{"id":6381,"date":"2019-08-12T11:23:12","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T19:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alaskaumc.org\/?p=6381"},"modified":"2024-09-24T16:00:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:00:59","slug":"born-of-mission-fairbanks-first-umc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/born-of-mission-fairbanks-first-umc\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Born of Mission&#8221; &#8212; Fairbanks First UMC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Submitted by Rev. Bob Jones, Fairbanks First UMC<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alaskaumc.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/08\/13524358_1343371132344078_5083993387010707003_n.jpg?w=696\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6384\" \/><figcaption>Welcome to Fairbanks First UMC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The missionary work of the superintendent and members of the\nVisitation-Evangelism team of the Alaska Missionary Conference over 67 years\nago birthed the current incarnation of a United Methodist Church in Fairbanks,\nknown as First United Methodist today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first worship service was held at Carpenter\u2019s Hall on\nMarch 23, 1952. Reverend A. E. Purviance arrived shortly thereafter, in June of\n1952. The first hymnals, Sunday School supplies, church envelopes, communion\nset and altar-ware were supplied through the generosity of churches in\nKetchikan, Seward, Anchorage and Juneau. In September 1952, First Methodist\nChurch, known as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Northernmost Methodist Church\u201d, was officially\norganized with 80 members, and just two years later reported a total of 320\nmembers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being born of missions, First UMC of Fairbanks has never\nwandered far from its roots as a base of missions. From the early years to\ntoday, it has provided a family away from family and a home away from home for\nthe many military families that find duty calling them to Alaska\u2019s Interior.\nRecords indicate that as far back as 1959, the Women\u2019s Society of Christian\nService at First Methodist was working with the USO in welcoming service\nmembers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1964, the Fairbanks church responded generously to those places\nand people in Alaska that were reeling from the devastating Good Friday\nearthquake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1967, First Methodist again found itself the recipient of\nconference support after a flood devastated the city and the church building.\nOver 25 laypersons and pastors from Anchorage, Nome and Chugiak journeyed to\nthe \u201cNorthernmost Church\u201d to help clean up and rebuild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just 10 years later, FUMC helped to birth a new\ncongregation, underwriting the first year\u2019s budget of a new church in North\nPole, the New Hope United Methodist Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, the education wing at FUMC, built in 1959,\nstarted providing more than Sunday School lessons when the classrooms became living\nspace for various mission groups and scouting groups visiting Alaska\u2019s Interior.\nTo this day, the classrooms double as housing for United Methodist Volunteers\nin Mission (UMVIM) during the summer, and as a safe space for homeless families\nduring the school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alaskaumc.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/08\/18268474_1674762189204969_6244537694349346627_n.jpg?resize=356%2C356\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6385\" width=\"356\" height=\"356\" \/><figcaption>Worship at Fairbanks First UMC.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bread Line, a local ministry that addresses the needs of\nthe homeless throughout Fairbanks, started in the basement kitchen at FUMC but\neventually outgrew that location. Now, they operate from a separate building\nand have expanded their ministry to include food service job training and\ncommunity gardening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FUMC remains a missionary base of operations. Today\u2019s UMVIM\nteams work with the Fairbanks Rescue Mission each summer to construct a housing\ncommunity for chronically homeless adults. Members from the current\ncongregation have participated in missions as far away as Saipan, and as close\nas fixing meals in the church kitchen for homeless families spending the night.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born of missions, Fairbanks First remains an active and\nvital outpost of United Methodist belief and service just south of the Arctic\nCircle. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Submitted by Rev. Bob Jones, Fairbanks First UMC The missionary work of the superintendent and members of the Visitation-Evangelism team of the Alaska Missionary Conference over 67 years ago birthed the current incarnation of a United Methodist Church in Fairbanks, known as First United Methodist today. The first worship service was held at Carpenter\u2019s Hall [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,25],"tags":[29,51,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-6381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alaska-conference","8":"category-many-doors","9":"tag-blog","10":"tag-fairbanks-first-umc","11":"tag-one-church-many-doors"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Born of Mission&quot; - Fairbanks First UMC - Greater Northwest Area | News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/born-of-mission-fairbanks-first-umc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;Born of Mission&quot; - Fairbanks First UMC - Greater Northwest Area | News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Submitted by Rev. Bob Jones, Fairbanks First UMC The missionary work of the superintendent and members of the Visitation-Evangelism team of the Alaska Missionary Conference over 67 years ago birthed the current incarnation of a United Methodist Church in Fairbanks, known as First United Methodist today. 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