517.332.3511 | God is still speaking
517.332.3511 | God is still speaking
Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ
No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey – you are welcome here.
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 and, 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,
Relying on the Holy Spirit, the Michigan Conference began the search for a full-time Associate Conference Minister of Church Vitality and Transition in July. We are excited to share that Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson will join our Conference Staff starting January 1, 2024.
“Our national search effort drew so many strong applications for this position, I was grateful to have the input and insights of our Search Advisory Team, as we discerned which way to go. In the end, we felt that Pastor Lawrence Richardson would bring specific skills we were looking for to compliment our excellent team in these challenging times for the institutional church. As an experienced coach for new church pastors, who has started and grown his own, Lawrence’s extensive training in church growth and vitality, his technological savvy, experience with the national UCC, and his training in development all stood out. But first and foremost, he is a pastor, who has a heart for pastoring and a deep love for the church. As we sorted through impressive profiles from across the country, we came to see that the person God was calling had already moved to Michigan two years ago!”
~ Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel, Conference Minister
Inspired preaching, volunteer choir, blessed music, generous hospitality, business completed miraculously fast, a new Conference Resolution related to advocating as the church for Second-Look Legislation, nourishing food, fantastic fellowship, a revitalizing Keynote, and a sweet-sweet Spirit as we the people gathered to worship God and serve neighbor.
Recordings of the events of the day can be found in a playlist on the Michigan Conference UCC YouTube Channel.
PLAYLIST INCLUDES: Worship, Sermon, Business Meeting, Speak Outs, Keynote, and 2024 Annual Meeting Announcement
Please fill out this form to anonymously provide feedback regarding 2023 Annual Meeting (takes less than 3 minutes)
Resolution of Witness In Support of Second Look Sentencing Legislation
On October 28, 2023, the Michigan Conference Annual Gathering voted to approve a resolution in Support of Second Look Sentencing Legislation. The full resolution, a copy of this communication, and a sample advocacy letter can be found HERE
The action items from this resolution follow, with some ideas from the Prophetic Integrity Mission Area Team about how to participate.
Therefore, be it Resolved that the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Michigan Conference United
Church of Christ supports House Bills 4556 – 4560 and Senate Bills 0321-0325.
Be it further resolved, that the clergy and lay people of the Michigan Conference UCC engage
in education around Second Look Sentencing legislation.
Some Resources for study:
https://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/Second-Look-Infographic.pdf
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/04/giving-michigan-prisoners-a-second-
look-could-earn-them-another-chance-at-life.html
https://www.nacdl.org/Content/Second-Look
Be it further resolved, that the clergy and lay people of the Michigan Conference UCC contact
their legislators in support of Second Look Sentencing legislation.
House Bills 4556-4560 have been referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice.
Senate Bills 0321-0325 have been referred to the Committees on Civil Rights, Judiciary
and Public Safety.
Supporting these bills can be done by writing or calling your legislators to voice your
support of the bills. (see sample letter)
You may find your legislators at: https://www.house.mi.gov/#findarepresentative
and https://senate.michigan.gov/FindYourSenator/
Learn, decide, act.
At our first in-person Michigan Conference Annual Meeting in years, we beat our pre-pandemic registrations and literally packed the place. In what will heretofore be referred to in church history as the “Michigan Miracle,” we ended the business session ten minutes early.
Getting to preach at worship, hearing everybody sing, and eating lunch in a noisy social hall are all blessings that I do not take for granted. I’m so grateful to the Planning Team, Conference Staff, Michigan Conference UCC Board of Directors, and our hosts at Plymouth United Church of Christ, but most of all I’m grateful to God that we didn’t have to do another Annual Meeting sitting at a screen.
Of course, screens have their place when it comes to connectivity and catching up. On our website, you’ll find my sermon from the Annual Meeting and the recording of our Keynote. On our YouTube channel, you can view last month’s lively Leadership Lunch with Bishop Will Willimon whose take on Advent preaching was both holy and hilarious. I hope these recorded resources inspire you to register for the live ones. Our December 6 Zoom at lunch time will feature Still Speaking Daily Devotional author Quinn Caldwell. His Advent devotional book All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas made him my first choice to boost the spirits of our clergy and church members during this Advent Season.
Before we get to December, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the November holiday that precedes it. Yes, I am well aware that most nations around the globe do not acknowledge the occasion. Even in our country, it is a day that is not celebrated by all people, a day with a complex history, a day that some increasingly choose to ignore and others denounce outright. But the fact is November 18 is still my birthday and I won’t condemn anyone who celebrates it with a gift to the Friends of the Michigan Conference.
In all seriousness, my heart is filled with prayers of thanksgiving for you all. In a culture of crass commercialism, consumerism, colonialism, and conflict, our brave Michigan UCC churches stand up and stand out as a lighthouse to the spiritually ship-wrecked.
09.28.2023 Per the Michigan Conference UCC Bylaws – the Draft Agenda, Financial Report and any Resolutions, must be emailed and accessible to delegates 30 days prior to Annual Meeting
10.28.2023 All Documents needed for Annual Meeting are accessible in the link below
Over 60 clergy and lay leaders participated in our 2023 Vitality Day with author Rev. Jeff MacDonald. Hosted at St. John’s UCC in Owosso, the day was filled with innovative and detail-oriented discussions for how to adapt to the changing world of Part-Time ministry. With gratitude to our Vital Growth Mission Area Team and Associate Conference Minister Rev. Cheryl Burke for organizing and providing resources to supplement a thought-provoking event. With appreciation for panelists and participants for a day filled with great questions and conversation in-person and online!
Where do you see God is still speaking?
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