Continuing our series on our reconsideration of becoming a Mission District of the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church, I’d like to offer my perspective as a former member of the Mission District Task Force, a current member of the Leadership Team, and a member of the LGBTQ community.

We’ve already heard about the work that the Mission District Task Force has undertaken to hone in on our conference values. And we’ve heard from our Leadership Team chair about the thoughtfulness with which we’ve considered the changing financial and administrative landscape of The United Methodist Church. I echo the sentiments of my colleagues who wrote those perspectives.

I’d like to offer a look at what the emotions were felt in the aftermath of the Special Session of General Conference in 2019 and how that’s changed.

When the General Conference passed the Traditional Plan, I wept both tears of sadness and anger for a church that felt like it was betraying the very values that had drawn me to it. That decision threw the Alaska Annual Conference into a whirlwind of uncertainty. As a Missionary Conference, we’re beholden to the wider church in a way that other Annual Conferences aren’t, both financially and structurally. At that time, our decision to pursue joining the PNW was seen by myself as a life raft; a way for Alaska to preserve our values and our connection as United Methodists. When it looked like the worldwide church was in imminent danger of becoming an institution not safe for LGBTQ people, our strong partnerships and shared values with the PNW was a beacon of hope. It meant that we Alaskans could forge a future with the PNW, leading with love.

The pandemic gave us a time to pause and reflect on our decisions. I do believe the work carried out by the Mission District Task Force was vital for our annual conference and I recognize that the promise of partnership with PNW gave me the hope to remain part of the United Methodist Church. However, we are in a much different place now.

After GC2019, a wave of progressive and centrist delegates were elected across the connection. This changed the calculus of what future General Conferences could mean for LGBTQ people. In the end it was traditionalist churches that disaffiliated en masse, not inclusive ones. The Western Jurisdiction acted prophetically in continuing to ordain queer clergy and bless same sex marriages. And now, here in the Greater Northwest we get to carry out our ministry under the leadership of The UMC’s first out, married gay bishop. Bishop Cedrick is certainly more than that, but nonetheless those identifiers are a visible sign of the change that the Holy Spirit is stirring in the church.

After a season of fear and apprehension I can now say with confidence that I feel great hope for The United Methodist Church. If at some point it is necessary to join forces with the PNW we will still have that option. But for now, we need not act out of the fear we felt after GC2019. I look forward to the Special Called Session to discuss these ideas more fully with the Alaska Annual Conference, and I strongly urge our members to reconsider our decision to join the PNW as a Mission District.

From Tyler Watson

Along with the Alaska Conference Leadership Team and our Mission District Task Force, your Alaska Conference Delegation to General Conference has been reexamining our move toward becoming a Mission District of the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.  

We are in agreement that, though we don’t know what our long-term future might be, now is not the right time to seek to become a Mission District.  

In large part, this is based upon the changes we’ve seen since we voted as a conference to seek Mission District status in February 2020. Nearly four years have passed and we are in a different place in our conference and the larger church. A lot has happened.

We’ve seen the following changes:

— New leadership and focus at the General Board of Global Ministries

— Postponement of General Conference 2020

— Disaffiliations from The United Methodist Church

— Positive work accomplished by the Mission District Task Force

Back in February of 2020, we were supportive of the petition that was submitted to General Conference to change our status from a Missionary Conference to a Mission District.

However, at this point in time, with the new reality we’re in, we encourage you to reconsider the previous action we took as a conference in February of 2020.

As your delegation, we are ready to do the work necessary to see that our petition, which has already been submitted and is in the hands of the delegates to next spring’s General Conference, isn’t approved by the body.  

In addition to general information sharing regarding our changed desire within the denomination as a whole, with the assistance of our communicators, we will specifically work with the legislative committee to which our petition is assigned to be sure that, as that committee addresses and votes on our petition, they have the full information including our desire to change our request relative to the already submitted petition.

Assuming we get the support of the legislative committee to which it is assigned, it is likely to then be put on a consent calendar and is therefore unlikely to be pulled from that for introduction, discussion, and vote by the whole body separately.  

Your delegation does feel that this is the appropriate thing to do at this point in time and we ask that you support this request for reconsideration of our previous action taken in 2020.      

Jo Anne Hayden, Lay Delegate to General Conference

Jim Doepken, Clergy Delegate to General Conference

On February 22,2020, we gathered at the Alaska UM Conference Center at 1660 Patterson St. in Anchorage as laity and clergy for a Special Session of Annual Conference. We voted to approve a petition to General Conference asking for Alaska to be released from missionary conference status at the close of the 2020 Jurisdictional Conference, so that the Western Jurisdiction could include Alaska within the boundaries of another conference in the same Episcopal Area.

This legislation was in response to the Special Session of General Conference in 2019. At the time, our Annual Conference feared that the Alaska Conference might not have a voice or choice if The United Methodist Church divided. We feared we might be assigned to a new denomination or segment of the UMC where LGBTQ+ people were excluded from the ministry and life of the church. We took this action in 2020 to honor and to affirm the value of each person in our faith community as a child of God. We took this action to ensure that our pastoral leaders would be able to continue to practice marriage equality and to be appointed to church leadership without discrimination because of sexual orientation. We also took this action with a vision of shared services with the Pacific Northwest Conference (PNW) for financial stability, including the opportunity to share our own spiritual gifts and our resources.

As our Conference Leadership Chair, Erin Reinders, shared in her letter last week, the only thing that has been certain has been change. The 2020 General Conference has been postponed twice, due to the pandemic. It is now scheduled for April 23 to May 3, 2024. In three to four years, a lot has changed, and this legislation is no longer in the best interest of our Alaska Conference given our current realities as 2023 comes to a close. Sadly, we now live in the reality of disaffiliations in our denomination.

There has been a blessing from this delay and the changes that have come from it. We no longer fear that we will be unable to include all children of God in our ministry settings. This is a gift, and it is a debt that we must pay forward. Look at God!

Today, I am representing the Mission District Task Force (MDTF). This is a diverse group of pastoral leaders and laity appointed to plan for the changes that were expected for the transition to a mission district of the PNW. Our work began in November of 2020 to retool our processes and our structure for our unique context. We were also charged to do a deep dive into the identity, culture and values that shape how we live into a future together as people called United Methodists in Alaska.

This work of the MDTF has been generative and transformational in our context and has shaped how we live our values during this season of our ministry together. This work and the shift in culture that we have initiated in our conference does not depend upon our transition to become a mission district. This work will continue regardless of our status or our titles within it.

Most importantly, this work is in accordance with the M.I.L.E and the vision that has been cast by Bishop Cedrick. Our next step is to integrate the two strategies and six goals that we have established with the MILE for further integration in our conference committees and local churches.

We anticipate that Bishop Cedrick will call a Special Session in early December to pull our support from the prior legislation which will be addressed by General Conference in April. We hope you will join us in voting to remain as a missionary conference without dissolution at this time. A new petition is being drafted for your review.

With Grace & Courage,
Rev. Kristi McGuire on behalf of the Mission District Task Force

When meeting to discuss our vision and work for the coming year, the Leadership Team came to the consensus that moving forward with a transition to become a Mission District of the Pacific Northwest Conference (PNW) was not in our best interest at this time. Instead, we agreed that remaining as a missionary conference and maintaining our identity as the Alaska United Methodist Conference (AUMC) was actually more aligned with our conference values.

As a reminder, the Leadership Team coordinates the work of the AUMC. We support the implementation of our conference priorities including work in support of Annual Conference decisions and direction. The Leadership Team is composed of both laity and clergy members who use conference values as our guide in discussions, decision making, and actions. Simply put, this means our focus is on lovingly dismantling inequities, recognizing and prioritizing local experiences, and living into meaningful connectionalism.

Much has changed since the Alaska Annual Conference voted in support of a transition into a Mission District of the PNW. The globe has experienced a pandemic that resulted in the delay of the General Conference, and votes pertaining to the future identity of the United Methodist Church as well as our legislation related to this transition. This pause has allowed for each of us to reflect, and we have the opportunity now to change our mind regarding past decisions.

As we know, Alaska is a unique and wonderfully diverse place. Understanding and respecting the diversity of Alaska’s people and geographies is vital in ensuring that our mission and ministry are both relevant and effective. The missional conference structure as it exists now allows for place-based cultural sensitivity and flexibility which is paramount for sustained and meaningful ministry in Alaska, especially in our remote and underserved areas.

Changing our minds need not mean we need to revert back to the way things had been. We now have an opportunity to take what we have learned over the past few years and grow into something new! Our Leadership Team makeup continues to evolve in an effort to help ensure more equitable representation. The work of the Mission District Task Force, combined with the perspectives of others, can help us set the path for what our conference can be in the future. 

Friends, there is currently legislation into the General Conference for formal consideration and adoption regarding this transition. We anticipate that Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth will call for a Special Session of the Alaska Conference to reconsider this transition based on the work that we have been put in. If the Alaska Annual Conference chooses to take a different route, we need to take action that clearly communicates that choice by the end of the year. Driven by a deep commitment to the mission and ministry of the AUMC, I invite each of us to consider this and forthcoming articles on this topic, to participate in any upcoming discussions, and attend an anticipated Special Called Session where the Annual Conference may formally reconsider its position on the transition. If you are a voting member of the Annual Conference, I encourage you to vote to maintain our identity as the AUMC. 

Grace and peace be with you,

Erin Reinders

The Second Sunday of September has been designated as ALASKA CONFERENCE SUNDAY across the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church. This is a day to highlight and celebrate the unique ministries of the Alaska Conference and to take a special offering to support these missions and ministries. That coming Sunday is September 11, 2022.

On that Sunday (or another Sunday during the Fall) it is hoped that our Alaska churches and those in our sibling conferences will collect an offering to support some of those ministries in Alaska which rely upon support beyond the local communities in which they minister.

This year we celebrate our three Mission Churches! These are three congregations who are unique in their remote geographical settings, their attention to persons living in poverty, and their ongoing reliance on outside support to sustain pastoral leadership. On this Sunday, you are encouraged to either make a donation to your local church and mark it for one or more of the mission churches or to give online using the Advance numbers at umcmission.org.

The ministries we are highlighting are:

Willow UMC & Community Food Pantry

Willow Alaska United Methodist Church (Advance 931511) — Serving impoverished rural communities around Willow by meeting spiritual and physical needs.

Willow Community Food Pantry (Advance #931520) — Working in partnership with area churches and groups to meet emergency needs of families and address food and heat insecurity.

Unalaska UMC

http://www.unalaskaumc.org (Advance #931855) — Ministering to the Bering Sea fishing fleet, processors, stranded crew members and the community.

Nome Community UMC

Alaska Churches (Advance #931027 — SPECIFY “NOME”) — Particular need for addressing high heating costs in winter, building upgrades and upkeep, and pastoral support.

HERE IS A DOWNLOADABLE BULLETIN INSERT