debates related to homosexuality. On May 18, delegates voted 428-405 to accept the recommendation of the Council of Bishops to delay a debate on homosexuality at this gathering of the denomination's top legislative assembly and let a proposed commission study church regulations.

 
graphic-globe-people-sm.gif United Methodists Grapple with Being a Worldwide Church
How do you run a legislative assembly for a Protestant denomination of more than 12 million members from the U.S., Africa, Asia and Europe? Managing diversity is essential, say planners of the 2016 United Methodist General Conference. Read the story.
United Methodists Celebrate Success of Imagine No Malaria
United Methodist members and leaders, global health innovators, and an "American Idol" star took the stage at General Conference to celebrate the success of Imagine No Malaria, an initiative of the people of The United Methodist Church aimed at ending malaria deaths. The multimedia event also marked the official kick off of The Abundant Health: Our Promise to Children campaign.

The 12-minute celebration, a collaboration between United Methodist Communications and the  General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), featured a highlights video of the grassroots campaign that has engaged donors of all ages, showcased the impact of the initiative on the continent of Africa and debuted "Able," a song commissioned by Imagine No Malaria as a gift to United Methodists across the globe. Jeremy Rosado, a Top 12 contestant on Season 11 of "American Idol," performed the song to more than 1,000 people attending the event. The song is available as a free download at Amazon Music and the Imagine No Malaria website, as well as on YouTube.

To date, the people of The United Methodist Church have raised more than $68 million to end malaria deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa, where one child dies from malaria every two minutes. The Imagine No Malaria campaign aims to raise $75 million to address the impact of malaria in Africa through prevention, treatment, communication and education.

Building on the success of Imagine No Malaria, the Abundant Health program seeks to engage at least 10,000 U.S. churches in programs that encourage promoting physical activities, healthy diet and nutrition, education for tobacco- and drug-free living and mental health education.

"We've imagined no malaria; now let us imagine abundant health," said Thomas Kemper, general secretary of GBGM.

As a celebration memento, each General Conference delegate took home a flash drive containing the song "Able" and Abundant Health materials.
United Methodist Church Approves New Hymnal
The General Conference of The United Methodist Church voted to take decisive steps leading to the eventual approval of a new collection of hymns, tunes, and liturgical resources for worship. Approval was given to form two new groups that will review and recommend material to be included in a new United Methodist Hymnal.

The new hymnal will be offered in ways that allow local congregations to create unique versions by combining core (required) content augmented by selections chosen from a collection of approved additional options. The core content and approved optional selections will be recommended by the Hymnal Revision Committee and must be approved by the 2020 General Conference.

"Discipleship Ministries is grateful to the General Conference for adopting the legislation for the constitution of a hymnal revision committee that will lead us in bringing forward a proposed hymnal to the 2020 General Conference," said the Rev. MaryJane Pierce Norton, Interim General Secretary of Discipleship Ministries, which will have editorial supervision of the contents. "We anticipate the canon that is developed will be fully reflective of the diversity of our United Methodist Church with inclusion of hymns and songs, worship and ritual resources that reflect a variety of styles appropriate for churches of every size. We look forward to working with the committee in partnership with The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH)."

The legislation also calls for a Standing Hymnal Advisory Committee, which will bring new recommendations to each General Conference starting in 2024 to ensure the collection is expanded and refreshed every four years.

The new hymnal will be available to congregations in both digital and print editions. The current United Methodist Hymnal was published in 1989.
Sermons from General Conference 2016
Deaconesses, Home Missioners Consecrated at GC2016
Twenty-six deaconesses and home missioners were consecrated May 16, 2016, on the plenary floor of the United Methodist General Conference. The newly consecrated deaconesses and home missioners come from across the United States as well as the Philippines. The service was a culmination of answering and discerning a call to full-time vocation in lay ministry.  Read the story.
Money GC2016 Passes $604 Million General Church Budget
Goodbye, historically low budget. Hello, slight increase.
GC delegates on May 20 approved a general church budget of $604 million for 2017-2020.  That represents a slight increase over the $603.1 million approved in 2012. Read the story here.
UMCOR UMCOR Sunday
Last week, during 2016 General Conference in Portland, Ore., The United Methodist Church changed the name of One Great Hour of Sharing to "UMCOR Sunday" within the denomination.

The change was approved by the church's legislating body. UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, is a major Protestant humanitarian agency that is part of the General Board of Global Ministries. It was founded more than 75 years ago.

UMCOR's work of alleviating human suffering around the world includes disaster relief and supplies, disaster risk reduction, and humanitarian development. It also relates to the Global Ministries' unit on health.

Read the full story.

The Special Sunday for UMCOR is observed annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Gifts to UMCOR Sunday, along with other undesignated gifts made throughout the year, cover UMCOR's costs of doing business. It also makes it possible for UMCOR to use 100 percent of all other contributions on the projects donors specify, instead of on administrative or fundraising costs. UMCOR does not receive United Methodist World Service or apportionment funds.
Pre-Conference Handbook
The pre-conference handbook for the Alaska Annual Conference has been posted on the conference website.  For those of you who chose to download your own copy, please do that now.  Bring it with you when you come to Annual Conference as it will be referenced during voting.
ERUMC 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 17th - July 21st. This year's theme is "Power Up". 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!!!
FREE Webinars
Below you will find a list of webinars for church leaders offered by Discipleship Ministries' Leadership Ministries division for April and June.  These webinars are free of charge.  You can register by going to www.umcdiscipleship.org/webinars.

May 31 - Connecting with Communities and Schools
June 15 - Covenant Discipleship with Youth

Upcoming Events

May
     30: Memorial Day - Office Closed

June
     2: Annual Conference Workshops at St. John UMC
     3-4: Annual Conference at St. John UMC

July
     4: Independence Day - Office Closed
     13-16: Western Jurisdiction Conference in Scottsdale Arizona.  Carlo attending
     19-August 18: Carlo on vacation in the Philippines
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