Conference Drive-In Day once again promises to be an experience that will rock your mind, body and spirit! Get ready for a life-changing day in Van Noord Arena on June 9.  MORE

 It's time for the annual Peace with Justice Offering. Discover how your gifts will make a difference. Find resources and ideas to put a gospel-focus in your appeal.   MORE

 The Rev. Benton Heisler, Director of Connectional Ministries, helps us get ready--mind, body and spirit--for the upcoming session of the West Michigan Annual Conference.  MORE

 The West Michigan and Detroit conferences co-sponsor the Michigan Area School for Pastoral Ministry. Featured this year are Bishop Woodie White and Dee and Tom Yaccino. Register now for the event to be held at the Kellogg Center, Aug. 21-23.    MORE

The Miracle Sunday at First United Methodist Church of Battle Creek raised over $125,000 in her Asset Based Fundraiser for the repairs and upgrade of the 104-year-old Italian Renaissance facility with multiple majestic stained glass windows. This represents a continuation of the congregation’s ministry in the future of her commitment to Ministry with the Poor and Immigrants of Battle Creek. The unique method of using the online auction for the first time actually provided many fellowship opportunities with the people of Battle Creek as well as a new fund raising method. Thanks to everyone across the West Michigan and Detroit Conferences for participating by prayer and by auction.

This year the Annual Conference snack and refreshment booth that is run by South End Community Outreach Ministries (SECOM) will be purchasing their coffee from Cafe Justa (Just Coffee) which is a cooperative of coffee farmers in southern Mexico.  A mission organization gave them start up money to buy roasters, coffee grinders and packaging materials and then assisted them in marketing to US markets.  This endeavor is better than fair trade as the farmer families and communities that participate are able to realize the entire stream of income for their coffee.  In just seven years they have been able to pay back start up loans, add fields to their farms and roasters to their operation, and also provide medical insurance coverage and a modest pension plan for all families connected with the cooperative.  Instead of members trying to come to the US illegally to earn money to care for their families, they are able to stay in their own villages.  Besides making our coffee from the Just Coffee beans, we also hope to have individual pounds for you to buy and information about ordering to take home.  Coffee will be $10.00 a pound.  I know, more expensive than the supermarket, but you know where all of the profit is going.

For the 11^th year, University United Methodist Church (UUMC) in East Lansing has presented Jacob and Samuel Candles to recognize with thanksgiving the contributions of young and old to each other.  They were presented during worship on Sunday, April 29, 2012 to UUMC members Joan Cooper, Emily Wolf and Emma Berg.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues all women face is their own insecurity. Beth Moore, one of the most admired and trusted Christian writers today, wants women to be free from the insecurity trap. This book study, So Long, Insecurity, will strike a chord with women everywhere, as Beth speaks truth into the lives of readers, showing them how to deal with their innermost fears, rediscover their God-given dignity, and develop a whole new perspective—a stronger sense of self.

Women of all ages and backgrounds will resonate with this message of security and discover truths that will free them emotionally and spiritually and lead them to a better life as they walk with God. 

“I love Beth Moore. The woman inspires me. Why? Because she's real. She's suffered through life, just like the rest of us, and she refuses to let that define her. Praise Jesus for that! That, and her passion for studying the Word of God, draws me, and thousands of other women, to her like sheep to a shepherd. She is a disciple of Jesus. She teaches His truth in a wonderful, personal, life-changing way.” ~Jill Williamson 

The study is available through MARC, the Michigan Area Resource Center, to all churches in the West Michigan Conference. MARC offers thousands of books, DVDs and other study programs. To order, ask your church secretary if you are a member of MARC or contact Betsy Weems toll free at 888-217-1905 or marc@wmcumc.org. For more go to MARC's website.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WMC) – “What does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Those words from Micah 6:8 stand at the center of the 2012 Peace with Justice Offering here in the West Michigan Conference.

• served 300 new clients;
• rescued 10 women and their children from abusive relationships;
• prepared visas for 6 victims of human trafficking and crime;
• prepared 39 applications for U.S. citizenship;
• obtained green cards for 125 resettled refugees.

Grand Rapids neighbors from the North End and Plainfield Township are joining hands in a day of caring for the environment on Saturday, May 19. “Hands Across the City: Greening the North Quarter” hopes to attract more than 500 participantsfrom around the city to ready community gardens for planting, make improvements in city parks, spruce up the Creston and Cheshire business districts, and make repairs to residents’ homes.

This is a collaborative effort between the churches, businesses, the North Quarter, Creston Neighborhood Association, and other non-profits, including the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, North End Community Ministry and New Development Corporation. Coordinator Greg Martin says, “Everyone loves it when neighbors come together to make new friends, share a meal and work together for the common good. This is an affirmation of the spirit of the North Quarter and its’ commitment to a “green” and sustainable future. Residents truly make an investment in living here and are committed to building a strong sense of roots and community.

The day will begin with breakfast in Briggs Park at 8:30 a.m. and work crews will receive assignments and head to project sites by 9:30. Approximately three hours of work will ensue from one end of Plainfield Avenue to the other. Business leaders have been particularly enthusiastic about the event. Laurie Williams said, “The projects our Creston Business Association has been working on are all coming into alignment. We find ourselves in the midst of a make-over for our neighborhood. There is focused energy here that is attracting enthusiastic young adults. This is truly an exciting time to be working in the North Quarter of Grand Rapid

As the neighborhood prepares for a major new environmental initiative as part of the upcoming Plainfield Ave. resurfacing this summer – the installation of “bio-retention islands”, CNA Executive Director Deborah Eid states “there is a palpable sense of excitement in our neighborhood as we feel the momentum building for attracting both new businesses and residents to connect here in Creston through the visible greening soon to be enjoyed up and down this “main street” of the North Quarter.”

Information meetings will be held to update the conference about the changes needed to maintain the health care of our clergy and conference lay employees during retirement.   In the spirit of caring for those who have served the church, the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits invites conference lay leaders and clergy to attend these meetings to learn the planned changes in 2013 that will involve ways of financing the postretirement health care obligations in the long term.  These changes include additional contributions by retired participants and by the local churches, as well as changes in health care coverages. 
As you are aware, health care has become more complex and expensive.  It will help us all together to be better informed and therefore better stewards of this precious gift.

All Clergy and Lay Members to Annual Conference are invited to this informational gathering. We will discuss Annual Conference issues, tips for attendees, the Love Links Challenge, and more.

District t-shirts will be available for $10.

Register for Change the World before April 16 and receive a free lawn banner, sermon series bundle and T-shirt.

In 2012, the church will come together, not only for General Conference, but also to change the world. United Methodists will extend justice and compassion in community on May 19 and 20. 

On May 20, 2012 First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo - 212 S. Park Street, Kalamazoo, MI - will have a day of celebration called “Radical Hospitality: Digging Deeper”. It will be part of the church’s ongoing journey into its third year as a Reconciling Congregation saying: 

The May 20, 2012 celebration at First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo entitled: “Radical Hospitality: Digging Deeper” is part of the church’s ongoing journey into its third year as a Reconciling Congregation. The church’s welcoming statement affirms:

Gladys Church, 92, died Tuesday, March 27, 2012. She was preceded in death by her husband, Pastor Lewis White Eagle Church who served at Salem/Bradley UMCs prior to his death July 6, 2002. 

Rev. Dr. John L. Francis, 84, died peacefully Monday, February 20, 2012 at Faith Hospice - Trillium Woods in Byron Center surrounded by his wife, Donna, and son, Dean Francis.

Rev. Dr. Francis served in the following appointments in the West Michigan Conference: Transferred from Detroit Conf., White Cloud 1950; Sanford 1954; Ithaca 1956; Battle Creek: Chapel Hill 1962; Eaton Rapids Nov. 1, 1964; Hillsdale 1968; Albion District Supt. 1971; Holland 1977; Conference Council Director, Feb. 1987; Retired 1989

Delores A. Simon, 83, died Sunday, February 5, 2012. She was preceded in death in 2011 by her husband, Rev. Harold R. Simon, Sr.