517-258-0038 | To care for UCC clergy and churches in Michigan.
517-258-0038 | To care for UCC clergy and churches in Michigan.
Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ
Equip, empower, connect, and celebrate UCC clergy and churches in Michigan
Welcome to the wonderful world of the Michigan Conference, where, when you’ve seen one church, you’ve seen one church. We have churches by cherry orchards, rust belts, tourist towns of fudge shops and food deserts without grocery stores, vacation mansions alongside a serious shortage of affordable housing, and pure recreational lakes down the road from cities whose drinking water is dirty. From city apartments, farmhouses, lake cottages, vacation mansions we make our spiritual homes together in 135 churches that include all the rich contrasts of our beautiful state.
Since becoming Conference Minister in 2022, you can see from my speaking schedule that I have spent most weekends visiting them. I can testify that no matter the size or setting, you will find a fascinating and faithful spiritual home here, whether you are looking for a place to worship or a place to preach. We can have the oldest congregation in a small town and be the first in that same town to welcome the queer community. We have new church starts without the burden of a building, meeting online or in coffee shops. We have historic churches whose stained glass windows, woodwork and masonry are a blessing of art and transcendence to their communities. We have congregations that are unapologetically black and congregations that have Alpine festivals.
In large cities, rural villages, sprawling suburbs and fertile forests, our churches bear witness to the God who is still speaking, who desires justice and who welcomes all, no matter what, no matter who, no matter where you are on life’s journey. In the Michigan Conference, our Christian tradition may be two thousand years old but our thinking is not. If that sounds like you, come join us.
Peace and Blessings,
The Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel
Palm Sunday Path is a public, peaceful witness to shared Christian values. Across Michigan and across denominations, we are coming together to pray, to sign, and to walk as one body, reminding each other and all of Michigan that our faith calls us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger.
All who share these values are welcome to join us. Whether you walk in the procession, meet us at the Capitol, sing in the choir, or commit to this work in your own community, there is a place for you on the path.
There are many ways to help:
The Spring GATHERING is a weekend of retreat, renewal, relaxation, and recharging. It is a time to greet old friends and make new ones. There will be Friday evening entertainment and vespers. Saturday’s activities give you many opportunities to either stay busy or simply enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Lake Huron Retreat Center on the shores of Lake Huron. Plus we will have our Annual Business Meeting mid-day Saturday and an evening program and vespers. Sunday offers a very meaningful worship service. We are honored to announce that this year’s keynote speaker and preacher is the Michigan Conference Minister, Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel.
Lake Huron Retreat Center is located on the shores of Lake Huron. The accommodations are comfortable and the food is scrumptious and abundant. In short, it’s your weekend. Come and enjoy!!
Learn More Here
Join us live on Zoom the first Wednesday of each month as we invite experts from across the Michigan Conference, UCC denomination, and beyond to discuss issues that are impacting the church today. Topics and guest speakers are generated directly by requests and conversations with leaders in our local churches.
Registered participants on Zoom receive a monthly email with the recording along with additional resources shared during Leadership Lunch.
Recordings are archived on the Michigan Conference UCC YouTube Channel in the Leadership Lunch Playlist.
WATCH the Leadership Lunch RECORDINGS REGISTER for Leadership Lunch
Dear Churches and Clergy,
As you follow Jesus, hear the scriptures, preach the gospel and bravely worship something other than yourselves, you are increasingly going to feel the Holy Spirit rubbing like sandpaper against the culture around you. There are certain moments in history, time and space where it is especially grating and this is one of those times. Be the church of sandpaper.
Just because his teachings later came to be associated with empires, nation states and governments, they were not born that way and neither was Jesus. It is the responsibility of the church universal to remind the culture in all times and places that Jesus’ life began in a stable, to parents without the protection of citizenship, who fled their home to a foreign land for the first six years of Jesus’ life. You don’t have to use your imagination to see Jesus in the face of an immigrant child. He literally was one. Stand up for Jesus wherever you see him. READ MORE
Where do you see God is still speaking?
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