NEW PHONE NUMBER 517-258-0038 | To care for UCC clergy and churches in Michigan.
NEW PHONE NUMBER 517-258-0038 | To care for UCC clergy and churches in Michigan.
Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ
Equip, empower, connect, and celebrate UCC clergy and churches in Michigan
Welcome to the wonderful world of the Michigan Conference, where, when you’ve seen one church, you’ve seen one church. We have churches by cherry orchards, rust belts, tourist towns of fudge shops and food deserts without grocery stores, vacation mansions alongside a serious shortage of affordable housing, and pure recreational lakes down the road from cities whose drinking water is dirty. From city apartments, farmhouses, lake cottages, vacation mansions we make our spiritual homes together in 135 churches that include all the rich contrasts of our beautiful state.
Since becoming Conference Minister in 2022, you can see from my speaking schedule that I have spent most weekends visiting them. I can testify that no matter the size or setting, you will find a fascinating and faithful spiritual home here, whether you are looking for a place to worship or a place to preach. We can have the oldest congregation in a small town and be the first in that same town to welcome the queer community. We have new church starts without the burden of a building, meeting online or in coffee shops. We have historic churches whose stained glass windows, woodwork and masonry are a blessing of art and transcendence to their communities. We have congregations that are unapologetically black and congregations that have Alpine festivals.
In large cities, rural villages, sprawling suburbs and fertile forests, our churches bear witness to the God who is still speaking, who desires justice and who welcomes all, no matter what, no matter who, no matter where you are on life’s journey. In the Michigan Conference, our Christian tradition may be two thousand years old but our thinking is not. If that sounds like you, come join us.
Peace and Blessings,
The Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel
Join us live on Zoom the first Wednesday of each month as we invite experts from across the Michigan Conference, UCC denomination, and beyond to discuss issues that are impacting the church today. Topics and guest speakers are generated directly by requests and conversations with leaders in our local churches.
Registered participants on Zoom receive a monthly email with the recording along with additional resources shared during Leadership Lunch.
UPCOMING TOPICS ARE:
Everyone Dies, Immigration: Church Reponses, Transgender Rights: Love is Louder, and Positive Patriotism
Recordings are archived on the Michigan Conference UCC YouTube Channel in the Leadership Lunch Playlist.
Past topics include:
Antiracism, Annual Meeting, Out of Control Building Budgets, Church Bylaw Challenges and Solutions, Pronouns in Church, Child Connected Church, “The God of Wild Places,” Digital Security, Mental Health for Church Leaders, Shrinking Budgets, and more…
WATCH the Leadership Lunch RECORDINGS REGISTER for Leadership Lunch
First Wednesday Leadership Lunch with Lillian Daniel
Second Thursday Member in Discernment Zoom is available for drop in
Third Wednesday IN-PERSON Clergy Cafe with Cheryl Burke 11:00am – 1:00pm
no reservations or registration required, come as you are able, leave as you must
March 19 – Plymouth, MI
April 16 – Norton Shores, MI
May 21 – Traverse City, MI
Dear Churches and Clergy,
As you follow Jesus, hear the scriptures, preach the gospel and bravely worship something other than yourselves, you are increasingly going to feel the Holy Spirit rubbing like sandpaper against the culture around you. There are certain moments in history, time and space where it is especially grating and this is one of those times. Be the church of sandpaper.
The church at its worst simpers behind the culture in the pursuit of prestige, blessing bullies and licking boots. The church at its best calls the culture to conscience and risks getting kicked to the sidelines when it does so. I write to remind you that we follow a savior who lived and died on the sidelines. The current debate in American politics about who gets to speak spiritually and who gets silenced is nothing new, nor is threatening the space and status of one church while elevating that of another with promises of political patronage. Be the church on the sidelines.
Just because his teachings later came to be associated with empires, nation states and governments, they were not born that way and neither was Jesus. It is the responsibility of the church universal to remind the culture in all times and places that Jesus’ life began in a stable, to parents without the protection of citizenship, who fled their home to a foreign land for the first six years of Jesus’ life. You don’t have to use your imagination to see Jesus in the face of an immigrant child. He literally was one. Stand up for Jesus wherever you see him. READ MORE
The Michigan Conference 2024 Annual Meeting, which took place at Crystal Mountain Resort, Crystal Center, in Thompsonville, MI, October 31 – November 2, 2024 and had 126 attendees.
Keynote presenter, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, and Ecumenical guest, Rev. Mark Laird Executive Minister to three Regional Councils, United Church of Canada, rooted the meeting in a spirit of shared ministry and vision for what is possible for the future of the church.
Six workshops offered learning opportunities about Antiracism, the Cornerstone Fund, Ministry for Older Adults, Poetry as a Spiritual Practice, Reproductive and Sexuality Justice Theology, and Vitality and Legacy.
2024 Annual Meeting Documents Read More
Where do you see God is still speaking?
Sign up to receive our newsletter.