District News

Our EAP program is for clergy and their families to deal with a number of personal, job or family related problems. They provide limited free counseling and then will provide a referral for longer term counseling. They provide legal assistance and financial services as well.

I’m attaching the Fact Sheet for our EAP. We often refer people to the website because they have tons of material there including health recipes and webinars on a range of topics. However, for a crisis situation, they should call 1-800-847-7240. That number is available 24/7/365. Our EAP provider says they’d like people to hear a voice first in the midst of a crisis, rather than seeing a website.

This service is free and completely confidential. The Benefits Office has no idea who uses this system. We simply get a quarterly report of how much it has been used, but never any identifying information.

The website is a great place to check out resources when not in the midst of a crisis. Please note that the website, username and password are on the attached flier. I will say that the website sometimes doesn’t load correctly due to the nature of http vs https. So, I let people know that www.my-life-resource.com redirects to https://www.advantageengagement.com/1611/login_company.php in case there is ever an issue.

If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

We are aware that people often don’t know of this benefit and so we will be communicating more about the EAP in the coming months, but we appreciate you also sharing this information as you can. We ask that you not give out the username and password in general communications to the public as it is meant to be used by our employees (clergy and their families) only.

In Christ,
Joel Walther
Director of Conference Benefits and Coordinator of Human Resources
Michigan Conference of the UMC

Clergy in every district of the Michigan Conference have participated in the Saving Grace course, a personal finance course designed to strengthen personal finance practices. 52 Michigan UM clergy have successfully completed the course. The UM Foundation of Michigan is committed to strengthening clergy leadership. Studies indicate that successful clergy leaders have personal financial well-being.

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Introduction to the Art and Practice of Intentional Interim Ministry

Dear Friends,

In this current season within the Michigan Conference, we are finding an increasing number of churches and appointments either in need of short-term interim pastoral help or having to deal with complicated dynamics due to disaffiliation.  In light of these needs, the Michigan Conference is partnering with the United Methodist Transitional Intentional Interim Ministry Specialist Association (TIIMSA) to host a workshop titled, “Introduction to the Art and Practice of Intentional Interim Ministry.”

This workshop is a two-day, 16 hour accelerated training program with a two-hour follow up check-in on Zoom, designed to give clergy the basic concepts and skills that will help them go into situations where there is a transition in process.

September 14  10:00am – 6:00pm

September 15  8:30am – 4:30pm

Westwood UMC

538 Nichols Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49006

Rev. Dianne Christopher, Trainer

The $25 registration fee helps cover materials, meals, and snacks.  The speaker fee is being covered by The United Methodist Foundation of Michigan.  You will be responsible for your lodging if you need to stay overnight.  We have secured a special rate of $119 + tax at the Holiday Inn & Suites Kalamazoo West, 1247 Westgate Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49009, (269) 888-4800.  Ask for UMETH or event number 3298 for the special rate.  The hotel registration cut-off date is August 30.

While we are not asking you to make a specific commitment to interim work at this time, we are asking you to come and explore this possibility.  Our hope is that through this training we will have a group of clergy both prepared to help us with complicated ministry situations and willing to be available as needs arise.

For those interested in a more in-depth 85-hour Intentional Interim training, go to the TIIMSA website to see information and upcoming training dates.

If you are interested in this training and willing to explore the possibility of participating in intentional interim ministry, please register here by September 8.  For more information or questions, please contact Rev. Dirk Elliott at [email protected].

We look forward to hearing from you.

Bishop David Bard                                       Rev. Dirk Elliott

Bishop of the Michigan Conference          Director of Congregational Vibrancy and Leadership Development

Registration is Open!

January 23-25, 2023  – THE CENTRAL BAY CLERGY RETREAT

            Available to all Clergy and those clergy serving in Retirement

            At Bay Shore Camp.

                        Theme:  “Enough”   What is enough?  Am I enough?  What is your worth?  Who or what

                                              determines it?  What does God say about enough?  How do we deal

                                              with people who feel that they are our measuring tool?  How do we

                                              deal with ourselves when we don’t measuring tool?

Download the flyer/registration form >>>