Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, January 2023

Dear Aldersgate & Friends of Aldersgate,

Happy New Year! I want to the Tech Team for their amazing support of four worship services during the week of Christmas. We met new people and had our first Filipino Christmas Service. This service led by Pastor Bennie Grace (JoJo) Nabua was our most engaging Livestream during Advent and Christmas! We are grateful for her participation and the fellowship of the families (mostly virtual). We hope to continue this as a ministry into the new year.

Our Aurora Lights Childcare Center will be closing earlier than expected on January 18th. I want to thank and recognize Barb and Charlie Mitchell for the thousands of hours that they have volunteered to provide affordable childcare to our community and to nurture families and staff with generosity, love, and grace. It has been such a successful endeavor and gift to Aldersgate UMC. As part of our strategic planning, we will be outlining goals for the use of our building in harmony with the ministry of our church. At this time, we do not plan to continue a childcare center in the church building because of the lack of staffing available in Juneau. We do plan to continue to engage and support children and families as we enter a new season of the church.

Susan Johnson has joined our music ministry and has quickly entered into a rhythm with Hannah and Bobbi. We welcome her back to Juneau and Aldersgate. We are still working on a rebirth of our adult choir (led by Susan) and a new youth choir (led by Missouri) and will keep you posted on those developments. If you are interested in participating in the adult choir, please join us at 9:15 am on Sunday, January 15th (before worship) for a quick meeting to get the singing started!

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, December 2022

Dear Aldersgate & Friends of Aldersgate,

We are in the second week of Advent and entering the third week. Advent is a season of anticipation and of quiet preparation for the presence of Christ. As followers of Jesus, we believe that the world will be transformed into something new. This world is counter-cultural. It is a kin-dom with peace and equity.

Advent is the beginning of a new year in the liturgical calendar of the church. I encourage you to embrace this new season in the spirit that it is intended. Resist the rush and the pressure to spend resources, and find where Christ is with you now. May you be restored by the beauty and magnificence of the incarnation of God. May you be childlike with wonder and imagination.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, November 2022

Dear Aldersgate,

I want to start off our November newsletter by announcing that our former District Superintendent, Rev Carlo Rapanut has been elected as a new Bishop for the Western Jurisdiction. Congratulations to Carlo and the Rapanut Family!!

It is a season of transitions in ministry, as I shared in my Pastor’s Report (click here) and our Lay Leader David Means also shared (below)! The Holy Spirit is at work in this time of rebirth, and I am so grateful to be with each of you during this season of ministry for Aldersgate UMC.

It was a joy to welcome DS Rev Christina DowlingSoka to our Sanctuary for our All Church Conference and share a well balanced potluck meal. Our Nominations were approved, Pastor’s Compensation was approved, we saw a final address video from Bishop Elaine Stanovsky, and we shared our celebrations as a church. Thank you to all who participated!

We are planning for Advent and Christmas, so please send me your favorite Advent and Christmas Hymns and Carols (email [email protected]). We are planning to have a youth choir and adult choir begin meeting and singing. Please also send me an email if you are interested in participating. Practice will begin soon! The first opportunity to sing will be at the Douglas UMC outdoor tree lighting on Nov 25th with Missouri Smyth. Let me know the best dates and times to practice.

Please join us to ready the Celebration room for Advent on Sunday, Nov 26th. There are so many opportunities for us to gather together for worship and fellowship!

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, October 2022

Dear Aldersgate,

I am grateful to our Lay Leadership at Aldersgate for all of the work that they have done in the past three months to repair and ready the parsonage, to prepare worship every Sunday, and to adapt to all of the changes that we have had. What a blessing it is to be your pastor! A special shout out to David Means for bringing the message to you two weeks in a row during my travels! This weekend, I will be in Anchorage for the Fall Professional Workers retreat on October 7th- 9th.

Please keep our Aurora Light Child Care Ministry in your prayers. Just like all of Juneau and many other communities, the labor crisis has impacted our ability to maintain staffing in a consistent manner. Our lay leadership and volunteer ALCC board are working hard to continue this ministry.

I invite you to serve in our ministries and participate in reading the Scripture and Prayers in worship and serving on our committees to be stewards of the tithes that are offered through your giving. We have an exciting time ahead. If you are new to the church, please mark October 30th on your calendars for our Annual Conference. It is a great way to get acquainted with the ways that the church conducts ministry.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, September 2022

Dear Aldersgate,

The Autumnal Equinox is just a couple of weeks away! As we welcome fall, we settle into a time of planning for our church. On September 10th, we will hold a strategic planning meeting in person at Aldersgate UMC from 10 am to 1 pm. We encourage and welcome your participation as we set a direction for the ministry of the church. This meeting will leverage the visioning work that we did last fall.

October 7th- 9th is the Fall Professional Workers retreat, and I will be traveling to Anchorage. This is the first time our clergy and professionals have met in person since 2019. It will be good to gather and continue our work to live out our values as the Mission District of the future.

Mark your calendars for a tentatively scheduled Annual Meeting and Charge Conference with our new District Superintendent, Christina Dowling-Soka on October 30th in the afternoon. Rev Christina will be traveling to Juneau, and we are coordinating with her to be able to hold this gathering in person.

Finally, I will be traveling to Missouri from November 7th through November 10thfor my final Full Connection Board of Ordained Ministry Interviews. I’m amid submitting nearly 50 pages of cited theological and doctrinal content, project work, and demonstrated discipleship growth along with six evaluations due on September 16th. This is a significant body of work, and I ask for your prayers and support during this time. The Missouri Conference will be scheduling an onsite visit and additional valuation between September 16th and November 4th here in Juneau. After the November 9th interview in Missouri, the full cabinet votes on my ordination. It is the culmination of 9 years of hard work. I’m grateful that the congregation of Aldersgate UMC is with me on this journey and look forward to walking this path together.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, August 2022

Dear Aldersgate,

We have had an amazing first month together. Many thanks to the Trustees and Council Members who have prepared the parsonage for our family!

We completed four weeks of Freedom School and goodness do we miss our amazing scholars.

Thanks again to Steven Dahl for his work with the scholars on 5 Little Libraries. These will be shared with the community. One will be placed at Aldersgate UMC, one will be gifted to Douglas Community UMC, one will be at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church, one will be at Eagle River United Methodist Camp, and the final one will be at Nine Mile Creek Road!

I invite you to attend worship in person on Sundays at 10 am at Aldersgate UMC, located at 9161 Cinema Drive. I look forward to meeting with each of you during our listening sessions that we have planned for August. Please join one of them from the list below, so that I can get to know you better.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Kristi

“Meet Pastor Kristi, our new pastor. Share with her your story and your aspirations for Aldersgate. Plan to meet her after church on Sunday, August 14 or August 21. Plan to meet her in person at Aldersgate on August 18 at 6:30 PM. Or tune into a zoom meeting on August 16 at 6:30.”

Pastor’s Note, July 2022

Dear Aldersgate,

It was a joy to be with all of you for my first Sunday on July 3rd. What a wonderful and warm welcome. Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you better after our family moves into the parsonage in another week. Stay tuned for plans to connect!

We are finishing our second week of Freedom School at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church. It has been a joy-filled experience to see our 28 scholars singing, chanting, reading, and making new friendships within the spaces at the church. One of the guardians of three of our scholars said it well. He said, “Thank you for opening your home to us.”

We invite you to join us as a guest reader from 8:30 am to 9:00 am during Harambe. We also invited you to the “Finale” at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church on July 15th at 3 pm. Please contact Pastor Kristi ([email protected]) or Pastor Tracey Wolff ([email protected]) to participate.

We acknowledge the help and participation from so many of you. Thank you for providing resources, meals, housing, transportation, and hospitality to the scholars and to Pastor Tracey, Zaheer, Sheilah, Karly, Dr. Sabrina & Mr. Shakespeare. We are so very fortunate that they have come to Juneau to share their gifts and talents with us. We would not have a Freedom School without the support and love from so many gracious souls.

We held our last Cooperative Youth Group for this season on June 26th. It has been such an honor to be able to work with our amazing youth and to grow with them in discipleship and in ministry. I will carry the joy that I have for each of you in my heart as I move into a new ministry. I will continue to advocate for you, pray for you, and cheer for your continued growth and success.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Kristi