Enjoy the "Little"
Moments in Life!
Registration for 2012 Annual Conference Now Open!
June 6-9
Registration for the 2012 West Michigan Annual Conference is now
available online…click
here!
You must register online no later than Friday, May 11, 2012.
Please note: to register online
you must have access to a working email address. If a Member to Annual
Conference does not have an email address available, they may use their
local church email address to register.
About
Annual Conference
Annual Conference will be held
Wednesday, June 6 through
Saturday
June 9, 2012 at Van Noord Arena at Calvin College in Grand
Rapids. This is the 44th Session of the West Michigan Conference and the
final year themed on one of the
four areas of focus
of The United Methodist Church. "Combating the diseases of
poverty by improving health globally" will explore three sub-themes;
mind, body and spirit.
Preachers for Annual Conference include Ohio West Area
Bishop Bruce Ough
who will preach
at Ordination. The Rev. Dr. Stacy Minger and the
Rev. Bo Rin Cho join
Bishop Jonathan Keaton
as preachers who will provide daily spiritual focus.
Minger is an assistant professor at Asbury Theological Seminary
and Cho pastors the Korean UMC in East Lansing.
Read
more about them.
Retired Clergy & Spouses Dinner at Annual Conference
June 7
Retired
Clergy & Spouses Dinner, during Annual Conference, will be held
Thursday, June 7, 2012, at Clark Retirement Community, 1551 Franklin SE
Grand Rapids. Meeting time is
5:00 pm. Eating time is
5:30 pm. Cost is $9.00 per
person. Make check out to "CLARK RETIREMENT COMMUNITY," and mail check
with number of reservations to: Kenneth McCaw, 4211 Embassy Dr. SE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49546. If you
are Clark resident on a meal plan, make reservation, but send no money.
The final day of Annual Conference, referred to as "Miracle
Saturday," will cover the themes of Mind, Body and Spirit
and feature a family friendly mission event. Each local church is
strongly encouraged to bring 12 "disciples" to this special day of
amazing worship, fellowship and mission where up to 5000 members of our
conference will attend. We particularly encourage you to invite
those who have never attended a district or conference event to
come
to Miracle Saturday. Registration for this event begins on
Saturday, April 13th and continues through May 11th. Please ask
your local church secretary to register anyone from your congregation
for this event. If you register for Annual Conference your Miracle
Saturday registration is included. You do not need to register again.
Miracle Saturday features the dynamic author, pastor and sociologist
Dr. Anthony Campolo.
Tony Campolo has written over 35 books and blogs regularly at redletterchristians.org.
He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs on CBS, NBC,
ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CBC and many other network programs.
Guiding the way towards a healthy mind is Rev. Dr. Les Longden,
Associate Professor of Evangelism and Discipleship at University of
Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Longden has been a
pastor in a small rural church, and a Minister of Education and Senior
Pastor in two large churches.
Guiding all to a healthier body is Rev. Gary Henderson, executive
director of the Global Health Initiative of The United Methodist Church.
Henderson will lead us into the
IMAGINE NO MALARIA SLAM DUNK,
family-friendly mission event, our part of the $75 million global effort
to end this preventable deadly disease. This is a superb and fun
way to engage your congregation in a very meaningful mission experience.
Raise funds today for this special project today and then attend
Miracle Saturday to celebrate!
Your church can Slam Dunk Malaria! this spring by raising funds and
awareness to combat this preventable disease and then participating in
several energetic activities on Miracle Saturday at Annual Conference.
The Wesley Campus Ministries will be hosting free-throw contests, hula
hoop games, and a rousing game of “N-E-T-S.” Anyone who raises $100 will
get an “I Am Wesley.” t-shirt. Prizes will be awarded during the games.
For more information go to
http://www.westmichiganconference.org/pages/detail/2569 or
contact Greg Lawton of the Wesley Fellowship at Grand Valley State
University at 269-317-7183 or
wesleygv@mail.gvsu.edu.
Finally, guiding us to a healthier spirit is the Rev. Dr. Charles Boayue,
Jr. pastor of Second Grace United Methodist Church in Detroit, Michigan.
His congregation has grown into a diverse, inter-ethnic, international
community with members from Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, St.
Vincent, Trinidad, Belize, Guadeloupe, Guyana and the United States.