March 16, 2015/Volume 14, No. 5

Conference News

Bishop Announces District Superintendent and Conference Staff Appointments

(Montgomery, AL) – Bishop Paul L. Leeland is pleased to announce two new district superintendents to the Alabama-West Florida Conference appointive cabinet. Rev. June Jernigan and Dr. Tim Trent will begin their new appointments as superintendents starting July 1, 2015. Full release here.

Bishop's Day Apart Welcomes Scott Jones

Over 350 clergy and lay leaders from the Alabama-West Florida Conference gathered at St. James UMC on Monday, March 2, 2015, to welcome Bishop Scott Jones of the Great Plains Conference. Bishop Jones started his lessons proclaiming, "I'm excited to be a United Methodist preacher. It's the best thing going." He further discussed how changes in communications in the 21st century have impacted ministry and also explored being stewards of the Wesleyan Way. His PowerPoint presentation may be found here. Click here for photo gallery.

A Tally of Upper Room Prayer Requests

(UMNS) — In 2014, the Upper Room Living Prayer Center received 273,580 prayer requests. Many of those were received and answered by United Methodist Men organizations. For the third year in a row, Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference was the top contributor with gifts totaling $3,215. Rich Peck of United Methodist Men reports.

AWF Conference Invites Area Legislators for Time of Prayer

The Alabama-West Florida Conference Board of Church & Society held a prayer breakfast on Thursday, March 12, 2015, where they welcomed Alabama legislators, area United Methodist pastors and laity. Dr. Nathan Attwood, chair of the board, welcome those in attendance and drew attention to three resolutions that were passed at the 2014 Annual Conference. Dr. Tim Thompson, senior pastor at Frazer Memorial UMC, delivered a message about "high ground living" and made three points: 1) Allow more of Jesus and less of "me;" 2) Keep good company; 3) Stay in the Word of God. Montgomery First United Methodist Church hosted the event. Click here to see the photo gallery.

Around the Conference

Bishop Visits Selma for 50th Anniversary

Bishop Paul Leeland visited Selma, AL, on Saturday, March 7, 2015, to experience the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Bishop Leeland was joined by the AWF Director of Connectional Ministries, Rev. Neil McDavid, and their spouses. To see UMNS coverage of the weekend, click here.

Thousands Come Out for Great Day of Service

(Rebecca Burylo, Montgomery Advertiser) - Mary Ashley was busy attaching a multi-colored stripe-print skirt to a bright, lime-green T-shirt at the First United Methodist Church in Cloverdale on Saturday with a dozen other ladies on their sewing machines. Another group of women were helping with embellishments attaching buttons, bows and matching ribbon waistbands on T-shirt dresses for little girls who can't afford new clothes. Ashley was one of two thousand volunteers who offered to be the hands and feet of ministry Saturday for the Methodist Churches of the River Region's Great Day of Service. Complete article here.

UMW President Urges Attention to Human Trafficking

(Lynn Hamric/UMW) - I have never considered myself privileged. Growing up in a small rural area of Alabama on a small farm, I was well taken care of. I always had what I needed, perhaps not always what I wanted. I had a loving mother and father and older brother and a wealth of friends and teachers who really cared about my success. Opportunity was the word of choice, not obstacle. Children played outside every day, neighbors helped look after all the children, parents worked but there was always time for meals together, sharing the events of the day and planning for the weekends. Fast forward fifty years and we’re living in an entirely different world! I’m going to single out one topic that is near and dear to my heart...human trafficking. I pray after reading this article it will become an area of concern for you and one you will work toward eliminating. Click here for full article.

Academy for Congregational Excellence Launches Site

The Academy for Congregational Excellence has a new Website! Visit www.awface.org to find resources, upcoming leadership training and more.

AWF Historical Society Holds Annual Meeting

(Sharon Tucker) - The Alabama West Florida Conference Historical Society (AWFC-HS) held their annual meeting at DeFuniak Springs United Methodist Church on January 24, 2015. The meeting was held on this date so that it would coincide with the Florida Chautauqua Assembly. This organization and arm of the Commission On Archives And History meets once a year for the purpose of studying some aspect of the history and development in this Conference of the United Methodist Church. Click here for full update.

That’s Crazy!

(Dr. John Ed Mathison) - We oftentimes hear a description of something as being crazy. That word can carry many connotations. Let me share how it has been used recently in a very positive manner. I had the privilege of officiating at the wedding for Colin and Alex Henig Jones a few years ago. They are a wonderful Christian couple. They had one daughter Adeline who is 5-years-old. When Alex was pregnant with their second daughter, Maddox, she had a very interesting experience. Alex kept having a sense from God that she and Colin could bless some couple in some way. It became apparent that God was leading her to suggest that she become a surrogate mother for some couple who could not have children. Her first thought was “That’s crazy!” Full blog post here.

Connectional News

At 75: UMCOR Training Extends Church’s Reach in Disasters

(UMNS) — Call it the "Katrina effect." As the United Methodist Committee on Relief celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the focus on formal training for church members responding to disasters has increased, most notably over the past decade. In the Alabama-West Florida Conference, “our model has always been local, trained volunteers first,” says Amelia Fletcher, the conference’s disaster coordinator for the past 10 years. Linda Bloom has the story.

How MLK Used the Bible

(Ministry Matters) - “He's allowed me to go up to the mountain,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. “ And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!” These lines have a special poignancy since he would be shot the day after delivering this speech in Memphis on April 3rd. (You can read the whole text of his speech here.) The fact is, though, Dr. King had never been to Mount Nebo in Jordan. He never visited Israel. How could someone who had never been to Israel say that he had seen the Promised Land? Click here for more.

Discipleship Ministries is Agency's New Identity

(UMNS) — Discipleship Ministries has officially become the new name of the general agency of The United Methodist Church known for years as the General Board of Discipleship, or GBOD. "The shift from General Board of Discipleship to Discipleship Ministries was an intentional decision to more clearly communicate the work we do," said the Rev. Timothy L. Bias, the chief executive of Discipleship Ministries. Read press release.

Resources

Teaching Children to Tithe

(Rev. Dan Pezet/UMC Giving) - Teaching children to tithe is an important part of their faith education that we often overlook. Giving to God is a core value of our faith that should be taught early and reinforced often. The most common way that I see tithing taught to children is simply by grownups giving children a quarter to put in the offering plate. This is OK for very young children because it gives them an opportunity to participate. But this may not send the right message to elementary-school children. First, the money wasn’t theirs to begin with, so they do not feel the satisfaction of it being a personal gift to God. Second, it does not teach proportionality in giving or the idea of putting God first in our finances. Click here for more.

Churches Not Immune to Cyber Attacks

(Florida Conference of the UMC) - Sony Entertainment, Anthem and Home Depot have all been targets of cyber hackers who compromised the personal data of millions of customers. But in a digital world, cyber experts know it is not just the big companies that are at risk. Nonprofits, small businesses and churches, in fact, may be more vulnerable because they are less likely to understand the threats they face and how to plan for their protection. "Most people don't realize how easy it can be," says Jim Nitterauer, a member of Gulf Breeze UMC in the Alabama-West Florida Conference. He is senior systems administrator for AppRiver, a security solutions company headquartered in Gulf Breeze, near Pensacola. "It's something you continually have to put in front of people." Full article here.

7 Tips to Draw Visitors with Social Media

(Rev. Jeremy Steele) - Though we often ask people to invite their friends to church, churches tend to miss asking them to recommend their church via their social-media platforms. Here's how to make that happen.