Thank you, Central Church! We had a great kick off to our Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI) fundraising campaign and have already raised $1,700 toward our $10,000 goal! This support helps us serve more northern Michigan neighbors in need of immigration legal services. This spring we continue to serve clients from Ukraine who fled… Read More »

After the United States set a deadline to pull the last of its troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, news reports showed thousands of desperate people storming the airport in Kabul in the final weeks. They were desperate to get out rather than remain under Taliban rule. Ehsan and Nilab Sahab were among them. Now… Read More »

A new ministry was started at Central Church in 2015 after the congregation became aware there were no free immigration legal services north of Grand Rapids. The decision was made to open the doors to Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI) to help fill the need. Our caseload started growing as we provided presentations about… Read More »

Dear Members and Friends of Central United Methodist Church, As Chairperson of the Staff Parish Relations Committee, I wish to announce to you the appointment of Rev. Dr. Joan VanDessel as our new Associate Pastor effective July 1, 2023. Pastor Joan was introduced to our Staff Parish Relations Committee recently as our next Associate Pastor… Read More »

Dear Central Church Friends, Our church family has a history of noticing needs in the community and finding ways to fill them. Because there were no free immigration legal services available north of Grand Rapids, Central Church opened its doors in 2015 to a new ministry – Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan (JFON-MI). In the… Read More »

Sunday Morning Faithlink Group An Opportunity to Share, Listen and Reflect on Modern Christian Living Each Sunday morning from 10 and 10:45 a.m., between the morning worship services, the Faithlink discussion group gathers in Central’s third-floor library to talk about timely issues and world events with spiritual connections to the United Methodist faith. The group… Read More »

Dear Members and Friends of Central United Methodist Church, As Chairperson of the Staff Parish Relations Committee, I wish to announce to you the appointment of Pastor Linda Stephan, our new Senior Pastor effective July 1, 2023. Pastor Linda was re-introduced to our Staff Parish Relations Committee this past Tuesday as our next Senior Pastor… Read More »

Lucy DeKorne has served as the Nursery Director at Central since the summer of 2019. She and her family moved from San Diego to Traverse City in the early winter of 2019, and brought with them a love of the outdoors and an enthusiasm for finding an inclusive, progressive, and missions-focused church home. Since establishing… Read More »

Since late summer, Central Church has been helping a three-generation Ukrainian family of 12 who settled in Traverse City from Boryspil (17 km from Kyiv). We are able to house the younger portion of the family: mom, Anastasiia, dad, Mike (Mykhailo) Lymarenko, and their four children ages 3 through 9 in the “Mosaic House” on… Read More »

Carol Evans and her family moved to Traverse City from Marshall in 1977, and soon after began looking for a church where they could feel at home. They sought a church where they could find a sense of community, where they could experience vibrant worship services with rich and inspiring music, and one that was… Read More »