News

(Kari Barlow for the AWF Conference) - Auburn University Freshmen Chip Blake and Carsen Grant are proof positive that you can’t take the youth choir outta the kid. When Blake and Grant started college last fall, they proceeded to...

Bishop David W. Graves is pleased to announce two projected district appointments and two projected staff appointments. Rev. John Brooks, current Montgomery-Prattville District Superintendent, will be appointed as the Director of ...

March 5, 2018 Friends, The AWF District Superintendents, Rev. June Jernigan and I have been working on the appointment process since December and will continue to do so leading up to this year’s annual conference, which will be ...

(COB) - What is the Christ’s way forward for doing mission and ministry in the worldwide United Methodist Church? That is the question bishops pondered during their February meeting in Dallas this week as they received an updated ...

Friends, As a lay member to the 2018 annual conference, you will represent your local church and all of its members. With this leadership role comes great responsibility. You are responsible for honestly representing various and ...

With a heart to share best practices and encourage vitality and health in the local church, Crosspoint UMC hosted its 2nd “Becoming a Healthy Growing Church Conference" February 9-10 with almost 300 attendees from approximately ...

Over 225 clergy gathered from around the conference for the annual Bishop’s Day Apart held Tuesday, February 20, 2018, at St. James UMC. This year’s day apart addressed a necessary topic: clergy mental health. Mr. Terry Real of ...

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Rev. Robert H McMichael III. Robert was a friend of the Alabama-West Florida Conference through his musical service at annual conference. Robert and Jarvis Wilson were ...

Yesterday we, as a nation and church, shared in a day where love and the cross came together. Many of you were a part of an Ash Wednesday Service. Yet it was a day where we witnessed another school shooting in Florida. The ...

Two conference staff positions are available and applications are now being accepted. Both positions are located in the Alabama-West Florida Conference office in Montgomery, AL.  The Director of Connectional Ministries & ...

Starting February 22, 2018, Courageous Conversations will begin in the Alabama-West Florida Conference. These conversations will be held in twenty-seven locations throughout the bounds of the conference, with one session being ...

Three churches in the Alabama-West Florida Conference are on LenWilson's "Top 25 Fastest Growing Large United Methodist Churches, 2018 Edition." According to the Website, "The purpose of the fastest growing churches list is to ...

(Montgomery, AL) - The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church Board of Church & Society hosted a prayer breakfast on February 1, 2018, at the Alabama State House in downtown Montgomery. State Auditor Jim ...

All clergy and lay members to annual conference are strongly encouraged to watch this video message from Bishop David Graves. There are preparation assignments for both Bishop's Day Apart and 2018 Annual Conference. Click here to ...

Bishop David Graves, Resident Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference, offers a brief word from the Holy Land and shares his deep appreciation for setting a record of reaching 90.10% for 2017 missional giving. Click here to ...

(Dallas) - The Commission on a Way Forward is nearing the completion of its task of making recommendations of possible ways forward for The United Methodist Church regarding the inclusion of LGBTQ persons in this global ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, issued a statement today on behalf of the Council concerning remarks reported to have been made by President Donald Trump regarding ...

(Kari Barlow for AWFUMC) - Saint Paul United Methodist Church in Gulf Breeze wasn’t looking to add a soccer field to its property on U.S. Highway 98, but God apparently had other ideas. “How it started was I just answered the ...

Three 2018 local church council training videos are now online and available. These videos were written and produced so that committee members in the conference may be properly trained in the new year. Whether you are a veteran ...

A vision that became a reality has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the General Commission on Religion and Race. "At the Table" is an event that was held in the spring and fall of 2017 and brought together those in the conference...

Sunday, February 25, 2018, has been designated as Disability Awareness Sunday in the Alabama-West Florida Conference. As United Methodists, "We recognize that God made all creation and saw that it was good. As a diverse people of...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference is pleased to announce that Mr. Mickey Wilson has been named Interim Treasurer in the conference office. Wilson begins his service today, January 3, 2018.  Prior to coming to the Alabama-West ...

Bishop and Mrs. David Graves would like to share an Advent message with the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Click here to view the message.  You may also listen to this message as an audio-only podcast by clicking here, by ...

We invite you to watch a video message from Bishop David Graves, Resident Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Click here to view. Click here to read the written transcript. You may also listen to this message as an ...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Laurel Blackwell, co-founder of Communities of Transformation. Laurel bravely and successfully battled cancer but developed some recent health ...

Members and friends of the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church:   The Committee on Standing Rules has begun its work in preparation for the 2018 Annual Conference session, June 3-6, 2018, at Frazer ...

WASHINGTON – The Council of Bishops (COB) met at Lake Junaluska in North Carolina last week to receive an interim report from the Commission on a Way Forward, elect new officers, and prepare for the 2019 Special Session of General...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference, under the leadership of Bishop David Graves, is pleased to announce two new staff members.   Ms. Celeste Eubanks will be joining the connectional ministries staff as Director of Leadership ...

(LAKE JUNALUSKA, NORTH CAROLINA) - Placing emphasis on the values of unity, space and contextuality - all for the sake of mission – the Council of Bishops (COB) is exploring sketches of three models as possible directions for a ...

(Lake Junaluska, NC) - Florida Area Bishop Kenneth H. Carter today was officially elected as the next president of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Carter will take over from Dakotas-Minnesota Area ...

November 8, 2017 As I travel around the Alabama-West Florida Conference, I meet those who are currently serving in the military and many veterans who have previously served our country, including some who are combat wounded. Rev. ...

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and ...

This morning my heart is heavy as we read once again of another act of violence in a church where 26 people were killed and 10 injured. It leaves us with questions of, "Why? When will this stop? When will we lay down our ...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference announces two staff changes in the finance and connectional ministries offices. Mr. Frank Dunnewind, AWF Treasurer and Director of Administrative Services, has announced his retirement effective...

(COB) -  The Commission on a Way Forward, which is working to find unity for The United Methodist Church regarding human sexuality, began its sixth meeting on October 30, 2017, with a devotion that challenged the members to be as ...

(Kari C. Barlow) - Rev. Jeremy Steele didn’t need a think tank’s statistics to know millennials weren’t attending Christ United Methodist Church in Mobile.   All he had to do is look around the sanctuary.   Like so many churches ...

(Rev. Jean Tippit, Board President, QuadW Missional Outreach)  - The QuadW Foundation of Dallas, TX has awarded up to $2,600,000 for the expansion of QuadW Missional Internship and Residency programs, as well as the launching of ...

Alabama-West Florida has received requests for ERTs (Early Response Teams) and mission teams from Annual Conferences affected by recent storms. Coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and South Georgia can all use our help, as can ...

(Kari Barlow for the Alabama-West Florida Conference) - When high school homecoming dances end, most teenagers are nowhere near ready to call it a night. In Gulf Breeze, there’s a tradition of partying hard in beachfront houses ...

(Kari C. Barlow for the Alabama-West Florida Conference) - Skeptics were proved wrong in a big way Sunday at Foley United Methodist Church. More than 500 people turned out for “Path to Peace: A Reconciliation Celebration” that ...

We invite you to watch a video message from Bishop David Graves, Resident Bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Click here to view. Click here to read the written transcript.  You may also listen to this message as an ...

To our friends, neighbors, and churches in the Alabama-West Florida Conference:   Based on the most recent forecasts from the National Weather Service, it appears that Tropical Storm/Hurricane Nate will eventually have an impact ...

(Kari Barlow for the Alabama-West Florida Conference) - A shift toward digital resources in the Alabama-West Florida Conference is making it easier for newly commissioned ministers to navigate the challenging path to ordination.  ...

(Kari Barlow for the Alabama-West Florida Conference) On Friday afternoons during high school football season, the folks at First United Methodist Church of Marianna don’t have a lot of time to stand around and chat.   They’re too...

Over the last several days, we have watched the destruction from Hurricane Irma as it traveled through the Caribbean, Cuba, up South Florida, and into Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Here in the Alabama-West ...

The Alabama-West Florida Conference is participating in the "Praying Our Way Forward" initiative. The denomination-wide initiative launched on New Year’s Day 2017 with 75 weeks of focused prayer for The United Methodist Church. ...

To the People of the Alabama-West Florida Conference, As we enter the recovery phase of Hurricane Harvey and prepare for Hurricane Irma, along with Tropical Storm Jose forming in the Atlantic Ocean, we continue to navigate the ...

Throughout all of church history, there has never been a time when a healthy, faithful, effective congregation has been more needed and necessary. It is clear that the leadership of the AWFUMC believe to the core of their being ...

We celebrate the one-year anniversary of Bishop David W. Graves being assigned and installed to the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Hear more from him in this interview with Mary Catherine Phillips, AWF Director of ...

The denomination-wide "Praying Our Way Forward" initiative launched on New Year’s Day 2017 with 75 weeks of focused prayer for The United Methodist Church. Each annual conference will take one week to have intentional prayer for ...