February 16, 2015/Volume 14, No. 3

Conference News

Antioch Project Kicks Off with Celebratory Banquet

The Antioch Project, under the leadership of Rev. Dan Pezet, was launched on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at Frazer Memorial UMC. 52 representatives from 18 churches in the AWF Conference attended the banquet. The Antioch Project is a new initiative from the Office of Congregational Vitality designed to partner with local churches that have potential to grow in several areas of ministry. Churches who are invited to participate in the Antioch Project have demonstrated good pastoral leadership, good lay leadership, and potential resources to jump start a new life cycle of ministry fruitfulness. The Antioch Project is comprised of a group of churches each year that have been recommended by the cabinet as meeting specific criteria, and then are prayerfully selected and invited by the Bishop to participate. For congregations that sign the Antioch Project covenant, a 2-3 year process is launched. Click here to learn more about the Antioch Project or click here to see the photo gallery.

January Cabinet Meeting Recap

(Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon) - Bishop Leeland and members of the Cabinet held their first meeting of 2015 in Montgomery. The session focused on the continued training of superintendents and extended cabinet members as coaches, a review of the state of the conference following 2014, and initial reflections on the scope of ministry throughout the annual conference as we begin the new year. The Discipline outlines the role of the superintendent to serve as the "chief missional strategist" for the district. Through the training as coaches, superintendents are learning skills drawn from Appreciative Inquiry to help guide their conversations with clergy and laypersons in churches to enable them to dream, discover, and design the direction for ministry that lead to them fulfilling God's destiny in their lives. Click here for complete update.

Register Now for Bishop's Day Apart

Bishop's Day Apart is Monday, March 2, 2015. Our guest will be Bishop Scott Jones of the Great Plains Conference. Bishop Jones is widely known for his most recent study, The Wesleyan Way. The event will start at 9:00am at St. James UMC in Montgomery, AL. Click here to read Bishop Leeland's invitation to all clergy and lay leaders. Click here to register. The registration deadline is February 22.

Around the Conference

New Staff Appointed in Campus Ministry, Endorsing Agency

(UMNS) — The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry announced the appointment of three new staffers. The Rev. Matthew Charlton was appointed as a staff executive for collegiate ministry; Col. Gerald "Scott" Henry Jr. is the new director of extension ministry and pastoral care for the board's United Methodist Endorsing Agency; and Sheila Bates is director of faith and leadership formation for collegiate ministry. Nicole Burdakin reports.

AWF Board of Advocacy Seeks Input

(Charlotte Van Erman) - How accessible is your church for people with disabilities and special needs? There are many ways that your church can say “you are welcome here,” and that is not just limited to reducing the physical barriers on a church campus. The Disability Concerns division of the Conference Board of Advocacy is very interested in learning how accessible our churches are. This information will help us determine what additional steps we need to take to provide additional resources and tools in order to help churches become more accessible and inclusive. We understand that many churches do not have the financial resources to make major upgrades to their facilities – including my own church, New Life UMC in Mobile. However, we can begin to take steps to help some churches in making needed changes. Click here to complete a brief survey in English, click here to complete the survey in Spanish.

"New" Harper Lee Book Has Biblical Title

(UMNS) — The recent news that Harper Lee has a second book coming out — 55 years after publication of "To Kill a Mockingbird" — stunned the literary world. She chose a biblical title in "Go Set the Watchman." The 88-year-old Lee is a United Methodist, and members of the denomination are among the many eager to read this second Lee novel. Sam Hodges reports.

Out-of-towners Aid in Recovery

(Pensacola News Journal) - It was hard to tell which was warmer: the steaming trays of pasta dishes or the hugs exchanged by new friends. For an hour Monday night, a large meeting room at Pensacola's Habitat for Humanity became a dinner table for nearly 70 volunteers working to help us recover from last year's flood. The dinners are a small way to show our gratitude to the hundreds who continue to help rebuild in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Monday's menu was spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine, casseroles and garden salad, courtesy of the women at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Before plates were filled, KJ Chafen, a member of the Florida Recovery Team welcomed each volunteer with a broad smile and a hug. She is with the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church based in Gulf Breeze. Full story here.

Connectional News

WHO Reports "Dramatic" Decrease in Malaria Deaths

(UMNS) - The number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases also are steadily declining, according to the World Health Organization's "World Malaria Report 2014." The use of insecticide-treated bed nets is one important reason for the drop, the report said. Between 2000 and 2013, access to bed nets increased substantially. Joey Butler reports. Click here for full story.

Why Ashes? Connecting to Who We Are and Who We Can Be

(UMNS) — The imposition of ashes on the first day of Lent reminds us of our mortality but also that we are "God's good creation," writes Joe Iovino in a UMC.org feature. He notes that observance of Ash Wednesday is growing, with some United Methodist pastors administering ashes outside the church walls.
Read story here.

Measuring What Matters: A Conversation about Metrics and Mission

(Bishop Ken Carter/Lewis) - If your life is anything like mine, you may find yourself at the beginning of the year focusing on numbers from the past year. In both professional and personal spheres, these numbers become more important, whether they relate to personal finance, denominational data, institutional capacity, or charitable giving. There is currently a lively conversation underway in the mainline church about numbers and metrics. This conversation is often dominated by two extreme and less-than-helpful perspectives. One seeks to quantify everything. In its most pronounced expression, this is the ascendency of the M.B.A. into every other professional guild, including ministry. The second perspective is an overreaction to the first. It insists that metrics should be ignored in favor of higher values — persons, or communities, or contexts. Full commentary here.

Gen. Krulak Featured in Chronicle of Higher Education

(BSC) - In a video conversation with the Chronicle titled "On Leadership," Gen. Krulak talks about the symbolic and substantive steps that he and the college took to get BSC on the path to success... including why he thought it was important to live in a residence hall. View the video here.

Resources

Prayer for Black History Month

(UMNS) — To commemorate Black History Month, retired Bishop Forrest Stith recently wrote this prayer as part of a Feb. 1 celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper at Asbury United Methodist Church. See prayer.

One Great Hour of Sharing

(UMCOR) - For more than 50 years, United Methodist congregations have been taking part in a special One Great Hour of Sharing offering, laying the foundation for UMCOR’s ministry of relief and hope. Donations UMCOR receives through this offering, along with other undesignated gifts made throughout the year, cover our costs of doing business. Gifts like yours make it possible for UMCOR to use 100% of all other contributions on the projects our donors specify, instead of on administrative or fundraising costs. Click here to learn more.

5 Things Small Churches Can Uniquely Offer

(Rev. Ben Gosden) - Church leadership has long held a bent toward the “bigger is better” mantra of capitalistic America. We franchise new church plants. We structure our institutions to favor the larger churches. The United Methodist Church itself has long been geared toward starting pastors off in smaller churches to get their feet wet in leadership only to move them to bigger (and often higher paying) churches once they prove themselves as capable leaders. More here.

2015 Lenten Resources Available

A variety of new and frequently used Lenten resources are now online at www.awfumc.org/2015LentenResources. Click on the title of each listing to learn more. Resources will be added as they are announced to the connection.

Hunting More Than Eggs?

(Rethink Church) - At Easter time, people aren’t just looking for colored eggs and chocolate bunnies. Rethink Church has resources that your church can use to help people in your community find the deeper, more fulfilling things for which they are searching this season. Click here for more.

Events

Featured Event: 5-day Academy for Spiritual Formation, May 4-9

A program of Upper Room Ministries, the 5-day Academy provides an opportunity for clergy and laity to deepen their relationship with God through a daily rhythm of prayer, worship, learning and reflection. Each day includes teachings by gifted spiritual leaders, periods of silence, morning and evening prayer, Eucharist, covenant groups and community time. Time for rest and recreation are also part of each day. The focus of this year's retreat is Psalms for Life: Praying Alone and Praying Together. Click here for more.

ERT Disaster Training, Gulf Breeze, February 17

Confirmation Retreat, February 20-22

Tapestry 2015, February 20-21

UMVIM Team Leader Training: Dothan, February 21

Bishop's Day Apart, March 2

Real Ideas Conference, March 5-6

Academy for Ministries with Children: Theology of Children, March 6-7

Legislative Prayer Breakfast, March 12

Conference Lay Servant Minister Training, March 13-15

ERT Disaster Training, Ft. Walton Beach, March 14

ERT Disaster Training, Prattville, March 14

One Great Hour of Sharing, March 15