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September 28, 2015/Volume 14, No. 18

Conference News

AWF Delegation Endorses Bryan as Episcopal Nominee

The 2016 members of the Alabama-West Florida Conference General and Jurisdictional Conference delegation have endorsed the Reverend Dr. R. Lawson Bryan as their episcopal nominee. Since 2007, Dr. Bryan has served as senior pastor of Montgomery First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, AL. The AWF annual conference clergy elected him in June to lead the 2016 General/Jurisdictional delegation. Prior to this past annual conference session, he was elected a delegate to one General Conference and three Jurisdictional Conferences. Full release here

Bishop Announces Mid-year Appointments

(Montgomery, AL) - Bishop Paul L. Leeland announces that Rev. Brennan Peacock has been appointed to serve as pastor of Wetumpka FUMC, effective October 1, 2015. Currently serving as pastor of Providence UMC in Spanish Fort, AL, Rev. Peacock was ordained an elder in the AWF Conference in June, 2009. He has served Providence UMC since 2013 and was an associate at Ashland Place UMC in Mobile prior to his current appointment. Rev. David Hendrix will be appointed to serve Providence UMC effective October 1. Since 2009, he has served Beulah UMC in Valley, AL, and was an associate at Dothan FUMC prior to his current appointment. An appointment to Beulah UMC is forthcoming. 

September Cabinet Synopsis

(Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon) - Bishop Leeland and members of the Cabinet met in a regularly scheduled session recently in Montgomery. For the 2015-2016 conference year, the Cabinet is working with Spiritual Leadership, Inc. (SLI), engaging in a process of Loving, Learning, and Leading (L3) as it relates to guiding the mission and ministry of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference. Full review here

Gulf Breeze Holds Church-wide Vote

(GBUMC) - Gulf Breeze UMC held a church-wide vote on Wednesday, September 23, 2015. The majority of the GBUMC church membership voted "yes" and have decided to launch the Soundside Campus as a stand-alone United Methodist Church. The vote was 88.6% in favor of the launch and 11.4% not in favor, with 1,121 members voting. This is an historic occasion for GBUMC, and we pray that God will continue to use both GBUMC and the "New Church" to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people of our community, our region and beyond! We give praise to God for the privilege of birthing this new United Methodist Church. And we want to express our deepest love and appreciation for the people of GBUMC who have conducted themselves throughout this long process in a God honoring and Christ-like way! We wish to thank all of the leaders and members of GBUMC who had the vision to start the Community Life Center / Soundside Campus sixteen years ago as well as all of those who now have the vision to launch this new church. The mission of GBUMC remains the same, "Jesus Christ calls each of us to reach out with God's Love, Hospitality, Hope and Healing so that all may experience and share the joy of belonging to Him!" May we continue to move forward together for the mission of Christ and in the Spirit of Unity and Peace! "Now, to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Jesus Christ throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  - Paul, Ephesians 3: 20-21. Click here to read an article in the Pensacola News Journal

The Ark Meets New Needs in Community

The Ark has been a ministry in Panama City Beach for more than 40 years. Noah’s Ark was formed as a retreat center for The Alabama-West Florida Conference. Now they are simply know as “The Ark,” and have converted both facilities and its programming to meet new needs in the community. Since 2012, they have been developing three new ministry directives: a coffee shop, transitional housing, and international student housing. They are committed to combatting homelessness and human trafficking in their area. Thousands of people have been impacted by the ministry of The Ark over the years, and they look forward to continuing this legacy by providing new connections to the community. Hear more from the new director, Katie Winton, and others about the impact they are having. Click here to learn more about The ARK.  

Around the Conference

Two Preachers. Multiple Services. One Church.

(Rev. Jeremy Smith) - As a younger pastor, who’s not a youth minister and who preaches every week, one of the main questions I get asked by other clergy is “do you lead the contemporary services?” My answer to that is, “No.” My lead pastor and I preach both traditional and contemporary every weekend. I’ve discovered that this is not a common practice. I applaud churches that do both traditional and contemporary styles of worship (and whatever other styles and names are out there). Some of my friends from other churches, especially really fast-growing church starts, argue with me about this for two reasons: 1) Two different styles strain the resources of the congregation, and 2) They say it causes you to have a split congregation between a traditional church and a contemporary church. While that may be true, the problem is not that the church has two separate styles of worship; the problem is our style of leadership. More here

Glory Sighting: Young Volunteer Leaders Influence Wesley Foundation Students

College students should be engaged in discovery — in and out of the classroom.  Thanks to volunteers who share their time and creativity with the Wesley Foundation at the University of South Alabama, students are able to do just that. 
Michael Brown and Danielle Peters lead two unique Bible studies to help USA Wesley students compare cultural values of growth and discovery with those found in scripture. Be a Dude, led by Michael Brown, helps young men at Wesley explore the traditional rites of manhood through a variety of world cultures which they contrast with their own background and the Bible. In past weeks, students looked at the Satere-Mawe people of Brazil. Young men in this culture striving to prove their manhood must wear a glove filled with bullet ants for 10 minutes. The pain caused by this ant’s sting is said to be equal to being shot, which happens to be how the ant was named. Danielle Peters leads Pin and Paint, a Bible study for young women also looks at our own cultural values as seen on Pinterest. Last week, these young ladies shared Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Their study and fellowship helped bring the scripture to life as they created their own soap from a Pinterest recipe. 

Guest Commentary: Change in Confidence in God

(Rev. Chip Hale) - Our world has greatly changed. For every adult generation, unexpected changes have made part of our pasts disconnected from our present and our future. As Christians, perhaps we have words that can mitigate fear and worry regarding the future. When I was a child, my mother hung the laundry in the backyard, the family washed the dishes together after supper, and we watched one of the three channels on television. If we needed information, we referenced our volumes of the World Book. The radio and vinyl records of my childhood gave way to eight-track, then tape players and boomboxes, to cd’s. Music can now be listened to on our cellphones. Our industries and professions have changed remarkably: banking, medical, real estate, entertainment, and even the church. In the days I grew up, churches were major denominations, people worshipped in buildings with steeples, and most churches had one service, Sunday School, and weekly covered dish dinners. Whatever Methodist Church a person might enter, the worship service was basically traditional. In that culture, the church was the major influence in people’s lives. Our world is always changing, and change we must embrace. However, God has not changed. Full commentary here

Guest Commentary: Rev. John Brooks

As the leaves begin to change to reds, yellows, oranges and browns, our minds, hearts, and prayers are naturally focused on children and all the back to school events happening in our churches. We simply must teach our children very well indeed, for they are the future. Such was reinforced by one of our Lord's strongest statements, "It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble" (Luke 17:2). Full commentary here

Connectional News

Welcoming the Stranger: Difficult and Necessary

(UMCOR) - The arrival in Europe of massive numbers of Middle Eastern refugees is causing crises for humanitarian organizations and churches as well as for governments. At such a time, scripture draws us to Matthew 25:35b: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” Jesus said in a sermon about the behavior he expects of those whose lives reflect the grace and love of God. The thousands of displaced persons pouring out of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and various parts of Africa into Europe put a tremendous strain on regional and global economics, political and social systems, and human compassion. Christians know our responsibility: Welcome the stranger, and that can be a tough mandate, difficult and risky, demanding of sober realism, and also full of potential for new insights and understandings about human and cultural relations. More here

New Upper Room Website Aims for Global Engagement

(UMNS) — Upper Room Ministries announces the launch of a new online initiative called Moyo, which helps users engage with important global issues like clean water, racial justice and disaster relief. Visitors of the site will follow a Guided Path (Encounter, Reflect and Act) to study, reflect and then physically engage with an issue through multiple offline opportunities. Full story here

Making Outsiders Feel Like Insiders

(Lewis Center) - Growing churches are churches that have learned that God intends for us to be a people for others. The church needs more than its pastor or senior lay leader to advocate for people who are not there yet. Enlist the opinion of relative newcomers often. Have them speak to their experience of the process of assimilation — positive and negative — with the wider church leadership so that you can find out how you are doing, and what the obstacles to entry are. Full article here

Become A Part of Worship at General Conference

(UMNS) - Your words can inspire the world. You can help shape the worship services at the 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church, taking place on May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. The worship design team for the conference is seeking volunteers to write liturgy, including prayers, calls to worship and litanies. More information here

Events

Dothan District Gathering Featuring Dr. Ken Callahan, September 28

Explorations in Antiquities Center - Older Adult Ministries, September 28-30

World Communion Sunday, October 4

Revitup! An Energizing Event For Young Clergy, October 5-7

Fall Clergy Day Apart with Bishop Mike Coyner, October 8

ERT Recertification, October 10

Wesley Heirs Fall Retreat, October 13-14

Lake Junaluska Choir Music Weekend, October 16-18

Academy for Ministries with Children, October 16-17

ARM No More Shacks, October 16-22

Mobile District Family Fun Day, October 17

UMW Conference Leadership Training and Annual Day, October 23-24

Dothan District Lay Servant Training, October 23-24

UMCH Foster Care Informational Meeting, October 25

SEJ Clergywomen's Consultation, October 26-29

Prayer Shawl Retreat, October 27-30

UMW Sunday in Local Churches, November 8

Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, November 12-15

Increasing Active Engagement Conference, November 14

Montgomery-Prattville District Conf. and Leadership Academy, November 15

ERT Disaster Response Training, November 21

 

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