Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan is now Immigration Law & Justice Michigan (ILJ-MI)! Different Name. Same Mission. Immigration Law & Justice clearly defines the work we do and describes the people we serve. Our new logo the reflects hope, optimism, and opportunity that immigrants bring to Michigan communities. What hasn’t changed? Central Church is as… Read More »

During the past four years, life in Haiti has been far from normal. Disruption of basic needs such as public education, clean drinking water, proper nutrition, sanitation, and women’s health measures have been adversely affected. Political unrest, COVID, a 2021 presidential assassination and other civil and financial setbacks have rocked this already-struggling island country. Yet,… Read More »

Kyle Sonnemann Memorial Youth Mission Scholarships Help support CUMC high school students who wish to participate in Central’s annual summer Youth Mission trip! In late July, the group will travel to Cass Community Church in downtown Detroit, where they will assist with various projects to help local homeless neighbors. In prior years, the CUMC Youth… Read More »

Welcome to the New Gift-Carrier It is a big deal in the life of a congregation to change senior pastors. We have learned to respect, love, and trust our Senior Pastor, Chris. More than that, “we have grown accustomed to his ways.” We recognize his phrases; we watch for his familiar gestures; we hear the… Read More »

On Sunday, May 21 at the 11:00 worship service, Tom Bara will play for the last time as the regular organist for Central UMC. Tom will begin a new ministry as the Director of Worship, The Arts and Organist for the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, Georgia on July 1.  Here is a brief re-cap… Read More »

In June of 1856 Rev. David Thomas of the Grand Haven Methodist Church led the long pilgrimage north by boat to Leelanau County with indigenous Christian people.  The group soon joined other Three Fires Council people: the Odawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi, and they became the first members of the Northport Indian Mission. In 1882, land… Read More »

Introduction as written by long-time friend and clergy colleague, Dan Duncan “Chris honors me with the invitation to write an overview of his pastoral career, on the event of his retirement from Traverse City Central UMC. Since he has previously requested that I give a eulogy at his funeral, this is a trial run, in… Read More »

Packing for a move has a distinct way of encouraging a person to sort out what’s valuable versus what can be left behind. My sister-in-law recently came over to help us begin packing for our upcoming move to Traverse City and encouraged us to dive headfirst into the most challenging (read: cluttered) area of our… Read More »