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July 28, 2010
NEWS
HandGR.org – Are you registered?
Bishop Kenneth Carder, Marian Wright Edelman to present at Lake Junaluska Peace Conference
September is National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month
Michigan Area School for Pastoral Ministry
Summer is not over! You can still come to camp and save on tuition!
Personal Action Toward Health
EVENTS
Justice for Our Neighbors Prayer Vigil TONIGHT (July 28)
Reminder: Bishop Judith Craig @ Clark Retirement Community
International Dinner Benefit for Heifer
Abuse Prevention Training for Local Congregations
Stephen Ministry Workshop
CLASSIFIEDS
Youth Choir and Faith Travelers Choir Directors
Christian Educator
Worship Leader and Music Director
We are hoping to better serve churches through our web ministry, so we invite your feedback and suggestions. To reach the web team, email webteam@wmcumc.org
NEWS
HandGR.org – Are you registered?
What if people from all walks of life came together on one day to make a positive impact on their community?
Would it make a difference?
Could youmake a difference?
Join your friends and neighbors as we work together to serve our city in a one-day community service event and celebration (rain or shine!).
Hands are reaching out all across Grand Rapids.
Will yours?
Sponsored by Metro Ministry of Greater Grand Rapids, the City of Grand Rapids, Garfield Park Neighborhood Association, KaBOOM!, Friends of GR Parks, and GR Parks and Recreation. Radio spots on WBCT-FM (93.7) and WOOD-FM (105.7) www.handsgr.org. Sign up today!
Bishop Kenneth Carder, Marian Wright Edelman to present at Lake Junaluska Peace Conference
"Peace for the World’s Children,” Sept. 18-21, will offer opportunity to join with advocates from across the United States to explore social issues facing children.
The third annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, Sept. 18-21, will offer a variety of workshops and presentations that explore social issues facing children. Participants will have the opportunity to join with children’s advocates from across the United States.
The Lake Junaluska Peace Conference includes a Saturday - Sunday session specifically for children, youths and their adult leaders, led by Jeni Stepanek, noted advocate for children’s and families’ needs in health and education. The "Peace Celebration for Youths & Children" will encourage and show youths how they can become peacemakers themselves. Celebration participants will engage in hands-on learning experiences with various organizations working for peace and that are meeting the needs of youths and children throughout the world.
The first "Peace Walk around the lake and Festival of Peace," will be led by youths and children on Sunday afternoon.
Workshops will deal with topics such as The Holocaust Project/Paper Clips, Children and AIDS in Africa, Rearing Children as Peacemakers, Advocacy for Children: A Path for Peacemakers, and many more topics. A complete listing of workshops can be found online at www.lakejunaluska.com/peace. For more information, call (828) 454-6656 or visit www.lakejunaluska.com/peace.
September is National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month
The General Board of Church and Society encourages you to promote the National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month observance. The 2010 theme is: “Join the Voices for Recovery: Now More Than Ever!”
The General Board of Church & Society (GBCS), on behalf of The United Methodist Church, is a national planning partner for this special observance along with hundreds of public health advocacy and non-profit direct service providers who work on recovery and addiction prevention.
WHEN: September 2010
HOW: Celebrate Recovery Month by hosting a special worship or other educational event in your community, church or online.
Visit www.recoverymonth.gov or call 1-800-662-HELP to receive more information and order or download a planning toolkit and other useful materials.
Visit www.umc-gbcs.org to obtain worship helps and join the GBCS Addictions Network to be informed about other events and actions pertaining to addiction and recovery issues through the United Methodist Church.
A copy of the toolkit for Recovery Month can be downloaded from www.recoverymonth.gov.
Michigan Area School for Pastoral Ministry
Now is the time to register for the MASPM. Being held August 17-19, 2010 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Featured speakers include Dr. Maxie Dunham, President Emeritus of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky; and author of Workbook on Prayer and Dr. Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department at Publishers Weekly and author of the more than two dozen books on the subject, including The Words of Jesus: A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord and The Divine Hours, a series of manuals for observing fixed-hour prayer, and her new book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why,
For complete details on event visit mipastorschool.com or email pastorjulieg@gmail.com, Pastor Julie Greyerbiehl, Registrar.
Summer is not over! You can still come to camp and save on tuition!
School supplies may be showing up on store shelves but there is still time for kids in your congregation to make this the best summer ever by attending a United Methodist Summer Camp. Openings are still available for a variety of elementary and middle school camps across the conference. And remember, if you refer a first time camper, or are a first time camper, you are eligible for a $50 rebate on camp tuition. Help young people you know develop a deeper relationship with God and give them the gift of fond memories they will remember for a lifetime by reminding them summer is not over and they can still come to camp. Call the camp registrar toll free at 888 217-1905 or register online at the West Michigan Conference website on camping at http://bit.ly/c735Pr
Personal Action Toward Health
A trained staff member of the United Methodist Community House will come to your Grand Rapids-area church and facilitate a P.A.T.H. (Personal Action Toward H ealth) class. These classes are designed especially for senior citizens, their caregivers or other supportive individuals, and focus on teaching about acute and chronic health concerns suffered by seniors. Goals include overcoming and addressing stress, learning to relax, remaining independent, and dealing with the challenges associated with not feeling well. Participants will have a great time, interacting with others their age and sharing their experiences and successes. (Classes are also available at the United Methodist Community House.) For more information, please contact Anita Christopher at (616) 452-3226 Ext. 3013, or Mary Alonzo at (616) 452-3226 Ext. 3028.
EVENTS
Justice for Our Neighbors Prayer Vigil TONIGHT (July 28)
JFON is working with the Christian Reformed Church's Office of Social Justice, Michigan Organizing Project and Reform Immigration for America to host a prayer vigil in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, from 5:30 to 6:30pm on July 28th (the eve of the Arizona law SB 1070's enactment).
The event will be at Ah Nab Awen park next to the Gerald Ford Museum, where citizenship ceremonies are held for those in Western/Northern Michigan. Pastors from all over GR will be sharing prayers with those gathered, and we will also participate by creating a long path of foot prints on the lawn to symbolize desire for path to citizenship. Attendees can write a prayer on a footprint for an immigrant they know who needs a path to citizenship, and pin it to the fabric path. The path will be used in Holland the following night at a similar vigil, and then be delivered to Michigan lawmakers to show opposition to the copy-cat legislation.
Please join us on Wednesday, post the attached flyer around town, pass this invitation on anyone you think would be interested in attending, and help us spread the word! The event is also posted on our website www.jfonwestmichigan.org.
Prayer Vigil flyer Footprint Prayer Page Vigil en Espanol
Reminder: Bishop Judith Craig @ Clark Retirement Community
Preaching at the Clark Retirement Community Chapel, Thursday, July 29 at 6:30 p.m.
will be Bishop Judith Craig, former Episcopal Leader of the Michigan Area (1984 - 1992)
International Dinner Benefit for Heifer
August 3rd, 2010
5:00 to 7:00 P.M.
Ionia High School Cafeteria
250 East Tuttle Rd.
Ionia, MI
Foods from:
Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, India, Middle East, China, Italy, Mexico, Ethiopia, Korea, U.S.A., and more!
Sponsored by World Wide Kids 4-H Club
Cost: Donation
Proceeds go to Heifer International
Click here for flyer.
Abuse Prevention Training for Local Congregations
The Abuse Prevention Team of the West Michigan Conference has scheduled training events in the conference beginning in August. These training events are for clergy, youth leaders, camp counselors, Sunday school teachers, or any other interested lay persons in your church. The training events will include: Conference Abuse Prevention policy for safe sanctuaries, conference & insurance guidelines DVD’s, technology abuse, websites and resources, discussion and handouts of procedure for dealing with abuse in the church.
The schedule for training events in the West Michigan Conference:
Saturday, August 28, 9am-12noon at Wyoming Park UMC – GR District
Saturday, August 28, 9am-12noon at Hartford UMC – Kalamazoo District
Saturday, November 13, 1-4 pm at Breckenridge UMC – Heartland & GT Districts
Saturday, January 15, (time TBD) at Marshall UMC – Albion District
Saturday, February 12 (site & time TBD) – Lansing District
NOTE: Individuals unable to attend the training in their district, may choose another site or date.
Please call District representatives with any questions:
Grand Rapids District – Benita Fyan – 231-750-4589
Kalamazoo District – Ruth Stoddard – 269-375-1406
Heartland & Grand Traverse Districts – Jolene Golden – 989-842-3477
Lansing & Albion Districts – Nona Spackman – 269-657-4506
Stephen Ministry Workshop
Is your congregation committed to lay ministry and caring ministry? Would 10 or 20 trained caregivers make a difference at your church? On Saturday, September 11, University United Methodist Church in East Lansing will host a Stephen Ministry Workshop from 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., which will feature three sessions highlighting Stephen Ministry. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., and refreshments will be served. Experience a sample of the training Stephen Ministers receive through two sessions, “Ministering to Those Experiencing Grief” and “How to Care in a Distinctively Christian Way.”
The cost of this workshop is $15 per person or $50 for a group of four or more from the same congregation. Gather a group from your congregation to attend this informative workshop. For more information or to register for this half-day Stephen Ministry Workshop, call Stephen Ministries at (314) 428-2600, or register at online at www.stephenministry.org/workshop.
CLASSIFIEDS
Youth Choir and Faith Travelers Choir Directors
Two positions are open in the music department of First United Methodist Church of Grand Rapids. The Youth Choir director will work with 7 – 12 graders. The Faith Travelers Choir director will work with 3 – 6 graders. Applicants should have skills in music instruction and a love for music expression in worship. Rehearsal time follows church school on Sunday mornings from 10:25 – 10:55 am. Both positions are part-time paid position. A complete job description and application are available from the church office or online at www.grandrapidsfumc.org . For additional information, contact Mark Loring at 616-451-2879 or by email at markl@grandrapidsfumc.org. Deadline for applications is August 15, 2010.
Christian Educator - part-time position with responsibilities for multi-generational Christian Education. Please send resume with references to Hillsdale First United Methodist Church, 45 N. Manning St., Hillsdale, MI 49242 or by email to hillsdaleumc@sbcglobal.net
Worship Leader and Music Director - part-time position with responsibilities for providing music leadership for contemporary worship. Please send resume with references to Hillsdale First United Methodist Church, 45 N. Manning St., Hillsdale, MI 49242 or hillsdaleumc@sbcglobal.net
