News

(Ruth Ann Powers) - It was with a rousing send-off that the COSROW Event of 2013 began. The participants came together with joy and sadness to honor Dawn Wiggins Hare. Dawn has been selected to serve as the General Secretary of ...

(Rev. Butch Cousins) - When I was assigned to be the pastor at Plantersville United Methodist Church and the pastor of Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church things did not look very promising. Plantersville was in a state of ...

Nick Mielke, Director of Youth at Prattville First United Methodist Church, talks with us about the upcoming Ultimate Training Event in Youth Ministry and what conference attendees can expect.  Q: Tell me a little bit about ...

The CATAPULT conference returns on April 29-May 1 at Christ United Methodist Church in Mobile, AL. CATAPULT's goal is to launch leaders into Kingdom mission. More and more, we see the need to understand all Christians as ...

To: Members and friends of the Alabama West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church: Greetings in the name of Christ. As preparations are underway for the 2013 meeting of Annual Conference June 2-5 at Christ UMC in ...

(Rebecca Morris) - The United Methodist Children's Home welcomed a new director in 2012, Dr. Blake Horne. As Dr. Horne transitions into his new role, he explained his vision and direction for this worthwhile agency.  What led to ...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference would like to congratulate Dr. R. Lawson Bryan, senior pastor at Montgomery First United Methodist Church, on being named to the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits. Dr. Bryan replaces ...

"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." (Jer. 31:15) (Bishop Paul L. Leeland) - Unbelievable. Unspeakable. Shock. Our nation ...

This Christmas letter is written specifically to all who, for whatever reasons, have been pushed to the periphery of life; to those who deeply desire their lives to be better - filled with more joy; to those who long for the ...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference is pleased to announce that Heidi Mitchell has been named the new controller in the fiscal office. Mitchell has already begun her work at the conference headquarters. Ms. Mitchell’s previous ...

Click HERE to view PowerPoint slides from the AWF Board of Trustees’ Report to the Annual Conference on January 5, 2013 Click HERE to read a FAQ document about the purchase The Alabama-West Florida Conference of The United ...

(Bradni Belcher) - Fall Break at Martin Methodist means many things to many different folks but to some students, staff and faculty it means an opportunity to serve God and God’s creation. For seven students, a faculty member and ...

(Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon) - Bishop Paul Leeland and members of the Cabinet met in a regularly scheduled session recently in Montgomery, Alabama. We celebrate the work of our congregations and conference ministries in the efforts to ...

Thank you for your continued prayers for the people affected by the storm Sandy, and now the "nor'easter" that hit much of the same area over the last day or so. This is a reminder of how you and your church can respond: Give Now...

Thank you for your continued prayers for the people who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy - including those all the way from the Carribean to the northeast. After your prayers, the next best way you and your churches can ...

The response to Hurricane Sandy is still in the emergency/rescue stage, but UMCOR is already a caring presence in the area and hard at work preparing for the next stages of recovery and relief. Click here to see how UMCOR is ...

Alabama Rural Ministries Summer Opportunity Are you looking for a meaningful summer opportunity where you can experience and share Christ’s love in service to others? Alabama Rural Ministry (ARM) is seeking young adult Christians ...

Birmingham, AL--The United Methodist Children’s Home (UMCH), a 120-year-old child care agency based in Montgomery, Alabama, announces the addition of Rebecca Morris and Lara Wheeler to its newly organized Birmingham Office of ...

(Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon) - The Cabinet of the Alabama-West Florida Conference met in a regularly scheduled session last week at the Conference Office in Montgomery. We continue to affirm the work of our local churches in the ongoing ...

Friends, We have received word that the Louisiana Conference has started registering Emergency Response Trained teams to respond to damage by Hurricane Isaac. If you have a current ERT badge (ie. have completed the UMCOR ERT ...

Almost 100 persons have registered for the Alabama-West Florida pilgrimage to the Holy Land hosted by Bishop Paul Leeland, and the invitation is extended to any others who would like to be included. All clergy and laity of the ...

(Dr. Philip McVay) - Do we remember what was happening ninety days ago? Ninety days ago would have been Memorial Day Weekend and Annual Conference was just around the corner. In the twinkling of an eye the summer of 2012 has now ...

Dear Friends: I have spoken at length with the Mississippi Disaster Coordinator, Wayne Napier. He is putting me in touch with the Seashore District Disaster Coordinator. At this time there are families that have been moved to ...

Dear Friends, Several years ago the Alabama West-Florida Conference designated the second Sunday in September as Camping Sunday* to give attention to your wonderful ministry at Blue Lake Camp and to recognize our dedicated ...

(Su Ofe, Montgomery, AL) - Huntingdon College President J. Cameron West announced today that two scholarships have been established to honor Huntingdon alumna Pearl Norton Jackson (Mrs. Alto L.) of Clio, Alabama. The scholarships ...

Friends, At this point, I am most thankful for the reports I have received from our district disaster response coordinators. Although Hurricane Isaac has not entirely made its way through our conference, it appears we will not ...

Friends, We are coming closer to knowing more about where Isaac will land, although if you have experience with tropical storms and hurricanes, you know they can turn on a moment's notice. Because of that possibility, we have not ...

Friends,  The 12:30pm Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) held a conference call today and briefings suggest we go into a stage two readiness plan and be ready to fully activate Tuesday at noon or before. This ...

Friends, The district disaster response coordinators, along with AWF Conference leaders, just completed a conference call. Several noteworthy pieces of information were mentioned that might be of interest to you or your local ...

Friends, The Alabama-West Florida Conference Disaster Response Team is on standby in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac. We are closely watching the developments of this storm to see if it intensifies and the direction it will ...

Perdido Bay United Methodist Church's Flora-Bama Outreach gained national attention on August 15 with a feature article about its unique ministry and the people it reaches.  Click here to read the associated press article posted ...

Friends in Ministry, Below is a link to an Episcopal Address that Bishop Robert Schnase delivered to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in July. I would like to ask each of you to take time to read or watch this. We are ...

An anonymous donation. A student quietly hearing the call to ministry. Letters from donors to seminary students to show their support. The Stegall Seminary Scholarship Endowment Foundation makes a monumental impact on the future ...

(Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon) - Bishop Leeland and members of the Cabinet met this past week in a regularly scheduled session in Montgomery, AL. We celebrate the variety of ministries found across the conference and were able to receive ...

(Rev. Neil McDavid) - July 1, 2011, The Rev. Sean and Sandra Peters were appointed to the growing Crestview, FL area to plant a new United Methodist Church. The church, The Journey, began public worship gatherings at Crestview ...

(DONALD W. HAYNES, UMR COLUMNIST) - United Methodists love our bishops. One of the 1808 “Restrictive Rules” was that subsequent General Conference sessions could not “change nor alter any part or rule of our government so as to do...

On Friday, August 3, six Alabama-West Florida pastors graduated from the Emory Course of Study School in Atlanta. Five of these graduated from the Basic Course of Study: Dunford Cole, pastor of the Thomaston Charge (Demopolis ...

(Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon) - What would a simple phone call to the members of your church do to ensure the "summer slide" doesn't become a "fall flop?" As I have traveled the district this summer, many of you have mentioned a much ...

(Bishop Paul L. Leeland) - Coming home is always a great feeling. My appointment as the resident Bishop of The Alabama-West Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church felt like coming home. Janet and I certainly express our...

(Rev. Neil McDavid) - One of the ten new places for new people highlighted at our recent annual conference was The Harbor, a new church plant in Dothan, AL. This new congregation is being planted in the area where Love In Action ...

The 3.0 Missional Internship program is currently in its fourth summer of work in Mobile's inner city communities. The interns are an incredible blessing to those they serve. For many interns themselves, it has been a truly ...

Mrs. Betty West has been named as Conference Secretary for our Alabama-West Florida Conference effective December 1, 2012. Mrs. West is currently the Executive Assistant to the Director of Ministerial Services and will remain in ...

The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference is just days away. Below you will find helpful notes and links whether you are attending or following from within the conference. E-mail updates will be sent during the conference to ...

(Dr. Steve Furr) - The five jurisdictional conferences in the United States will meet at the same time July 18-20, 2012. Jurisdictional conferences are held once every four years in the same year as the general conference. Equal ...

(Rev. Neil McDavid) - Ten “new places for new people” and three new ministries were highlighted at our recent Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference. New church starts, new second campuses, off-site services, new services, new ...

Led by United Methodist Children’s Home Chaplain Rev. Lonna Lynn Higgs, spiritually vibrant and mature volunteers from among United Methodist clergy and lay ministry professionals will now serve as spiritual caregivers in each of ...

The 2012 Alabama–West Florida Annual Conference was held June 3-6 in Mobile, AL with the theme, “Partnership in the Gospel....Serving the World.” Bishop Paul L. Leeland, presiding over his fourth annual conference session since ...

(Lisa Pierce) - From Friday, May 4, through Sunday, May 6, ten bikers/cyclists crossed Alabama to raise awareness about the housing needs in some of the poorest areas of our country, while raising money for home repairs in Lee, ...

(Pat Luna) - Every three years the Upper Room offers The Academy for Spiritual Formation in the Southeast Jurisdiction. Three of the six members of the leadership team are from AWF: Pat Luna (Point Washington UMC) is the Retreat ...

(Montgomery, AL) - The 2012 General Conference of the United Methodist reconvened this morning at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, FL by starting the day off with several challenging and energetic messages. Bishop Peter D. ...