February 27, 2015/Volume 14, No. 4

Conference News

A Life-changing Ministry to Those Whose Lives Have Changed

For older adults, many life changes occur that can disrupt their level of comfort and sense of belonging. A move into an assisted living or nursing facility may often be traumatic due to the loss of independence a senior once had—caring for their own home, driving, social interaction with neighbors, and worship and fellowship at their local church. Thanks to a simple yet impactful ministry of Millbrook First United Methodist Church, many seniors that are in full-time care can now experience one of the most sacred acts of being a Christian—Holy Communion. This outreach was started under the leadership of Mr. Chuck Kelser with the blessing and encouragement from Dr. Nathan Attwood, pastor. Due to a Stephen Ministry program sabbatical, Mr. Kelser was looking for ways to serve and make a difference to those who are homebound and in facility care. Click here to read full feature and click here to see photo gallery.

Huntingdon College Offers Summer Leadership Academy for United Methodist High School Students

Montgomery, Ala.—Huntingdon College invites pastors and youth ministers who serve United Methodist churches in the Alabama-West Florida and North Alabama Conferences of The United Methodist Church to sponsor high school juniors and/or seniors to participate in the Huntingdon Leadership Academy, June 11–12. The Huntingdon Leadership Academy is designed to help students discern the various ways they may live out God's calling on their lives. During HLA, students will meet other United Methodist youth who are serious about discerning their spiritual and professional gifts. The Huntingdon College Office of the Chaplain, Huntingdon College faculty in the Department of Religion, and local United Methodist clergy will facilitate the overnight event. Learning sessions will be interspersed with worship and fellowship activities. Click here for more.

Laity Self Nominations

If you are interested in being considered as a lay General/Jurisdictional Delegate and were not able to attend your district meeting where laity were nominated, you may self nominate and submit your profile to Traci Herndon by March 1 in order for it to be published in the 2015 Brochure of Reports. If you are unable to get the nomination form to Traci by March 1 and still wish to be self nominated, the form can be given to Dr. Steve Furr, conference lay leader, one hour prior to the laity session at annual conference. That session is Monday, June 1 at 8:30am. You must provide 725 copies to distribute to the conference lay delegates.

Around the Conference

AWF Pastor Presides at Candler's Friday Eucharist Service

Rev. Olivia Poole was honored to be asked to serve communion at Candler School of Theology's Friday worship service. This is one of three weekly services that Candler has and is planned by students for students and faculty. Tuesday and Thursday services average between 100-150 people in attendance and Friday is smaller and more introspective with about 30-40 attending. Poole's husband, Rev. Steve Reneau, worked on staff with the Office of Worship as a worship planner and sacristan. Upon the couple's ordination, Reneau contacted the current sacristan offering their willingness to serve. Reneau served this past fall. Surrounding clergy, ordained alumni and ordained faculty usually preside over these worship services.

Rosinton UMC Celebrates Building Payoff

(Emma Bundy) - Rosinton United Methodist Church held a "mortgage burning" ceremony during a combined worship service on Sunday, February 8th. The guest speaker was Reverend Dr. Cory Smith, Superintendent of the Baypines District of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. The focus of his message was the Community of Church. He challenged the congregation to live out the command given by Jesus to love one another. A fellowship pot-luck dinner was held after the service. Pictured from left to right: Rev. Dr. Cory Smith, Rev. Kevin Krist and finance committee members: John Pierce, Peggy Nelson, Stan Joy, Grady Wilson and Joe Driver watch as Lay Leader Herman "Red" Harvill, burns the mortgage.

Legacy Of The Apostle Paul Cruise With Dr. Wachob

You are invited to join Dr. Wesley Wachob on a 13-day Journey following the Legacy of the Apostle Paul from September 14-26, 2015. Dr. Wachob will teach aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas, by Royal Caribbean International as travelers cruise from Italy to Greece to Turkey and back. Visited cities include Rome, Crete, Mykonoso, Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, Naples, Pompeii and more. Pricing starts at $3598 and includes airfares. Different size and location rooms are available on the cruise ship for additional cost. You can download the brochure here. More here.

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.

Connectional News

Lay Leaders Discuss Past, Shape Future

(BWCUMC) - Nearly 80 Annual Conference Lay Leaders from around The United Methodist Church gathered in Baltimore Feb. 19-22, taking the opportunity to learn a little about our church’s past while looking at ways to shape the future. Baltimore-Washington Conference Lay Leader Delores Martin welcomed the Association for Annual Conference Lay Leaders at its opening worship service Feb. 19. BWC Bishop Marcus Matthews preached at the worship service which also featured a guest choir made up from the eight District Superintendents of the conference. “It was a delight to host this event,” said Martin. “It’s wonderful to see our connection in action in these people.” The group, whose purpose is to strengthen lay leadership in the denomination and to enable a mutual ministry between lay and clergy, meets annually and rotates its location throughout the United States, according to Steve Furr, Lay Leader of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Click here for more.

Imagine No Malaria Recognized as Superhero at Global Meeting

(UMNS) - Imagine No Malaria, an initiative of The United Methodist Church to prevent and treat malaria, has received a Superhero Award from the Rotarians Action Group on Malaria. The award was given during the recent annual meeting of the Alliance for Malaria Prevention in Geneva. Imagine No Malaria, the only faith-based organization represented among the award recipients, was recognized for its grassroots efforts in reaching rural and hard to reach areas with its prevention methods. Dr. Olusimbo Ige, executive director, Global Health for the General Board of Global Ministries was on hand to receive the award, which was signified by the bestowing of a red “superhero” cape. Drake Zimmerman, vice chair of the Rotarians Action Group on Malaria, made the presentation. More here.

4 Named 'Seminaries That Change the World'

(UMNS) — The Center for Faith and Service at McCormick Theological Seminary has named four United Methodist seminaries to its 2015 list of U.S. seminaries that change the world. Among the list of 27 seminaries are Emory University's Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary near Chicago, Iliff School of Theology in Denver and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. The seminaries were chosen based on a "commitment to invite, welcome, support, train and launch individuals into the world as community leaders." Read more.

Resources

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 the Church should Stop for Lent

(Ministry Matters) - Lent is the time of year when we look at our lives and do the hard work of being honest about things that might be keeping us from growing deeper in our relationship with God. Now many use it as an excuse to deprive themselves of chocolate or caffeine or dessert. I say that’s fine so long as those things are hindering your faith life. If they’re not and you still want to give them up as an act of endurance for the next 40 days, then fine, at least add something new to your life that will help you grow deeper in your faith journey. Click here for more.