Conference Churches Invited To Change The World

Change the World, a denomination-wide event, is taking place on Saturday-Sunday, April 24-25. All United Methodist Churches are encouraged to participate in the event to make a difference by building community locally and fighting malaria globally. For churches in the Detroit Conference that are interested in participating in the event, information about Change the World and the various ways to participate can be found below. Build Community Locally During the weekend of April...

VIM Festival of Opportunities Scheduled for April 10

The Michigan Area Volunteers in Mission Festival of Opportunities, an event to celebrate all those who serve and to offer opportunities to learn ways to serve, will take place from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, at Brighton: First UMC. The event, sponsored by the VIM coordinators of the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences, will offer three tracks for participants – VIM Leader Training, Early Response Training, or Breakout Sessions.   VIM Leader Training is a...

Conference Churches Contribute 79 Percent of Apportionments in 2009

Sixty-one percent of the Detroit Conference’s 450 churches paid their conference apportionments at 100 percent or greater in 2009, the conference treasurer’s office reported recently. Included in those 273 churches are 36 congregations that were not able to contribute the full amount in 2008.  Overall, the Detroit Conference received 79 percent of its apportionments in 2009, a slight increase from the 78 percent it received from churches in 2008 during the height of the recent...

James Parkhurst Named Interim Director of Outdoor and Retreat Ministries

The Rev. Dr. James C. Parkhurst has been named Interim Conference Director of Outdoor and Retreat Ministries for the Detroit Conference, it was announced today (Tuesday, March 2) by the Rev. Dr. Jerome (Jerry) DeVine, Director of Connectional Ministries. Parkhurst will officially begin his duties on April 1 and will serve through August 31, 2010.    “Rev. Parkhurst comes to our ministry team with high affirmation from those who have worked closely with him,” said DeVine....

Peace with Justice Offerings changes lives of Liberia’s ex-children soldiers

Frido Kinkolenge, a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries and the EmK Weltmission (United Methodist Church in Germany), is the Director of the Children’s Ministries in the UMC Liberia Annual Conference as well as the EmK Weltmission Children’s Project Manager in Liberia.    Mr. Kinkolenge’s focuses on working with the Liberia ex-combatant children’s ministry. This ministry helps former child soldiers to be reintegrated into the community and...

Annual Conference Registration Materials Now Available

Registration materials are now available for the 2010 Detroit Annual Conference session which will take place May 20-23 on the campus of Adrian College in Adrian, Mich.    The registration materials for the 2010 Detroit Annual Conference are available on the conference Web site – www.detroitconference.org/annualconference - and will not be mailed to the members of the annual conference. All voting materials, as well as historical reports and the statistician’s report,...

Michigan Area Reporter Begins Publishing

The first edition of the Michigan Area Reporter, the official newspaper of the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences, is being mailed today to the churches and clergy of the Michigan Area. Each church will receive three complimentary copies of the publication, while each clergy member will also receive a complimentary copy. The Michigan Area Reporter, an edition of the United Methodist Reporter, will publish monthly. Section A of the publication will feature news and features from the Michigan...

Shockley to Head New Church Development in the U.S.

From the General Board of Discipleship   The Rev. Gary Shockley has been named executive officer for New Congregational Development in the U.S. for the General Board of Discipleship (GBOD), where he will be leading the Path 1 Team, effective July 1, 2010.    Bishop Lindsey Davis, chair of the Path 1 Team; Bishop Charlene Kammerer, president of GBOD’s board of directors; and Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, General Secretary of GBOD, made the announcement.   Shockley,...

AU Graduate Earns Ph.D. in the U.S., Returns to Alma Mater to Teach

Fall 2009   by Karen Williams   Many of Africa’s top scientists are leaving their country to live and work in developed countries. Bucking the trend of brain drain from Africa is Dr. Walter Manyangarirwa. An Africa University graduate and lecturer in Entomology and Plant Pathology, Manyangarirwa returned to his native Zimbabwe to give back after earning his Ph.D. in the United States.    In August 2005, Manyangarirwa took a study leave to enroll in the Ph.D....

Conference Committee on Hispanic/Latino Ministry Launches Three Year Strategic Plan

by Sonya Luna, Detroit Conference Hispanic-Latino Missionary    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Latino population in 2008 was more than 46 million. The Latino population is now the largest ethnic minority in the country, and is projected to become a majority. Since 2000, the growth of the Latino population has been seen in all areas of the United States.  In Michigan we have witnessed a growth in the Latino population. The Latino population grew from 3.3% of...

Central Conference Pension Initiative Visits Define $25 Million Challenge Goal

by United Methodist Communications   Nashville, Tenn. – For the Rev. Charles Horace, a retired Liberian pastor, life without a pension was a daily struggle. He recalls weeks in which he would “just live on water” for two or three days.   But through the Liberia pension fund, Horace now receives a quarterly pension benefit made possible by gifts to the Central Conference Pension Initiative (CCPI). “If I were not a United Methodist pastor, who would have...

Jan. 28 Letter from the Rev. Gesner Paul, Haiti Methodist Church President

Jan. 28, 2010   On behalf of the Methodist Church in Haiti and the Haitian people, we thank you. Thank you all for your outpouring of love, support and Christian brotherhood in our great hour of need. Haiti has suffered a great tragedy, and to rebuild, recover and strengthen, it will take us all.   You have kept us in your prayers and we are grateful. You have sent donations through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). We thank you for your generosity. You have...

Jeff Maxwell Named Saginaw Bay District Superintendent

Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton announced today (Wednesday, Jan. 27) that he has appointed the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey R. Maxwell as the superintendent of the Saginaw Bay District. Maxwell, who currently serves as the senior pastor at Farmington: First United Methodist Church, will begin his appointment on July 1, 2010. Maxwell is replacing the Rev. Louise R. Ott, who has been the Saginaw Bay District Superintendent since 2004.   “Jeff is a compassionate, able, friendly, and...

Dakotas and Minnesota to become new Episcopal Area in 2012

By Matt Kuzma, Northern Illinois Conference Director of Communications CHICAGO, IL – The United Methodist Church (UMC) North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ) College of Bishops announced its decision today on how it will reduce the number of episcopal areas from 10 to nine in 2012. Effective September 1, 2012, the Dakotas Annual Conference and Minnesota Annual Conference will be served by only one bishop, but maintain their current boundaries and structures. No other boundaries of annual...

Conference Health Kit Collection Drop-Off Sites, Dates Established

Drop-off sites will open beginning Monday, Feb. 15, in each of the seven districts of the Detroit Conference for local churches to deliver their UMCOR Health Kits.   Detroit Conference churches have been asked to aide the relief effort in Haiti by collecting as many UMCOR Health Kits as they can by Sunday, Feb. 14. UMCOR Health Kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Health kits are also used as...

Black student leaders hopeful for Haiti’s recovery

By Ciona D. Rouse   If New Orleans can recover from Hurricane Katrina, there is hope the people of Haiti will find new life after the massive earthquake that struck Jan. 12.   “I feel hope for those people,” said Charlie Coleman, a student leader at Dillard University in New Orleans.    “I know that those people in Haiti right now are feeling like there’s lost hope and there’s nothing that can be done because it was a natural...

Theme, Speakers Announced for 2010 Annual Conference

"Wherever the water flows … life will flourish … life abounds!" will be the theme for the 43rd session of the Detroit Annual Conference, the conference Program Committee announced recently. The conference Program Committee also announced that the Rev. Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr., will be the featured speaker during the conference. The 2010 annual conference session will take place Thursday-Sunday, May 20-23, on the campus of Adrian College in Adrian, Mich.   The...

Local Churches Encouraged to Collect UMCOR Health Kits

The Detroit Conference is asking all local churches to aide in the Haiti relief effort by collecting UMCOR Health Kits to be shipped to the region. Churches are being asked to collect as many UMCOR Health Kits as then can by Sunday, Feb. 14. At that time, they will be delivered to predetermined drop-off sites in the conference and then shipped to the Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Chatham, Ill.   The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is on the ground in Haiti and has...

Cass Community Services Opens Green Gym

Cass Community Social Services is furthering its commitment to the Detroit community and the environment by opening the doors to its Green Gym.  The Green Gym is the nation's first workout facility created specifically for homeless men, women and children.  The grand opening of the Green Gym will mark a revolutionary step by Cass to improve its carbon footprint, reduce its energy costs and improve the quality of life for Detroit's most at-risk citizens.   The Green Gym is the...

Mark Spaw Named Ann Arbor District Superintendent

Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton announced today (Tuesday, Jan. 19) that he has appointed the Rev. Mark E. Spaw as the superintendent of the Ann Arbor District. Spaw, who currently serves as the senior pastor at Trenton: Faith United Methodist Church, will begin his appointment on July 1, 2010. Spaw is replacing the Rev. Thomas P. Macaulay, who has been the Ann Arbor District Superintendent since 2004.   “Mark Spaw brings energy, passion, knowledge, experience, a dash of...