Checks payable to: Central Bay District
Mail to: Central Bay District
PO Box 5386
Saginaw, MI 48603
First half due May first
Second half due October first
Total to be paid in full by October 31, 2024
989.793.8838 or [email protected]
Please call or email with any questions.
Do you want to connect the church and community? Are you wondering how best to sustain and grow a vital ministry? Could you be looking for another approach after good plans don’t seem to work out or are no longer impacting your community in the same way?
The Love Reaching Out Seminar Is designed to answer these questions and others as we seek to share the love and Good News of Jesus to the people of our communities with ministries of Compassion and Justice.
Help Wanted: Lay Servant Ministries needs Christian disciples who are willing to learn how to use the spiritual gifts God has given them to grow their faith, and lead others to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our leadership classes will help you develop skills for preaching, teaching, leading worship, leading Bible study and prayer, evangelism and lay pastoral care giving.
For your convenience, classes are available online, in person and through Zoom
meetings. Will you partner with us in this mission?
Basic Class: September 7 & 14 – Auburn UMC, Auburn, MI
Each One a Minister: September 7 & 14 – Auburn UMC, Auburn, MI
Living Our Beliefs: September 7 & 14 – Auburn UMC, Auburn, MI
Basic Class: October 12 & 19 – Faith UMC, Edmore, MI
From Pew to Pulpit: October 12 & 19 – Faith UMC, Edmore, MI
Worshipping With United Methodists: November 2 & 9 – Wesley Foundation CMU, Mt. Pleasant, MI
From Pew to Pulpit: November 2 & 9 – Weslet Foundation CMU, Mt. Pleasant, MI
What do you get when you mix 14 middle and high school boys, 5 middle school and high school girls, a
bus, 13 adults, snacks and a guitar? A great time! The youth of Central Bay district, representing 9
different churches left for Big Rapids early Thursday morning after a blessing and sendoff from Pastor
Ernesto Mariona and some congregation at Freeland UMC.
There were games. There were songs. There was food pantry work, yard work, setup work, cleaning,
sorting and carrying. There was worship with Pastor Jeremy Wicks from Big Rapids First UMC. There was a lot of pivoting by kids who never complained due to weather, scheduling snafus by the agencies we
were working with and pesky country roads!
A full write up and picture gallery will be out in the August newsletter – stay tuned! But in the
meantime, know that there is a great group of kids who love Jesus, are full of kindness towards each
other and strangers in a community that wasn’t there’s, respectful and willing to act as the hands and
feet of Jesus doing missional work. If you have one or ten youth, 6 th grade to 12 th grade, we’d love for
you to be a part of our fun at the July Summer Serve Mission Day at the Toni & Trish house. Details for
that are in an article in this newsletter.
THANK YOU to all of the adults who took time off from work to travel with us and make this an
unforgettable – for real! – trip: DS John Kasper, Pastor Ernesto Mariona, Pastor Rob Richards, Pastor
Jeremy Wicks, Ferris Wesley House Director Kim Bos, Brady & Tara, Heather (who has the voice of an
angel), Amie, Adrenne, Jason, Jeff, Hilary, Lori, Maliha, Becky, Tina & Jennifer Lane, the best pivoter and fearless leader!
Is your church summer off to a running start? Hopefully you got to watch the Zoom live of the VBS setup
at my church for the Camp Firelight last month. If not, you can find the link to the replay on our website
here: https://centralbay.michiganumc.org/children/
July’s live Zoom will be July 10 th at 3pm and I will detail the Water night setup and activities. This is a
community event where my church had over 100 attend last year. This is the day we WANT to have hot
and steamy weather – it really brought out a crowd.
Water Night has a large inflatable water feature, which is set up right in front of the church, so it is easily
visible from the road and anyone who drives or walks by. And of course, there is a WELCOME ALL and
FREE sign, encouraging anyone to join us. This attracted several families who went home, changed and
came right back to participate.
There are other games that include all things water – squirt guns, water bottles, a splash pad, a toddler
pool, water races and to finish off – a snack. What better snack than a popsicle?
In the live event I’ll show you how to set up outside for easy attraction, traffic flow, keeping volunteers
cool and inviting the community in.
July ZOOM link: Join Zoom Meeting
https://michiganumc.zoom.us/j/82004822179
Meeting ID: 820 0482 2179
What kinds of community activities or kid’s nights are you hosting? Other ideas include a Super Sunday
Sundae Bar, Pooch Pawty (dog celebration or blessing of the pets), bike safety night, movie night inside
to keep cool, a hot dog cookout, Camp Night, Pizza and Picasso, and so much more! Send me your
pictures and we’ll feature them on our webpage and Facebook – [email protected].
Looking ahead…August will be August 7 th and it features MESSY NIGHT set up.
Calling all admins (full/part time, paid/volunteer, overworked/under-utilized) we want to connect.
For APRIL – we’re celebrating YOU! Gather with us in Mt. Pleasant at First United, 400 S. Main St. Mt.
Pleasant at 11:30. We’ll have lunch, do a project together and have fun with other admins in our district.
Remember, bring a friend! Please RSVP to Teri Rice, [email protected].
Please join us for our regular monthly Zoom gathering the second Wednesday of each month for the
remainder of the summer, 11:30-Noon.
July 10
August 14
Join us every single month, or just when you can – this is going to be informal gathering to support each
other in the ministry of the church office.
We are REALLY looking forward to seeing you on Zoom.
Zoom Link: https://michiganumc.zoom.us/j/81283796136#success
*This zoom link will be the same for each Let’s Connect gathering we do – the second Wednesday of
each month from 11:30 – Noon.https://michiganumc.zoom.us/j/81283796136#success
We are looking forward to connecting with you.
Teri Rice
Partnering with You to bring People to Jesus
Executive Assistant
Central Bay District
Michigan Conference UMC
July 14 – Lunch Break – China Master (1216 S. Mission Street) 11:30 am – Join us for worship at Mt. Pleasant First (400 South Main Street) 10:00 am before lunch.
July 26 – Summer Serve Day – Toni & Trish House, Auburn MI (4699 11 Mile Rd.) 3:00 pm
August 14 – Summer Serve Day – Dalis to the Rescue, Animal Rescue Center, Alma, MI (303 Valley Ave.) 10:00 am
Every single church in the Central Bay District is surrounded by families with middle and high school students who need and are looking for relevant, impactful opportunities to grow their faith in a safe and uplifting setting. Whether or not their parents attend church, students age 11-18, studies have shown, have faith in God, and are looking for ways to return to God. Polling data from the Springtide Research Institute indicated that about one-third of middle and high school students believe in the existence of God or a higher power. This is up from about one-quarter in 2021, as reported in The Wall Street Journal (April 24, 2023). Why? This may be in response to the pandemic, and more specifically the need to believe in something beyond themselves.
So our next Let’s Talk Zoom will explore ways to help middle and high school students find a home at your local church. We’ll explore effective outreach methods, opportunities for growth, and talk about being hospitable to these students. Join us on Thursday, July 11 at 7:00. Use this link to register and get the Zoom link.
Free course can help you communicate positively about change
Churches often adjust in big ways and small ones in order to serve and equip individuals in a changing world. Therefore, how we communicate change to our members really does matter. In this course you will learn how to establish a robust foundation for change communication, garner congregational buy-in, respond to opposition gracefully and maintain communication throughout the change process.
Checks payable to: Central Bay District
Mail to: Central Bay District
PO Box 5386
Saginaw, MI 48603
First half due May first
Second half due October first
Total to be paid in full by October 31, 2024
989.793.8838 or [email protected]
Please call or email with any questions.
