News

Pastor’s Note, March 2023

Dear Aldersgate UMC and Friends of Aldersgate,

It is a good and gracious thing to be back in Juneau after nearly two weeks of travel. I have much to share from my travel seminar to Cuba last month, where I visited Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey, and Santiago. I will plan a workshop after Eastertide (with a potluck, of course) to share more details. For now, I give you thanks for your support of this opportunity. I was able to be in worship, study, and fellowship with many new friends and learn so much about the unique culture and struggles of the Cuban people.

I want to take a moment to celebrate the music ministry of Aldersgate. Hannah and Susan have engaged and welcomed a diverse, multigenerational choir of women and youth that have blessed our worship services with rich vocals! We are looking forward to longer days with more singers and more song! I love to see our children participating and playing instruments. I am still smiling from having 10 children at worship yesterday.

We have started planning for Bishop Bridgeforth’s installation at Aldersgate on Saturday, May 20th. This event will be by invitation from the Greater Northwest Conference. There will be opportunities to meet and greet the Bishop and members of the Cabinet from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest on Friday and Sunday of the same weekend. We are so lucky to be able to host this important celebration in the life of the United Methodist Church! Look at God!!

I want to thank our Trustees for their hard work in painting the preschool rooms and sprucing up our church spaces. There has been a fantastic turnout for work parties led by Kimberly, and we are grateful! Our Mission District Task Force for the Alaska Conference has made great strides with Strategic Planning, which are aligned with our work at Aldersgate. I will be working on our goals with our laity this month. Stay tuned for those details.

With Gratefulness and Peace,

Pastor Kristi

Pastor’s Note, February 2023

Dear Aldersgate & Friends of Aldersgate,

We have so very much to celebrate. Thanks to Susan Johnson for joining us as a pianist and harmonizing with Aldersgate’s Musician Hannah Kuhnert. Our music ministry continues to flourish, now with the adult choir meeting on Thursdays at 6:30 pm. It is a blessing to have these voices singing again in our sanctuary during Sunday worship.

We are honored that Aldersgate UMC will be hosting the Installation of Bishop Cedrick D Bridgeforth on May 20th. Pastor Kristi will be working with Pastor Lisa Talbott (Director of Connectional Ministries) to support this event with hospitality and grace. We look forward to having Bishop Cedrick, his husband Christopher Hucks-Ortiz, and clergy from the Pacific Northwest visit our wonderful community. We have been praying for opportunities for our church to share our positivity, inclusiveness, and love, and this is a wonderful answer to those prayers. The installation of the Bishop will not be a public event, but we expect opportunities for fellowship and relationship-building with our PNW colleagues.

It is Black History Month, and I invite you to explore the history and writings of black authors, theologians, and musicians. Today, I shared a Word from Rev Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III. I recommend the works of Walter Earl Fluker, James Cone, Gregory C. Ellison II, Luke A Powery, Leah Gunning Francis, and Kelly Brown Douglas for theological study. If you’re interested in reading a selection from these authors, I would be delighted to share a book with you.

Grace & Peace,

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

Pastors Note, June 2022

Dear Aldersgate,

It is hard to believe that this is my last newsletter.

I want to thank you for six very interesting years. For me the first three years were the best, when I was able to serve full time at Aldersgate. I loved almost every minute of those first three years.

I especially have happy memories of making espresso coffee and baking scones in the church kitchen for those who wanted to come early to church on Sunday morning. From mystery dinners, to caroling in the snow, from Advent stars to hosting Forest Rangers for soup supper, and many hours of worship and prayer together, from working at the Glory Hall to playing, we had some wonderful and good times. Alas, many of those things that meant the most to me, and maybe to you as well, went to the wayside when we went to a 1/2 time appointment. That, followed by the pandemic, really put a damper on things. I have had to mourn what could have been as I have processed leaving and moving to a new appointment.

The losses of the past 3 years are why I am so happy that you will have a 3/4 time minister with Pastor Kristi. I firmly believe that going above 1/2 time will give the ministries at Aldersgate a tremendous boost. I am confident that this congregation will be a flourishing full time ministry before you know it!

Many of us had the opportunity to work with Pastor Kristi for the past few years with the youth programs and building our online worship. We know what an amazing pastor she is and are excited about the gifts and graces that she is bringing, as your new pastor, to this new era in ministry in the Mendenhall Valley.

Aldersgate has a strong and committed worship team with strong and gifted young adult leadership. Young adult leaders are a rare and beautiful thing these days in ministry settings. Welcoming these folks to the existing leadership of Aldersgate and supporting their new vision for us will surely make for a season of renewal and rebirth for our congregation.

Thank you for your partnership the past 6 years. I pray God’s abundant blessings on your ministry together in the years ahead.

Pastor Karen