Grants to help congregations fight poverty among older adults available beginning in 2014

Grants to help local congregations deal with issues surrounding “old age poverty” – one of three focus areas concerning older adults for the current quadrennium – will be offered beginning next year through the Committee on Older Adult Ministries (COAM), which is administratively related to The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD). The grants will be available to local churches that identify ways to be in ministry to older adults who face poverty issues, including...

Lesters Chapel finds joy in going the extra mile at Lent

When Lesters Chapel United Methodist Church started their 40 Day Lenten Challenge in February, nobody was really expecting any earth-shattering results.  But as the old poem states, “God works in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,” and that has been the case during this Lenten season at this small Chelsea, Alabama, church. Several Lenten Challenges are ubiquitous on the World Wide Web, and this particular challenge originated with Rev. Krista Givens, a well-known...

BSC Symphonic Band offers invitation to free concert at the Alabama Theatre on April 11

Birmingham-Southern College presents its Symphonic Band in Concert on Thursday, April 11, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the Alabama Theatre. This is the first performance at the historic Alabama Theatre for the Birmingham-Southern College Symphonic Band. Under the direction of Benjamin C. Posey, Director of Bands and Music Education Programs, the ensemble will perform wind and percussion music representing a varied repertoire of literature. This concert is free of charge and open to the...

New Horizons UMC welcomes many visitors on Biker Sunday

On Sunday, February 17, 2013, New Horizons UMC in Huntsville held a biker Sunday. New Horizons pastor Rev. Alan Richardson explains, “It was a cold day with temperatures starting out as low as 20 degrees… but the bikers came by the droves in spite of the cold to hear “God’s Praise” and worship at New Horizons.” He says, “Counting the number present was hard since everyone was moving around in this standing room only situation. The best...

Lake Junaluska Celebrates 100 Years of Transforming Lives during 2013

On June 25, 1913, after five years of planning and development, Lake Junaluska hosted its first events. At the time, Lake Junaluska consisted of Stuart Auditorium, which was an open-air structure with a dirt-covered floor, a man-made lake, and a small number of homes. Over the past 100 years, Lake Junaluska has grown into a much beloved retreat center and residential community. Today, Lake Junaluska looks to a bright future as a place of Christian hospitality, where lives are transformed...

Bishop Wallace-Padgett visits with Licensing School

On Tuesday evening, February 19, 2013, Bishop Debra-Wallace Padgett officiated at a Service of Word and Table at Gadsden First UMC.  The service was designed especially for the 2013 North Alabama Conference Licensing School students.  Several other persons from across the Mountain Lakes District were in attendance.  After worship Bishop Wallace-Padgett stayed and had a conversation with the fourteen students.  Rev. Steve Baccus, Director of Licensing School says,...

Leadership Core Meets at Camp Sumatanga

What is a leader?  How can we cultivate more leaders committed to making more disciples for Jesus Christ? What principles will guide this process?  These questions were among many prayerfully considered by the conference leadership core at Camp Sumatanga on February 25 and 26.  Guided by Craig Robertson of Spiritual Leadership Inc., (http://spiritual-leadership.org), the group included our Bishop, the District Superintendents along with Conference Treasurer Scott Selman,...

Men of Livingston Chapel UMC prepare to "Go Fishing"

A chilly Sunday morning in February found several men of Livingston Chapel UMC (Central District) busy frying bacon, sausage, scrambling eggs and even making homemade biscuits.  Sounds like a typical Methodist gathering but this one had a special purpose, to plan a fishing trip.  Yep, a fishing trip but this would be no ordinary fishing expedition even though the church is located close to the waters of Smith Lake. The men had gathered to resurrect a group known as...

Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett shares about the 2013 appointment-making process

Throughout the month of February, North Alabama Conference Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett was part of Pastor/Staff Parish Relations Committee orientations in each District. During these gatherings of clergy and lay leadership, participants discussed the general function of the Committees. They also talked about the principles that the 2013 Appointive Cabinet will use in appointment-making. The following video was a part of each of these gatherings. In this video, Bishop Wallace-Padgett...

Encounter 2013 in the books

Encounter 2013 is in the books and it was one for the ages. Over the weekend of February 22-24, 2013, nearly 450 youth and youth workers from North Alabama descended on the Gatlinburg Convention Center for three days of intense laughter, worship and hearing God's word. Our very own, Ben Nelson, worship leader at Discovery UMC in Hoover, led the worship opening with Like a Lion (God's Not Dead) and prayed that the Holy Spirit would fall and that God would come shake the ground...

Youth from Ethnic congregations share what Encounter 2013 meant to them

The North Alabama Conference Ethnic ministries gave full scholarships for youth from ethnic congregations to attend Encounter 2013. Below are testimonies from students and adults who took part in this annual event for youth. Enon UMC Chaperon:  I wish I knew about events like this when I was a child but it is the greatest thing you can do for kids in this time in age. LaTunya Littlepage: This was my first time coming, but I have to say, this is a great thing for our...

UMCH Offers Scholarships and Housing Opportunities to Foster Children Attending College

The United Methodist Children’s Home (UMCH) is working with The University of Alabama and the University of North Alabama to provide scholarships and housing to foster children and other children in alternative living situations while they attend college. UMCH will provide this opportunity for young people using its existing Tuscaloosa and Florence group homes beginning in the fall of 2013. The home in Tuscaloosa will be dedicated to young men, while the home in Florence will be...

Clay County churches offer prayers and supplies for schools at Ash Wednesday Service

The United Methodist Churches of Clay County showed love to local schools during their 2nd Annual Ash Wednesday Worship Service.  The churches donated more than $1,000 worth of school supplies to Ashland and Lineville Elementary Schools and to Central High School of Clay County.  It was all in an effort to support local teachers who often spend money out of their own pockets to pay for basics like copy paper and dry erase markers. Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, Southeast...

Otterbein University Concert Choir to perform at Saint Mark UMC on March 16

The Otterbein University Concert Choir from Westerville, Ohio, will perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at Saint Mark United Methodist Church (2901 Columbiana Rd., Vestavia Hills, Alabama 35216). The performance is part of the Choir’s annual tour. Students will tour from March 15-22. The tour will include performances in Louisville, KY.; Birmingham, AL; New Orleans, LA.; Baton Rouge, LA; Memphis, TN.; Nashville, TN; Cincinnati, OH and Westerville, Ohio. The...

Fannin Campus Ministries Center dedicated at Florida Southern College

With hymns, Scripture, and prayers, an important place in the spiritual life of Florida Southern College was given new life on Feb. 15, 2013, as the renovated Bishop Robert E. and Faye Fannin Campus Ministries Center was dedicated. The dedication ceremony formally opened the Center, which has been refurbished and expanded, providing a warm and inviting place for the nine student-led campus ministries at FSC. The building was named in honor of FSC’s Bishop-in-Residence, Bob...

Congregations invited to support UMCOR through One Great Hour of Sharing on March 10

Since April 27, 2011, our Conference has been the recipient of significant grants from UMCOR.  Without UMCOR's support, we would not have transformed so many lives by helping them recover from the storms.   UMCOR is able to share 100% of our donations go directly into the field, not to administrative costs. The reason they can do this is because their operating expenses come through the annual One Great Hour of Sharing Offering.   Now is the time for us to pay...

Northwest District to host Make or Break Your Church in 365 Days workshop

Dr. Paul Borden will be conducting the Make or Break Your Church in 365 Days Workshop at Decatur First UMC on March 15 and 16. The evening session on Friday will be from 6 to 9 and the Saturday morning session will be from 9 to noon. Refreshments will be served on both days. Registration will be $50. Call the Northwest District Office at (256) 766-4513 to register for this event. Dr. Paul Borden currently serves as Executive Minister of Growing Healthy Churches, San Ramon, CA, serving...

Bishop visits Wesley Memorial UMC on Transfiguration Sunday

On Sunday, February 10,  North Alabama Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett was the guest speaker at Wesley Memorial UMC in Decatur.  Her message on Transfiguration Sunday was one of transformation and reflection. "What in your life is new in Jesus Christ?" she asked the congregation. The congregation noted that they very much enjoyed getting to know their new bishop. "Her easy going and relaxed persona coupled with her challenging message was deeply appreciated by...

North Alabama Conference Historical Society Spring Meeting to highlight missions

The 2013 spring meeting of the North Alabama Conference Historical Society will be held at Blountsville UMC on March 9, 2013.  It will feature three presentations focusing on missions. Paulette West, the Executive Director of United Methodist Volunteers in Mission for the Southeastern Jurisdiction, (UMVIM, SEJ) will present a paper related to the history of Volunteers in Mission in the Southeast and North Alabama Conference. She plans to recognize several leaders of UMVIM teams...

Pastor/Staff Parish Relations Committee orientations to be held in each District during February

Dear Friends, A few months ago I spent a long July afternoon at Lake Junaluska along with 12 other newly elected and continuing bishops waiting to hear where we would be assigned to serve from 2012-2016. I knew many of the people on the Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee and had confidence that they would do their work with integrity and effectiveness. Nevertheless, I felt a measure of anxiety as I awaited the announcement of my assignment. After all, important aspects of my future...