Dear Friends of the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the Global Methodist Church,
We want to personally invite you to join us for the Celebration Launch of the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the Global Methodist Church! This will be an historic gathering as it will be our very first Annual Conference. It will be held at Saint James Global Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on Friday, September 8th and Saturday, September 9th.
All clergy and laity are invited and welcome, and we encourage you to register today.
Click here to register: https://alabama-emerald-coast-conference-of-the-gmc-celebration-launch.pushpayevents.com/booking/attendees/new
Here is the full schedule for the Celebration Launch:
Friday, September 8
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Check In Opens in Lobby
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Opening Worship for Delegates in Worship Center (Lester Spencer preaching)
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. – Lunch for Registered Delegates in Family Life Center
1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. – Clergy Session in Worship Center
1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. – Laity Session in Family Life Center
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – Dinner Offsite
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Celebration Worship Service in Worship Center (Jeff Greenway preaching)
7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Ice Cream Social in Lobby and Café
Saturday, September 9
8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. – Morning Worship & Communion Service in Sanctuary (Janet Krantz preaching, Janeese Spencer presiding)
8:00 a.m. – Check In Opens in Lobby
8:00 a.m. – Vendors Open in Lobby
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Business Session in Worship Center (Keith Boyette - State of the GMC Address)
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch offsite
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Clergy Spouse Luncheon in Family Life Center
1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Service of Ordination (Bishop Jones preaching)
3:30 p.m. – Reception for Ordinands
Our theme is “Offer Them Christ”, and our keynote speakers include: Bishop Scott Jones, General Superintendent of the GMC; Dr. Jeff Greenway, President Pro Tem of the Allegheny West Provisional Conference of the GMC; Rev. Janet Krantz, Presiding Elder, Alabama Emerald Coast Conference; Rev. Keith Boyette, Transitional Connectional Officer of the GMC; and Dr. Lester Spencer, President Pro Tem, Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the GMC.
We want to invite all of the GMC Clergy Spouses to a special luncheon on Saturday, September 9 at 11:30am in the Family Life Center at Saint James Church. We ask that all spouses of GMC clergy please register so that we can save a place just for you.
We are also inviting Laity and Clergy to join us in a Prayer Vigil to be held during the entire Celebration Launch/Annual Conference. The Prayer Vigil will be held in the Prayer Room which is inside the Worship Center so you can still be a part of the Conference. We have one-hour slots available Friday from 7:30am until 7:30pm and then on Saturday from 8:00am until 4:00pm. Click here to sign up for a Prayer Vigil slot
There will be breakout sessions on Friday afternoon from 3:00pm until 4:00pm.
The Breakout Sessions:
1. An Overview of the GMC (Led by Bishop Jones, Keith Boyette & Lester Spencer)
2. New Church Starts (Led by River Network)
3. GMC Insurance and Benefits (Led by Greg McKinnon)
4. GMC Appointment Process & Interviewing Pastoral Candidates (Led by Larry Bryars)
5. Women in Ministry in the GMC (Led by Janet Krantz & Janeese Spencer)
6. Laity in Ministry (Led by Gene Floore & Debbie Smalley)
Finally, we are asking all GMC churches to consider bringing two special offering to be collected at this Celebration Launch.
First, we have partnered with the Congo Provisional Annual Conference of the GMC and hope to raise funds to assist them in their launch. They have requested resources for 15 motorcycles for their 15 Presiding Elders ($1,500 per motorcycle) plus resources for launching new GMC churches in the Congo.
Second, we are seeking start up monies for our new Alabama Emerald Coast Conference. We have a very low overhead in the new conference as we are using donated space for our new office space. However, we do have expenses that are necessary to launch and carry on the work of the AEC as we seek to assist churches and Pastors while adding value and providing leadership. As we continue to add more and more churches to our growing conference, we ask for your prayers and support. We also want to encourage churches to prayerfully consider starting your regular 2% connectional giving to the Global Methodist Church. The GMC Transitional Leadership Council has asked that our churches give 1% to the General Church and 1% to the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference. The links for both are listed here: General Church and Alabama Emerald Coast Conference
We are excited about the Celebration Launch of the AEC, and we look forward to seeing all of you there!