Greater Northwest Episcopal Area

Members of the choir sing during the chartering service for Ola Toe Fuataina United Methodist Church in Anchorage, Alaska. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Samoan congregation in Alaska celebrates new charter

Though it is now one of the newest United Methodist churches, Ola Toe Fuataina United Methodist Church has been worshipping together since 2010.

Bishops

Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut greets delegates at the United Methodist Western Jurisdictional Conference, after he was elected to the episcopacy on the 13th ballot on Nov. 4 at Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. Rapanut, an elder in the Pacific Northwest Conference, served in Alaska and was ordained in the Northwest Philippines Conference. Photo by Patrick Scriven of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Western Jurisdiction.

Western Jurisdiction elects Rapanut in historic vote

The Rev. Carlo A. Rapanut, assistant to the bishop in the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area, is the first Filipino American bishop in The United Methodist Church, and the first U.S. bishop who was ordained in a central conference.

Disaster Relief

Family photos show a four-generation Alaskan fish camp before it was destroyed by typhoon. Photos courtesy of the Rev. Bertha Koweluk, Greater Northwest Conference.

Responding to wreckage of Alaskan typhoon

The typhoon that hit more than 1,000 miles of Alaska coastline in late September didn’t just damage buildings but disrupted generational ways of living for years to come. The fish camps that provide people sustenance are mostly gone.

Mission and Ministry

Wildfires burn during a mid-August night near Susanville, Calif. A series of wildfires has destroyed more than 30,000 acres of land around Susanville. Photo by Doug Magill, U.S. Army.

Fires, coronavirus complicate Western disaster relief

After a hurricane or tornado, church disaster relief teams and volunteers typically spring into action. Such a response isn’t possible in wildfires.

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