{"id":438,"date":"2009-04-17T19:40:45","date_gmt":"2009-04-17T19:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=438"},"modified":"2010-12-22T13:07:45","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T18:07:45","slug":"7008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/04\/17\/7008\/","title":{"rendered":"ECC Conferences Partner With Alaskan Bush Villages"},"content":{"rendered":"

EAGLE RIVER, AK (April 17, 2009) \u2013 Over the last year, regional conferences of the Evangelical Covenant Church have begun partnerships with Alaskan Bush villages to improve the lives of people in remote areas.
\n
\n\u201cThis is not just an in-and-out project, which is what they\u2019re used to in Alaska,\u201d says Rodney Sawyer, the ECCAK regional field director. \u201cThe superintendents are really committed to a long-term relationship, and in that way, the family of God becomes a lot more known. That\u2019s what makes it a wonderful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process of connecting conferences with churches began in the fall of 2007 when superintendents met at Alaska Christian College in Soldotna for their quarterly meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it was just hearing some of the stories of life in the Alaska Bush that tripped a switch for a lot of people,\u201d Sawyer says.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat Lakes Conference Superintendant Dick Lucco stood up and said, \u2018We have to do something to help Alaska!\u2019 I think he even beat his fist on the table,\u201d Sawyer recalls.<\/p>\n

Conferences and their congregations have been working to raise support and sending teams to work on parsonages, buy snowmachines (snowmobiles), and be of general help to pastors and churches in need.<\/p>\n

Sawyer points to the example of the radical transformation of the Elim parsonage, which was re-insulated. The pastor and his wife had to wear winter boots inside year round because of the lack of insulation in the parsonage before the work took place,\u201d says Sawyer. \u201cThere\u2019s a great sense of appreciation from everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

To see a previous Covenant News Service story on the renovation, click here<\/a>. The accompanying photo shows typical road conditions with examples of some of the housing in the background. Click here<\/a> to see additional photos.<\/p>\n

Many conferences have flown in pastors and spouses to connect with churches. \u201cAs good as these partnerships will be for Alaskans, it will be even better for the churches to build relationships with pastors that have such a strong call and commitment,\u201d says Sawyer. You really can\u2019t be around them without it touching your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

In general, the value of the partnership program may lie in shining a light on some of the conditions in rural Alaska, far away from infrastructure and modern amenities. \u201cThe partnerships will help bring an awareness of a part of Alaska that most people don\u2019t see,\u201d Sawyer says. \u201cWe have pastors and villages living in Third World conditions. Some places have no running water or electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conferences hope to enable individuals to address the roots of problems and to see long-term change. \u201cThis is more than people simply joining hands to not just help wounded individuals, but to put a halt to what\u2019s hurting people,\u201d says Sawyer.<\/p>\n

Churches can contact conference offices for more information. Following are descriptions of what each conference is doing, listed by conference with the church that conference is assisting.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Central Conference – Elim<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Midwest Conference \u2013 Mountain Village<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 North Pacific Conference \u2013 Scammon Bay<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 East Coast Conference \u2013 Koyuk<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Northwest Conference \u2013 Unalakleet and Shaktoolik <\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pacific Southwest Conference \u2013 Nome and Golovin<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Southeast Conference – Bethel Covenant<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Great Lakes Conference – Mekoryuk<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Midsouth Conference – White Mountain<\/a><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EAGLE RIVER, AK (April 17, 2009) \u2013 Over the last year, regional conferences of the Evangelical Covenant Church have begun partnerships with Alaskan Bush villages to improve the lives of people in remote areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nECC Conferences Partner With Alaskan Bush Villages - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/04\/17\/7008\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ECC Conferences Partner With Alaskan Bush Villages - 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