Focusing on intentional listening, this small group uses reflective quiet time to find greater awareness of God’s presence in our lives. We do not try to “fix” as we support each other.

Contact Kathy Mead: meadka09@gmail.com.

To register for this group

Parent’s Night Out is a community outreach to families to offer them a time of respite. For three hours, kids join us for dinner, crafts, games, a movie and more! There is a theme each month to make it fun, and we try to find new and fun ways for kids to interact with each other too! Come and join us for our first PNO event on Friday, September 20th from 5:15pm-8:15pm!

Sign up by clicking here or in the main hallway on the second floor.

Sunday Morning Pilgrimage: 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM 

Join Kathy Mead for genuine connection with others. Their desire is to be an encouragement to you and present a path to grow closer to God and to our community.

Fall 2024 Discussion: 

Mystical Hope: Trusting in the Mercy of God by Cynthia Bourgeault

Kathy Mead has attended Central for 12 years and has been leading the Sunday Morning Pilgrimage group since its inception.  She’s a retired educator and taught history at Traverse City West High School. For more information contact Kathy Mead at: meadka09@gmail.com. This class will be offered in a hybrid format to include both in-person and Zoom participants.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW

All are welcome to join the discussion to apply their United Methodist beliefs to current faith issues and world events. A host of facilitators welcome and encourage healthy and open discussions facilitated by a team of individuals from Central family.

Please contact Staton Lorenz  at ntpockets51@gmail.com for more details.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW

Exploring the Chapter Behind the Verse.

Context looks at verses we know by heart but may not know the people, places, and times that give them meaning. Josh Scott delves into these well-known Scripture verses, exploring their true meanings by examining them in their original biblical context. Through this process, he unveils fresh and enlightening interpretations that are often missed when these Scriptures are taken out of context.

Leaders: Pastor Joan VanDessel and Darcy Dewling

Book available in the Church Office – Context by Josh Scott  – $15.00

Click here to register for this class

We are trying something new this year with Disciple 1.  Alline Beutler and Darcy Dewling will be leading the 12 -week Fast Track Old Testament study in 2 6-week segments. If all goes to plan, we will then offer the New Testament Class in the Fall of 2025.

Chapters 1-6: Thursdays, October 10 – November 14, 2024 at 6pm

Chapters 7-13: Thursdays, April 10 – May 15, 2025 at 6pm

Disciple Fast Track, an adaptation of the original, bestselling Disciple Bible Study, provides a viable option for busy people seeking comprehensive engagement over time with the entire biblical text. Fast Track groups meet for a total of 24 weeks, devoting 12 weeks each to the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Participants read a manageable 3-5 chapters of the Bible daily in preparation for the weekly meetings, which last approximately 75-90 minutes.

Click here to register for this class 

If you love, you will grieve–and nothing is more mysteriously central to becoming fully human.

When a loved one dies, the pain of loss can feel unbearable. The process of grieving can feel wild and nonlinear–and often lasts for much longer than other people, the nonbereaved, tell us it should.

Bearing the Unbearable is a companion for life’s most difficult times, revealing how grief can open our hearts to connection, compassion, and the very essence of our shared humanity. Dr. Joanne Cacciatore–bereavement educator, researcher, Zen priest, and leading counselor in the field–accompanies us along the heartbreaking path of love, loss, and grief. Through moving stories of her encounters with grief over decades of supporting individuals, families, and communities–as well as her own experience with loss–Cacciatore opens a space to process, integrate, and deeply honor our grief.

Leaders: Arlene Morton and Carol Winegar

Click here to register for this group

Sign up to volunteer here:

https://www.shelbygiving.com/App/Form/983ddbce-c95d-40e7-b100-990068ed347f

October Serve Saturday Summary

Please email Ginna Beckett at gwbeckett61@gmail.com or contact the church office at office@tccentralumc.org with any questions. 

Schedule: Saturday, October 19, 2024;

8 am – Coffee, Community and Donuts in Lounge (everyone is welcome)

8: 45 am  – Community Prayer and send teams off to work sites

9 am to Noon – Teams Serve

Blessing Bag Donation– Fill a bag with all the items needed for a family experiencing food insecurity. Pick up your empty Blessing Bag with an attached shopping list beginning Sunday, October 6th, and return it full to the church’s back door on the morning of Serve Saturday, October 19th. The Salvation Army, Kalkaska InterFaith Resources, Leelanau Christian Neighbors, Grace Episcopal Church, and Kingsley United Methodist Church are the distribution points for the 150+ bags collected through this effort. (No registration needed, just pick up a bag in the gathering space.)

Blessing Bag Sorting – Sort and prep the filled Blessing Bags for pick up by the various food distribution organizations at noon that day. Sign up to fill a bag or two, and/or sign up to help Saturday morning the 21st. (6 people)

Reining Liberty Ranch – Clean up projects and animal interactions. Reining Liberty Ranch offers community based programs that serve Veterans, their families, and other disabled/at-risk individuals within the Grand Traverse Community through horse-human therapy programing. Family friendly, off site project. From 9 am to noon. (20 volunteers)

Safe Harbor – Shelter volunteers needed beginning October 18 through the 23rd. This TC-based facility provides shelter, food and other resources to those experiencing homelessness. Saturday, October 19, is the first day of CUMC’s commitment to operate our Safe Harbor shelter. This link provides access to a separate sign up form for all of Safe Harbor’s shifts, including the shift that takes place during Serve Saturday: Safe Harbor Volunteer Registration. Here is a link to volunteer descriptions for more information. Please email at josh@gtsafeharbor.org or Ginna Beckett at gwbeckett61@gmail.com with any questions. 

Cherryland Humane Society – Cleaning projects and animal interactions. CHS provides a safe harbor for the animals entrusted to them and strives to find responsible, loving and permanent homes while advancing the well-being of animals. Please wear closed toed shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. From 9 am to noon. (8 volunteers over the age of 12 years).

Saturday, October 26th

10:30am – 11:30am

Central United Methodist Church

222 Cass Street

Traverse City, MI 49684

Parking lot (accessible from alley between Cass and Union)

Can you provide a trunk? Or treats?

Contact Erica Kozlowski at erica@tccentralumc.org to sign up!

Learn more here about how to get involved