517-258-0038 | To care for UCC clergy and churches in Michigan.
517-258-0038 | To care for UCC clergy and churches in Michigan.
Church News You Can Use
Nov 09, 2025
CLERGY SPOTLIGHT: Rev. Dan Barnum-Steggerda shares his woodworking and crafting hobbies as creative ways to bless his local community for the holidays.
Resources that Keep On Giving
November’s Newsletter is overflowing with ideas to bring joy to your congregation and community for the upcoming holiday season. Look forward to the 2026 Winter Retreat for ALL Michigan Conference Youth grades 6-12, celebrate with Union church as they honor their 145th Anniversary, find new ways to give a radical welcome to new faces in your congregation, and learn about how the Michigan Conference can help your ministry with grants and scholarships!
Important Dates:
Don’t Forget to check out the Michigan Conference YouTube Channel for leadership lunches, online trainings, and a wealth of resources for your life and ministry.
Oct 30, 2025
October 2025 Newsletter
Dive into this Faith Formation resource for updates on the Worship Engagement survey, the Mitten Project, Youth retreats, and networking opportunities. Additional trainings organized by the Damascus Project and the National United Church of Christ setting are included! All of this great content is organized into one convenient article by Jenn Ringgold, Program Associate for Youth Ministries and Program Director for the Mitten Project.
Oct 08, 2025
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
This October newsletter contains resources from the Annual Meeting workshops. Free articles, slide decks, graphics, and other resources address the needs in our Michigan congregations today. Topics include Lay Leader and Moderator Training, Anti-racism, Unified Committee on Ministry, and The Mitten Project. There is so much happening in the Michigan Conference and so many ways for you and your local church to connect, learn, and grow!
Oct 01, 2025
This September’s Monthly newsletter will bring you up to date on the latest trainings, Ecclesiastical Councils, Churches in Search, and Annual Meeting Workshop Offerings. Don’t miss it!
This September’s Faith Formation Friday Fun newsletter has something for everyone. There is so much happening in the Michigan Conference and so many ways for you and your local church to connect, learn, and grow!
Find out about the Michigan Conference Annual Meeting Workshop offerings, the exciting work of the Mitten Project, online webinars, trainings, resources, and more!!!
Aug 05, 2025
Register for Annual Meeting Now! Early Bird Registration ends after August 10, 2025
Money should never be a reason for folks not to attend the Michigan Conference Annual Meeting. If you or your church would like financial assistance, please email Lisa Soulliere at lisa@michucc.org for preapproval of a discounted registration rate no later than August 30, 2025.
This August there is so much happening in the Michigan Conference and so many ways for you and your local church to connect, learn, and grow!
Find out about the Michigan Conference Mitten Project, register for Level 1 Online Media Training, plan for Annual Meeting, serve on the Board of Directors, Make-a-Will Month, and more!!!
Jul 01, 2025
July 2025 Monthly Newsletter for the Michigan Conference UCC
Dear God, we thank you for the gift of freedom and the courage of all who work towards a united and just society.
Guide us in our efforts to promote peace and understanding among all people.
Amen.
Getting ready for General Synod 35, Online Media Training, Safe Harbor Fund, Summer Youth Event, and MORE!!
On this Juneteenth holiday, we remember that on June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln 30 months earlier. It is a reminder that justice moves too slowly and that this nation’s justice work on race is far from done. Last Fall, our staff and members of our board of directors entered into a six week program of study together, Animating Antiracism, which, speaking for myself, was also a reminder that my own work on race is far from done.
So I am grateful for the holiday of Juneteenth which gives me a chance to stop, reflect and be inspired by the stories of Black heroes from history, like the ones in this new UCC resource, Juneteenth: Celebrating Intergenerational Movement-Making toward Solidarity.
The theme ties in with our own new Michigan Conference Mitten Project in which we recognize how important it is to share the justice work of faith formation across the ages, and through the voices of people of all ages, because you never know who the Holy Spirit will speak through next!
Jun 03, 2025
June 2025 Monthly Newsletter for the Michigan Conference UCC
Hello Dear Colleagues,
Do you feel it? Do you feel the seismic shifts happening around our world? As Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America says in her television ads, “I know it feels like the world is on fire.” Are you feeling the shocks and shifts right under your feet? How prepared do you feel to respond? Is your church seeing a way forward? Or maybe just surviving one day at a time? How will we ever get through this?
The 2025 Annual Meeting will be addressing key themes around thriving and not just surviving as we look at how to do justice, how to stand for our values, and how our churches can respond in new and creative ways to manage these turbulent times. The Annual Meeting of the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ will be held on Friday and Saturday, October 3 and 4, 2025 with a theme of “A Justice Seeking Conference.” It will be held at the Westin in Southfield.
The Annual Meeting will kick off on Friday morning by offering an optional visit to the Detroit Historical Museum. After lunch, workshops will be available with some interesting topics in the works. Financial options the Conference offers, how to develop older adult ministries, justice topics, and more. Saturday will include hearings for resolutions, worship with conference minister Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel, and a session with keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony.
Like last year, our days together will be full and will include vendor tables, childcare, and time for relaxation and fun. Registration is open NOW. Be sure to note the early bird rate.
Rooms will be available for those staying overnight with a discounted rate for reservations made before September 5, 2025.
We hope you’ll join us. Learning opportunities await, as well as times of connecting and inspiring one another, and multiple venues to acknowledge our covenant that makes us stronger together. Ultimately, the information and energy shared will help us grasp the power of God within our communities to drive change, even in the face of uncertainty, injustice, and conflict.
We are sure you will be encouraged, enlivened, and strengthened for the challenging journey of ministry that lies ahead.
“Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but we trust in the Lord our God.”
(Psalm 20:7)
See you in October!
Blessings,
Rev. Dr. Diane Baker Antionette McGarvin
Moderator Secretary, Board of Directors
Michigan Conference UCC Michigan Conference UCC
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