December 4, 2018/Volume 17, No. 18

Conference News

Hurricane Michael Continued Coverage

The Alabama-West Florida Conference continues to walk alongside those in the panhandle after Hurricane Michael. The recovery process will be a long-term effort that the United Methodist Church is committed to leading. A dedicated Web address, www.hurricanemichaelrecovery.org was established to better organize rapidly changing information. We continue to request monetary donations be sent to the Alabama-West Florida Conference so that we may quickly disperse funds as needed. Other needs are communicated throughout the week. If you do not already receive these notifications, click here to subscribe and select the Hurricane Michael option. Below are recent stories associated with Hurricane Michael relief.

Grants Continue to Help Panhandle Churches in AWF Conference

With the help and leadership of the AWF grant writer, Kristi McClellan, thousands of dollars have been donated to United Methodist churches along the gulf coast. The Jessie Ball DuPont Fund issued $125,000 to FUMC of Port St. Joe for their community relief outreach efforts as a result of the storm. Click here to read the press release. In addition to this substantial grant, Lynn Haven United Methodist Church received a gift to aid them in meeting the needs of their local community while the church recovers from Hurricane Michael.

A Video Message from Bishop David Graves and Rev. Ashley Davis

We invite you to watch and share a video message from Bishop David Graves and Rev. Ashley Davis related to our Hurricane Michael recovery efforts. Click here or on the above image to view. Click here to read the transcript. Closed captioning is now available for this video and can be accessed by clicking "CC" to the right of the volume icon on Vimeo. You may also listen to this message as an audio-only podcast by clicking here, by searching for "AWFUMC Podcasts" on iTunes or in your preferred podcast player. We invite you to subscribe to these podcasts.

AWF Conference Announces New Hurricane Michael Volunteer Portal

The Alabama-West Florida Conference is announcing a new online portal that will register Hurricane Michael volunteer teams. The new portal was established through the Planning Center software, which many medium- and large-sized churches use to register church check ins, membership tracking, registrations and fees. This user-friendly site is simple and allows conference leaders to quickly match teams and their skills with the appropriate need. Teams are also able to request specific work days. The data will come into the Incident Command Center at Woodlawn UMC where they will assess the information. In the long-term efforts, the conference will assume this responsibility. Full release here.

Hurricane Evacuees Temporarily Settling In Dothan

(MHFTA) - Evacuees from a Panama City retirement community are settling in for a short time in Dothan at Wesley Place on Honeysuckle while waiting on repairs to their own community. The nonprofit owner of both retirement homes, Methodist Homes of Alabama & Northwest Florida, decided to evacuate Mathison Retirement Community when Hurricane Michael became a clear threat to the Florida panhandle. “Our residents have shown great compassion and understanding,” said Patrick Davies, Executive Director of Wesley Place on Honeysuckle. “They have treated those displaced by the hurricane as extended family by making them feel welcome and included.” Senior adult evacuees like Thelma Churchwell are making the best of their temporary home in Dothan even though they were not prepared for the extended stay that the evacuation turned out to be. “I think I was numb to the entire experience until now,” said Thelma. “It happened so fast you didn’t have time to get scared or do anything but pack and get ready to go.” More here.

Around the Conference

Shelter from the Storm

(Kari Barlow for AWFUMC) - About two weeks after Hurricane Michael devastated Panama City and much of the surrounding area, Lynn Haven UMC Student Minister Neil McGee knew his youth group desperately needed a change of scenery. “Some of them hadn’t left for the storm, and they were traumatized,” he said. “Everywhere you go it’s nothing but total destruction. It takes its toll.” So McGee reached out to First UMC Opelika—where his wife Mimi grew up and he used to volunteer—about hosting the kids for a respite weekend. He envisioned a few low-key, relaxing days by the lake with no big plans. What he got was an overwhelming display of Christian love in action. Full feature here.

COT South Walton Site Development

(COT) - Emily Proctor, the community chaplain in South Walton county, Florida, is working with Communities of Transformation to start a new site near the Santa Rosa Beach area. Emily was excited to report that over forty people attended the initial community meeting on Thursday, November 8. Twenty-six people indicated interest in serving as volunteers in some capacity, and over $10,000 was pledged to help launch the new site! Two local churches also expressed a willingness to host the weekly meetings. Contact Emily Proctor at emilyproctor.cot @gmail.com or call 850-783-0237 to learn how you can be a part of COT in the panhandle. Click here to read a story published in The Walton Sun.

Blue Lake Offers Winter Retreat

Registration is now available for Blue Lake Camp's Winter Retreat 2019. Students in 3rd-5th grades are invited to attend and will enjoy winter fun, worship and spiritual growth. The theme is, "I am with you always" based on Matthew 28:20. Click here for registration.

Huntingdon College Assembles UMCOR Kits

Students, faculty, and staff from Huntingdon College filled UMCOR buckets for Hurricane Michael relief. The college partnered with St. James UMC who provided the buckets and the college filled them with necessary items. Thank you Huntingdon College for your service!

AWF United Methodist Lawyer Names Needed

The Chancellors for the North Alabama Conference and the Alabama-West Florida Conference sponsor a seminar for lawyers which focuses on church related legal matters. This seminar is important as it benefits the lawyers who help our churches in legal matters. The Chancellors have worked hard on putting this seminar together. In order for the seminar to be successful, we need your help. Please send a list of the lawyers in your congregation to my office so that we can invite them to the seminar. We will need the names, addresses and email address (if known) for the lawyers in your church. We will send invitations to each of them along with program information. The seminar is scheduled for March 28, 2019, therefore we need to send out information about the seminar as soon as possible. Please give this matter your prompt attention and send your list to Lauren Smith at lauren@awfumc.org.

Connectional News

Bishops mourn death of President George H.W. Bush

(COB) - The death of George H.W. Bush, the nation's 41st president, was mourned by the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church in a letter to his son, 43rd President George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura. The elder Bush died on Nov. 30. Read press release. Read letter.

Choirs needed for 2020 General Conference

(UMNS) - United Methodist choirs and worship ensemble groups from around the world may now audition online for an invitation to perform at the 2020 General Conference, The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly, which meets in Minneapolis, Minn. from May 5 -15, 2020. To apply for an invitation to General Conference, groups are asked to submit a letter of application that includes the following: 1) name of group; 2) name of primary contact person along with email address and phone number; 3) brief history/bio of the group including number of members, general age range, group’s location, and any unique characteristics; and 4) a link to a private YouTube video of the group performing. More here.

Special session pre-registration now available

Guests and observers to the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference, The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly, may now pre-register online. General Conference will meet in St. Louis, Missouri at the America’s Center February 23-26, 2019. Guest and observer registration is required to attend the General Conference sessions. There is a suggested badge fee of $7 for early registration and $10 for on-site registration to offset the costs of the credentialing process. Early registration is now available through January 31, 2019. More here.

Resources

Open Enrollment for Conference Insurance for 2019

Are you eligible for the conference health/dental insurance? Interested? Have questions? Contact BeLinda Carnegie at Office (888-873-3127) for answers about eligibility. Open enrollment begins November 1st and ends December 14th. The effective date of coverage is January 1, 2019. More here.

2020 Lay Delegate Informational Form and Profile Link Available

The Alabama-West Florida Conference will elect its delegation to the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences during the 2019 Annual Conference Session in Montgomery on June 2-5. The AWF Conference is allowed four (4) clergy and four (4) lay delegates to General Conference. An additional four (4) clergy and four (4) lay delegates will be chosen to complete the Jurisdictional Conference delegation. Two (2) alternate clergy delegates and two (2) alternate lay delegates to the Jurisdictional Conference will also be elected. Those AWF United Methodists who wish to be nominated as a lay delegate to General and Jurisdictional Conference may be nominated by self-nomination by filling out the Delegate Nomination Form here. Click here for the complete informational document.