Legislative Prayer Breakfast
The annual Alabama Legislative Prayer Breakfast will be on February 11, 2016, 7:30 AM, at Montgomery First United Methodist Church. This event is an opportunity for our clergy and laity to meet with our Alabama state legislators and other elected officials to offer encouragement and prayer as they begin another legislative session.
The Rev. Dr. Brian Miller will be the speaker. Please RSVP to Susan Hunt at susan@awfumc.org or 334-356-8014. Also encourage your state legislator to attend.
Click here for the invitation.
Joel Ncaharuri, missionary itineration
Joel Ncaharuri is a Global Ministries missionary serving in Cameroon. He will be itinerating through the Alabama-West Florida conference March 29-April 6. He is available to speak to any church, small group, Bible study class, UMW circle, mission committee, or other church group. You will hear from him about the amazing growth of the United Methodist Church in Cameroon.
Contact Susan Hunt at 334-356-8014 or susan@awfumc.org, to get your church on his schedule, which is filling up quickly.
Join us in prayer through the prayer calendar
Prayer does not equip us for greater works; prayer is the greater work. -Oswald Chambers
(John Weaver) The Alabama West Florida Conference is an instrument of grace and hope. We at the Town and Country Commission want to celebrate the churches, ministries, and agencies that make up this amazing conference and strengthen our connection through intentional prayer.
To practice this intentionality, we invite everyone in our annual conference to participate in the prayer calendar and email. Each day two churches and clergy persons are highlighted for your prayers. Please pray for them (and if possible email them an encouraging word or two).
In the printed version, pictured above, many of our conference agencies are also included for your prayers, in addition to the churches listed. The printed version also contains information on many conference resources available for your congregation.
The vision of this calendar is to have our transformational connection take part in the great work of praying for each other as we together seek, engage, nurture, and deploy disciples of Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to you all for your work, time, and prayers. Let us begin the intentional work of prayer and encouragement for the year of 2016.
Grace and Peace, John Weaver
Chairperson, Town and Country Commission
Do you need a paper copy? There are still a few available. Contact Susan Hunt at susan@awfumc.org or 334-356-8014.
Cycle of Service (ARM)
If you like to cycle and make a difference at the same time, then join ARM or encourage someone to ride with the team. From April 22-24th, they will launch the 7th annual ride across the heart of Alabama. Going from West Alabama to Georgia and back into Auburn, it promises to be a challenging and meaningful experience. Cyclists help raise $25,000 for home repair by gaining sponsors, and can ride all three days or various legs of the journey. If you would like to ride or be a sponsor of a rider, please see the details on Active.com or the Cycle of Service website. Registration is $65 and closes on April 8th. Contact Lisa Pierce at lisa@arm-al.org, or (334) 501-4276 ext 300, for details.
Zoe Ministry
Our conference has reached its goal of saving 100,000 lives through the Imagine No Malaria program. What is the next step? If your church is now interested in finding a way to help sustain children in Africa, one ministry to consider is Zoe.
Click here for a wonderful video (2:09) that explains the ministry.
For more information, visit their website: www.zoehelps.org.
Raise the Roof
Group registration is now available. 2016 summer dates for high school groups are June 19-25 and June 26-July 2. A middle school options is July 5-7. Groups will be housed at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and work on roofs in the Oakdale area of Mobile.
Click here for more information, or call 251-378-7549 to learn more about serving.
New! Webinars are coming!
We are undertaking a new step in training and communication for our churches and leaders. The Alabama-West Florida Conference will soon begin offering webinars on many subjects that we hope will be useful to you and your congregation.
You will be able to watch the webinars live and ask questions, or watch them later at your own convenience. Each webinar will last approximately 30 minutes, including time allowed for questions and answers.
The first topic will be about our Connectional Ministries. You will hear a broad overview about our exciting conference ministries and how your church is connected to them.
The first webinar will be March 8 at 6:30 PM. All you need to participate is a computer, tablet, or smart phone connected to the internet.
Click here to register for this webinar. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and instructions to participate.
For questions, and to suggest future topics, contact Susan Hunt at susan@awfumc.org or 334-356-8014.
Ministry Spotlight: The Ark
Think you know what The Ark in Panama City Beach is all about? If that name brings to mind the old days with retreats, the 2x2 groups and late night concerts, you need to check out the new and exciting ministry happening there now.
While the Ark (formerly known as "Noah's Ark") has been a ministry in Panama City Beach for more than 40 years, they have converted their facilities and programming to meet new needs in the community. Since 2012, they have been developing 3 new ministry directives: a coffee shop, transitional housing, and international student housing.
They are committed to combating homelessness and human trafficking. The Panama City area is second in the country only to Atlanta for human trafficking, and The Ark is working to make a difference.
Click here to view the video to learn more about their exciting new ministries.
Click here to visit their website.
Disaster Response News
SEJ Disaster Academy
The 2016 SEJ Disaster Academy is later this month! It isn't too late to register. Click here for complete registration information, schedule, detailed workshop descriptions, a downloadable brochure, lodging suggestions, and more.
If you have considered becoming an ERT Trainer, this is the event you should attend.
Upcoming ERT Training
There will be a basic Early Response Team training session on February 27 at Camden UMC. Click here for more information.
All ERT Training sessions are listed at www.awfumc.org/erttraining.
Bring your UMCOR relief kits to annual conference
Once again at Annual Conference we will be collecting relief kits for UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). They will be collected and sent to the Sager Brown warehouse in Baldwin, Louisiana, to be used around the world where most needed.
UMCOR is requesting school kits and health kits especially.
For more information, click on this link: http://www.awfumc.org/reliefkits.
Special thanks to Coleman-American Moving services for donating the truck and taking the supplies to Louisiana for us.
One Great Hour of Sharing
Did you know that UMCOR's administrative budget does not come from your apportionment giving, or when you give for a disaster? Instead, it comes through the annual "One Great Hour of Sharing" offering. By taking up this offering, your church helps make possible the great work of UMCOR, and enable 100% of disaster response donations to go to the actual disaster work.
Click here for resources your church can use for this offering, which is scheduled this year for March 6.
