Wow! $14,420 was raised during Lent 2023 to support JFON-MI’s mission of providing free immigration legal services to neighbors in northern Michigan communities! In the last week the donations just kept coming in. The generosity of Central Church’s congregation has once again crushed our fundraising goal. Without our host church and all the ways you… Read More »

Why are you not morose? “When you’re pursuing happiness, you’re not going to find it. It’s very, very elusive.”   –Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu One of our small groups has recently been reading The Book of Joy, about two incredible spiritual leaders who have spent their lives advocating for freedom for their people: Archbishop Desmond Tutu… Read More »

From being racially profiled to becoming a U.S. citizen- Eduardo’s story Wow! Thank you, Central Church! We have now raised over $4,700 of our $10,000 fundraising goal during Lent! This support helps us serve more northern Michigan neighbors in need of immigration legal services like Eduardo. In 2018, Eduardo, his wife, and brother-in-law were victims… Read More »

Thank you, Central Church! We had a great kick off to our Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI) fundraising campaign and have already raised $1,700 toward our $10,000 goal! This support helps us serve more northern Michigan neighbors in need of immigration legal services. This spring we continue to serve clients from Ukraine who fled… Read More »

After the United States set a deadline to pull the last of its troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, news reports showed thousands of desperate people storming the airport in Kabul in the final weeks. They were desperate to get out rather than remain under Taliban rule. Ehsan and Nilab Sahab were among them. Now… Read More »

A new ministry was started at Central Church in 2015 after the congregation became aware there were no free immigration legal services north of Grand Rapids. The decision was made to open the doors to Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI) to help fill the need. Our caseload started growing as we provided presentations about… Read More »

Dear Members and Friends of Central United Methodist Church, As Chairperson of the Staff Parish Relations Committee, I wish to announce to you the appointment of Rev. Dr. Joan VanDessel as our new Associate Pastor effective July 1, 2023. Pastor Joan was introduced to our Staff Parish Relations Committee recently as our next Associate Pastor… Read More »

Dear Central Church Friends, Our church family has a history of noticing needs in the community and finding ways to fill them. Because there were no free immigration legal services available north of Grand Rapids, Central Church opened its doors in 2015 to a new ministry – Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI). In the… Read More »

Sunday Morning Faithlink Group An Opportunity to Share, Listen and Reflect on Modern Christian Living Each Sunday morning from 10 and 10:45 a.m., between the morning worship services, the Faithlink discussion group gathers in Central’s third-floor library to talk about timely issues and world events with spiritual connections to the United Methodist faith. The group… Read More »

Dear Members and Friends of Central United Methodist Church, As Chairperson of the Staff Parish Relations Committee, I wish to announce to you the appointment of Pastor Linda Stephan, our new Senior Pastor effective July 1, 2023. Pastor Linda was re-introduced to our Staff Parish Relations Committee this past Tuesday as our next Senior Pastor… Read More »