On Sunday, May 21 at the 11:00 worship service, Tom Bara will play for the last time as the regular organist for Central UMC. Tom will begin a new ministry as the Director of Worship, The Arts and Organist for the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, Georgia on July 1.  Here is a brief re-cap… Read More »

In June of 1856 Rev. David Thomas of the Grand Haven Methodist Church led the long pilgrimage north by boat to Leelanau County with indigenous Christian people.  The group soon joined other Three Fires Council people: the Odawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi, and they became the first members of the Northport Indian Mission. In 1882, land… Read More »

Introduction as written by long-time friend and clergy colleague, Dan Duncan “Chris honors me with the invitation to write an overview of his pastoral career, on the event of his retirement from Traverse City Central UMC. Since he has previously requested that I give a eulogy at his funeral, this is a trial run, in… Read More »

Packing for a move has a distinct way of encouraging a person to sort out what’s valuable versus what can be left behind. My sister-in-law recently came over to help us begin packing for our upcoming move to Traverse City and encouraged us to dive headfirst into the most challenging (read: cluttered) area of our… Read More »

Central SPPRC Leaders Look to the Future It’s been exciting in the past few weeks to hear so many people express excitement and hope for the future of Central Church and our ministries. As we celebrate Pastor Chris and all he’s done to build the church in faithful witness, we also anticipate a wonderful season… Read More »

Welcome Confirmands! Central UMC Confirmands spend a year together growing in faith and learning the Christian fundamentals. We don’t do this by a lot of sitting around, though. We explore faith with our whole selves: with scavenger hunts, potting plants, rock climbing, even smashing things. The goal isn’t just to have fun – it’s to… Read More »

Wow! $14,420 was raised during Lent 2023 to support JFON-MI’s mission of providing free immigration legal services to neighbors in northern Michigan communities! In the last week the donations just kept coming in. The generosity of Central Church’s congregation has once again crushed our fundraising goal. Without our host church and all the ways you… Read More »

Why are you not morose? “When you’re pursuing happiness, you’re not going to find it. It’s very, very elusive.”   –Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu One of our small groups has recently been reading The Book of Joy, about two incredible spiritual leaders who have spent their lives advocating for freedom for their people: Archbishop Desmond Tutu… Read More »