When Ginna Beckett and her husband John first moved to Traverse City, they were looking for a church with IMPACT, a church where they could invest and make a difference.  They didn’t want to invest in church. They wanted to invest in the community THROUGH church. They found their place at Central.  Where do you… Read More »

Growing up, I didn’t understand what it meant to be in worship and learn to love Jesus because I was always in Sunday School, or we didn’t go to church. This, along with the family dynamic changes during the Covid pandemic inspired me to make the choice to create a space where children could learn… Read More »

Dear Central Friends- We are so pleased that our home on Three Mile is now filled with the activities of a family of six from Ukraine. The parents are Mykhailo (Mike) Lymarenko, his wife, Anastasiia, and children Tymofil (age 9), Mark (age 8), Ivanna (age 6), and little Solomiia (age 2).  Anastasiia’s parents and three… Read More »

“This church is where we want to be”, is a sentiment I heard from a young couple who in recent months began attending worship and programming at Central. It’s a work of the Spirit that persons are finding their way to us and our vision, despite the pandemic. Or maybe even because of it. Surveys… Read More »

Seasons of Discouragement, Restoration and the Mundane  We welcome Steve Roobol, our new Director of Adult Christian Education at Central Church.  Read on to hear more about his journey to Central. He looks forward to helping you walk your spiritual path. As I live and walk through this earth these past 40 years, I have… Read More »

For as long as Methodists have been a faith group in this country, there have been annual meetings, the “Annual Conference” as it’s called, for the purpose every year of inspiring leaders, setting new vision, and deploying clergy to all the churches. I recall taking our daughter to college in Philadelphia years back and, while… Read More »

I was writing this blog in celebration of our youth when our country was once again besieged by violence against our school children. Like many of us, I am shocked at the horror of this one event, by the ways school and other mass shootings repeat across our country, and by how very little we… Read More »

Hey, it’s still the Easter season! In case you haven’t heard me say it to you personally – Halleluiah, Christ is Risen! Read on, as I’m eager to tell you of some new developments on Central’s horizon. First off, you likely have received my news of retirement plans to happen in June of next year.… Read More »

I’m one of those folks who can’t get enough of social media. If you groan, I get it. It’s not a perfect universe. But I’m in the middle of life. I’ve lived in Philadelphia and Grand Rapids, Lansing, Atlanta and Stockholm. My people are in Los Angeles, Belgrade, Seoul, Prague, and rural South Carolina. I… Read More »

As your pastors, we are honored to serve among you, and to lead our church forward, welcoming new people into the embrace of Christ’s body here. Also as your pastors, we have discerned it is time to more fully live out Central’s value of radical hospitality when it comes to marrying couples in our sanctuary.… Read More »