26 April 2019
Dear St John family,
Adam Hamilton, pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood Kansas, along with other denominational leaders, is convening 600 persons, members from all 54 US Conferences along with the bishops and general secretaries, to meet at the Church of the Resurrection May 20-22 to help determine a healthier path(s) forward for our churches and members in the wake of the decisions of General Conference 2019. You can read more about the convening of this gathering here.
We have learned that six persons, three clergy and three lay, from the Alaska Conference were selected by the Convening Group of this gathering and invited to participate in this conversation: The Rev. Carlo Rapanut, the Rev. Charley Brower, the Rev. Andy Bartel, Karen Shields, Tina Racy, and Debbie Pintsch will be attending on behalf of the Alaska Conference.
The Alaska Conference is not paying for any of our St John folks to travel and attend. Funding is coming from personal and local church dedicated funds. These six are not making decisions for the people called United Methodist in Alaska, but instead will be a bridge to the larger denominational conversation about our path(s) forward. Stay tuned for updates from this group about our learnings, and about upcoming conversations across Alaska as together we discern our way forward.
All grace and peace,
Pastor Andy