First Sunday Worship, June 2

For the First Sunday Worship in June, our speaker will be Joey Lopez. He is an area organizer for RMN, and a director of Young Adult Ministries at Detroit Central UMC. He is involved in a bunch of creative young adult ministries in the Detroit area, including "Theology on Tap," God-talk for young adults that meets in various bars (you can "like" TOT on Facebook) in the Detroit area. This will be a more non-traditional service. Please join us at Nardin Park United Methodist Church. There will be fellowship time at 6:00 and service at 6:30.

Newburg United Methodist Church declares itself inclusive

A friend passed this statement to me, saying the congregation approved it this week. It will now appear in each Sunday's bulletin.

Newburg United Methodist seeks to be a community of faith, healing, hope and hospitality. We are called to recognize Christ in everyone. Our doors are open to all persons without prejudice relating to age, race, ethnicity, culture, citizenship, language, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, economic condition, physical or mental ability, or any other status or condition. We believe that God challenges the Christian community to lead by example and to strive to reflect God's unconditional love. In following the ministry of Jesus Christ we invite all people to join in the journey of faith toward greater love, acceptance and mutual understanding.

First Sunday Worship May 5

The First Sunday Worship on May 5th will feature a message by Rev. Tonya Arneson from Dixboro UMC. Please join us for fellowship at 6:00 and the service at 6:30.

First Sunday Worship, April 7

The First Sunday Worship in April will be on the 7th. We begin at 6:00 for fellowship and gathering time. The service will be at 6:30. We will be led by Rev. Michael Mayo-Moyle. The title of his message will be "The Conversation Matters" and text will be Luke 24:13-49. We hope to see you there.

General Conference Video

My father sent me a United Methodist News page. He indicated I should take a look at a video created by KQED. So I did. It is a half hour video of the homosexual issues before General Conference last May. Even though I was there for part of the Conference this video includes scenes I hadn't witnessed as well as many I did. The video also provides context for those of you who weren't there. It is very well done, but painful for me to watch.

First Sunday Worship, March 3

First Sunday worship on March 3rd. will be led by Rev. Peggy Garrigues from Clawson UMC. Please join us for fellowship at 6:00 and worship at 6:30 at Nardin Park United Methodist Church in Farmington Hills.

Registration for Convo now open

The Reconciling Ministries Convo website is now open and full of information. The Convo is always an uplifting event with wonderful worship services, bible studies, evening entertainment, and workshops all on the theme of ChurchQuake, of opening doors and unfastening chains (Acts 16:19).

This year Convo will be Friday, August 30 through lunch on Monday, September 2 (Labor Day). It will be held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Housing is on site and in area hotels.

The bible studies will be led by Peterson Toscano. He is described as a "theatrical performance activist using comedy and storytelling to address social justice concerns." I've heard a lot about Peterson, all of it good. This is a big reason for me to attend (though Convo itself is enough of a reason).

A new feature of Convo will be Unbuntu experiences. Unbuntu means "interrelatedness of all life." We will leave the Convo site in small groups to visit one of maybe 25 justice agencies, museums, or congregations nearby to show "how advocacy for LGBTQ equality intersects with other human rights movements."

Early registration ends April 1. I strongly encourage you to attend.