Coming May 12

Pastor Autumn Krueger will bring the message "Discerning God's Will" on Mother's Day Sunday. Worship services are at 8:00, 9:15 and 11:30 a.m., with the later two services livestreamed on YouTube.

Last Sacred Circle

May 12 is the last Sacred Circle until fall. Childcare is available during the 9:15 and 11:30 worship services throughout the summer.

VBS - Register for a shirt!

Vacation Bible School - with the theme Camp Firelight - is starting in only 5 weeks! Sign up your child by May 15 to guarantee a T-shirt in the preferred size. Register here! If you're an adult interested in volunteering, please reach out to Lia Slemons.

Family in need

St. John has been made aware of a grandmother who has suddenly taken in her two young grandsons due to addiction in the family. The young boys have few belongings. The grandmother needs some immediate help with items for her grandsons for the home, and for herself. If you'd like to help, sign up here. Please bring items to the church office by noon Friday, May 10.

General Conference recap

Pastor Andy Bartel offers a brief recap of the changes for the United Methodist Church as a result of the General Conference the last two weeks. 

The General Conference of the UMC is made up of voting members, of whom 50% are clergy and 50% are laity. There are usually close to 1,000 members making up this body, which is scheduled to meet once every four years. Because of the pandemic, this body did not meet in 2020, and so April 2024 was the first “regular” General Conference since 2016. (There was a special session in 2019, but it did not deal with the regular business of the church.) The General Conference is the only body empowered to speak on behalf of the entire denomination. Read the full recap here.

Pride Month social media outreach

Help us share how great St. John is and invite folks to join us! 3 ways to participate:

1 – Video Recording of the questions below – On May 12 and 19, from 10:15-11:30 and after the 11:30 service, Nathan will have a video camera set up to record. 8 a.m. worshipers can catch Pastor Autumn on May 19 after worship.

2 – Photo and Text Submission – Write 200 words or less responding to the questions below, submit a photo, and we’ll put them together!

3 – Non-Sunday Submission – contact Pastor Autumn for instructions if you won't be in church either Sunday.

Please briefly introduce yourself (Hi, I’m NAME, and I’m a member/part of/worship at St. John UMC) and share why you made St. John your church home OR why it is important to you to belong to a welcoming, inclusive church? 

We will share these on social media in June and into July if we have more!

Youth heading to Juneau

The Youth Service Learning Camp will be July 21-27 at Eagle River Camp in Juneau. Youth from Southcentral and Southeast Alaska will serve and learn together in this cross between a service trip and camp. We will fly together to Juneau where our local connections will transport us to camp. There is a self-book option for flights (information in the registration link). Registration is $200 to cover food, activities, and supplies. You can choose to self-book and not request reimbursement and consider that the registration cost. Scholarships are available. If you'd like to offer miles or a companion ticket, please contact Pastor Autumn. Students and adult chaperones can use the same link to register! Register here by May 29.

Lowell Crane service

A memorial service for Lowell Crane, husband of St. John's longtime staff member and church member Jane Crane, will begin at 11 a.m. Alaska time on Friday, May 10, in Chardon, Ohio. Lowell passed away April 23 after a long decline from a very rare neurological disease. The service can be viewed live on Pilgrim Christian Church's Facebook page and will be available for viewing afterward as well. Read Lowell's obituary here.

Petter Jahnsen service

On May 17, Norwegian Independence Day, at 3 p.m. at O'Malley's on the Green, we will joyfully celebrate the life of Petter Jahnsen. Please join his family as we raise a glass and "skal" Petter!

If you wish to make a donation in Petter's name, please consider Hope Community Resources or AWAIC. He would be honored if you donated to any nonprofit organization that supports our community. Read his obituary here.

School of Theology registration is open

Registration for the 2024 Alaska School of Theology is now open! It will be hosted at St. John UMC in conjunction with the 2024 Annual Conference in June. Courses are scheduled for June 28 and 29 and will be led by the Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles, whose focus will be “Experiencing God.” Continuing education credits are available. Find more information and the registration link here.

Host a conference attendee

We’re so excited to host Annual Conference June 27-30 at St. John this year. If you have a spare room and can host conference participants in your home, please contact Gail in the church office. Homestays are a great way for us to be good stewards of our resources. We will have folks who need to stay from June 26-July 1. 

Cameroon mission

The team traveling to Cameroon in May has requests from their mission partners for two laptop computers ($350 each) and an electric piano ($1200). Donations can be made online here.

Garage sale is June 8

Save the date and save your stuff! The annual St. John Garage Sale which benefits the Cameroon mission is Saturday, June 8. Donations will be accepted beginning Sunday, June 2.

Alaska appointments

Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth intends to appoint the Rev. Fa'atafa Fulumu'a as pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Juneau beginning July 1.

Fulumu'a will be coming to Aldersgate from Ola Toe Fu'ataina United Methodist Church in Anchorage. He has been a licensed local pastor in the Alaska Conference since 2011.

As previously announced, Aldersgate UMC's current pastor, the Rev. Kristi McGuire will be appointed as Conference Superintendent for the Alaska United Methodist Conference in July.

The Rev. Kristi McGuire and the Rev. Christina DowlingSoka, incoming and outgoing superintendents, intend to assign Henry Taiula as lay pastor of Ola Toe Fu'ataina UMC beginning July 1.

Taiula will be attending the Western Jurisdiction's Licensing School this month with plans to become a licensed local pastor.

Music! Dance! Camp!

The Music Machine will be rehearsing at St. John again this summer! Find registration details on this fun summer camp here.

Community connection seeking housing

Middle-aged man, professional, is in need of short-term housing. He has 2 young children that visit on occasion and may stay over. Can pay some or work for stay (construction/handyman background). Contact the church office if you have a room, apartment, or need a long-term house sitter for the summer.

LGBTQ+ hoodies

Did you special-order a St. John Rainbow hoodie or other shirt? Production was delayed but orders will be here by Sunday, May 12. Thanks for your patience!

Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to noon Friday

Ph: 907-344-3025 Email us Visit our website

Address change?

Please send any contact information changes to Patti Butcher at members@stjohnanchorage.org

Have you remembered the church in your will, like a child or grandchild?