Grand Traverse District

Greetings to you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. As we move towards the celebration of the first advent of Christ, I wish to express my appreciation to you for your faithful service to Christ and to the people in the congregations and communities you serve. Thank you for your dedication and perseverance in the face of ministry challenges. We are all aware of the economy’s impact on families in our state, nation, and around the world. We truly have a global economy. But in the midst of these circumstances, I appreciate your dedication to the ministry that Christ has placed in your hands, and the faith that you have in our God of possibilities. What is often perceived only as negative news, from a different point of view is the creation of opportunities for important ministry and service to those in need. As Scripture declares, “we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). Through your leadership, God is providing for those needs, and enabling expressions of caring to families around the world. So I thank you, and pray for the joy of Christmas to fill your souls as with God’s people you praise God for the refreshing gift of a Savior. We have some wonderful news to share with you. First, we are again in place of the traditional Christmas party, we are planning a Grand Traverse District clergy family day on Friday, February 6th at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. We have negotiated the same price as last year for a one night stay with access to the water park included in the price of the room. With the help of the District Leadership Council, the cost of suite will be $89 per family suite, with up to four in a room. The rooms will actually hold six persons, but there is an additional cost of $20 each for persons five and six. Those under two years of age stay free. You may come as early as 1:00 PM and enjoy the water park, even if the room is not available. Check-in time is 4:00 PM on Friday, and check-out time is 11:00 AM on Saturday. We will be sending a letter to your SPRC chairperson inviting them to pick up the cost of the room. A block of eighteen rooms (the number of room reserved last year) have been set aside, but please call now to make your reservation. The cut-off date for registering is Friday, January 9th, although if rooms are available after January 9th they may allow a later registration. So please don’t wait, call now at 866-962-9653, and mention the block code 0902GTUMC to get the appropriate rate. We are planning to have pizza and pop in one of the rooms on Friday, to enable some fellowship as well. This event is especially designed for the younger members of our parsonage families, to encourage fun and friendship, but we will all enjoy this special time together as a moment to remember. Second, we are excited about Grand Traverse District’s Bishop’s Day III, set for Saturday, March 7th at the Kalkaska United Methodist Church. The theme for the day will be “The Renewal of Christ’s Church.” We are especially blessed to have Bishop Jonathan Keaton in person as our preacher for the day. We will also have 12 small group learning opportunities, with one of those groups in the morning session being time for the clergy with Bishop Keaton for dialog and questions and answers. The schedule is as follows: 9:00 Registration 9:15 Praise Music 9:30 Worship with Bishop Keaton preaching 11:00 Workshop 1 12:00 Lunch 12:30 District Conference 1:00 Workshop 2 All participants will have two workshops in which to participate. While the titles of the groups may be slightly modified, these learning opportunities include: • Clergy Conversations with Bishop Keaton (AM) / Pastor Parish Training with Robert Mayo (PM) • Unleashed Ministry for Young Adults Matt Bistayi • Prayer and Fasting for Growth with Ken Nash • Crafting Openness to Change with Ken Vanderlaan • New Church Methods for Existing Churches with John Scott • Worship that Connects with Gary Step • Simple Church with Brad Kalajainen • Creative Ideas for Christian Education with Becky Scott • 7 Practices of Effective Youth Ministries, leader TBD • Resurrecting Passion for Connectional Ministry with Rachel Harvey and Deb Harmon • Spiritual Wholeness and Emotional Healing with Devon Herrell and Bill Chu • Growing the Small Member Church with Mike Riegler As you can see, this is a great lineup! Please reproduce and share this information with your Church Council as well as other interested groups. This is a great opportunity for the people in your congregations to meet and hear Bishop Keaton in worship, and then have time to learn and reflect on those practices that will help move that part of the body of Christ called United Methodist into a wonderful future. Cost for attending is only $7, and this price includes lunch! Our congregation’s ministry shares enable us to put on these training events. Please announce this event several times to your congregations, and plan to bring several car-loads of folks with you. They will not be disappointed. We have kept this event compact, and this includes District Conference, to enable best use of your precious time. Please also keep your church calendars clear on this weekend to enable people to come. Third, I have the great pleasure of sharing that a joint project with the Central District is now being finalized. Rev. Mark Beeson of the dynamic Granger United Methodist Church in Northern Indiana to be with us on October 24th at the Cadillac United Methodist Church. This inspirational and equipping event will be our District Main Event for 2009. In addition, we will be hosting a separate pastor’s appreciation dinner on Friday, October 2, at the Traverse City Golf and Country Club. These will be two distinct events, with the pastor’s appreciation dinner focusing on simple fellowship with each other and a special “thank you” for all you do for Christ. Please add these events to your calendar for 2009. Well, that about wraps it up. I praise God for you, our connection together in Christ, and for this wonderful time of year. May all the joy of Christmas be with you in the coming days. Yours in Christ, Bob Mayo

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Churches in the Grand Traverse District
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