Grand Traverse District News    Words from DS Anita Hahn Bishop’s Day 2012: March 10th Mandatory Sexual Ethics Training Active Clergy Retreat District Youth News 50 Days of Prayer PAUMCS Celebrates 30 Years Annual Conference 2012 New District Missions Secretary District VIM Meeting Matt Moore Free Concert GT District Office Hours   The death of Whitney Houston sent me down memory lane. Whitney sang a song when I was a young adult, what is funny as I look back, she would have been just that at the time, too, a young adult. If you are now as old as I am, you will remember the song, “Greatest Love of ALL!” Take a minute and remember the lyrics or if for the first time, read them.   You can find it on YouTube, also, if you would like to listen to it. I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside Give them a sense of pride to make it easier Let the children’s laughter, remind us how we used to be   Everybody’s searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs A lonely place to be So I learned to depend on me   (Chorus) I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows If I fail, if I succeed At least I’ll live as I believe No matter what they take from me They can’t take away my dignity Because the greatest love of all Is happening to me I found the greatest love of all  inside of me The greatest love of all Is easy to achieve Learning to love yourself It is the greatest love of all   And if, by chance, that special place That you’ve been dreaming of Leads you to a lonely place Find your strength in love Wikipedia shares the following about, “The Greatest Love of All." “It is a song written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed and originally recorded by Jane Olivor and then again by George Benson for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest. The song was later popularized by Whitney Houston. Creed wrote the lyrics in the midst of her struggle with breast cancer. The words describe her feelings about coping with great challenges that one must face in life, being strong during those challenges whether you succeed or fail, and passing that strength on to children to carry with them into their adult lives. Creed eventually succumbed to the disease in April 1986 at the age of 36; at the time her song was an international hit by Whitney Houston.” It takes me back to my college years and my early years of teaching. It takes me back to my Christian Clowning days and the skit that I did…over and over again, and yet, even today I remember. It was a skit that said within each one of us is a fool, a clown, and finally a servant. Picture if you will a Hobo Clown (not me) who is sad in appearance and rejected by the world. Now look at yourself and for a brief moment say, “Wow! I am so glad that I am not a sorry lot like he!” And then remember for a moment, that God made the clown, too. God even made the fool! And inside of each one of us God has placed the courage we need to be His servants so that NOBODY ever feels the fool or a clown because of our actions or witness.  Following the skit, I would sign Whitney Houston’s song, “The Greatest Love of All!” You know as well as I do that every day there are things that seek to attack our ego, our feelings, our hearts, our skin…and sometimes, we are the one’s causing the attack! Ever accuse someone of something before you walked in their shoes or in the least took time to hear their story? We also know that to live as Christ calls, we sometimes appear the “fool.” And we have to pause and remember that that love inside of us does not come from the world, but from our God! And this Love has been known to totally confuse the world. I wonder how many young women Whitney gave hope and strength. Through this song, I was given courage and knew that the world may try to take much of who I was as a young woman away from me, but Whitney reminded me over and over, that God made me who I am and nobody can take that away from me…or from you! I wondered then and I wonder today if Whitney ever knew the God who gave her the LOVE that she sang about? Whitney’s song is still powerful—and has given me words that I stand on when my knees are knocking. We have our inner strength because it comes not from ourselves, but it comes from God. “You can’t take away my dignity!” The world can never strip us of what is not theirs to take. We belong to GOD! When Jesus was with the Pharisees they asked him, “What is the greatest commandment,” and Jesus responded,  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”   Matthew 22:37-39 Self love—isn’t about being self centered. It is about standing strong and tall in knowing whose you are. It is knowing that you don’t have to “cut down” another to gain self worth, “You are a child of God!” God knew you before you were born and loved you! God knew you at your weakest moment, and still loved you. God knows you in the midst of your greatest triumphs and dreams, and is cheering for you! Thanks for being someone’s HERO, today! Thanks for humbling yourself, as a clown, maybe even looking like a fool, so that in your reflection, others can see God in themselves! Blessings! Anita K. Hahn   WORSHIP THOUGHT With Lent just around the corner, and your plans well under way, if you don’t need one more idea, do not read any further…however…if you plan a few things last minute or are still thinking what could make Palm Sunday really meaningful, take a look at the Newsboys song, “The King Is Coming.” Brainstorm for a minute, what would you do with this song if money, time, space, and the words, “We won’t be back if that happens, again” were not an issue. As Wesley (my oldest son) and I have listened we see palm branches and children, dancers with ribbons and huge purple banners all filling the sanctuary in a procession to “make a way for Jesus.” Then a pause in the “drama” as the doors to the sanctuary are “flung” open and the light of Christ enters into worship…or maybe someone dressed as Jesus coming in on a donkey. What do you see? Share your ideas with Pastor Anita (glue4evr@yahoo.com) and she will work to share a culmination of your ideas with everyone in two weeks, who knows, maybe you will get another great idea for worship! (Yes, the whole blog thing has to be the next step!)    CAMPERS UNITE! How many campers do you have going to camp this year from your church? How many are you committing to send? Now is the time to start getting a summer camp experience on your children and youth’s calendar. It is also the time to begin doing some special fund raisers to help pay the way! Camp is not cheap, but it is the one experience that will change your young people’s lives. In all the ways you support children and youth, keep this one at the front of your ministry!   DISTRICT CONFERENCE Thank you for joining us at Kalkaska UMC for our District Conference! What a grand day it was. With 181 in attendance, great worship, food and workshop experiences, it was a fantastic, spirit filled day. Thanks for giving your time to make it grand! CDs from the day are available upon request at the District Office.   Bishop’s Day 2012: “Imagine a Healthy Body of Christ” Bishop’s Day 2012 is scheduled for Saturday, March 10 at Big Rapids First UMC. We will be teaming up with the Heartland District to co-host the event.  The theme for the day is “Global Health.” Our keynote speakers are Keith Mumma and John Yates, MD, CCFP. They both have been involved in the mission of International Child Care in Haiti and will be bringing us the message of hope for a healthy Haiti. Please go to www.umcheartland.org/Events.html to sign up for workshops. There will be no registration fee for the day but we will be taking up a special offering to sponsor a bed at Grace Children’s Hospital. We are also asking for a gently used or new item to donate to the Big Rapids Salvation Army Thrift Store. Refreshments and sack lunches will be available. Suggested donation is $10. Checks may be made payable to Big Rapids First UMC. There will be three long workshops (1 hour+) offered 3 times during the day: 1.)    Imagine a Healthy Haiti 2.)    Imagine a Healthy Me 3.)    Imagine Healthy Aging And six shorter workshops (30 minutes) each offered twice throughout the day: 1.)    Imagine Doing the Most Good 2.)    Imagine Clean Water for Everyone 3.)    Imagine Healed Hurts, Habits and Hang Ups 4.)    Imagine a Healthy Africa 5.)    Imagine Mental Wholeness 6.)    Imagine a Healthy Community You can find out more about these workshops by downloading the brochure: http://www.umcheartland.org/DOCUMENTS/Events/Bishop's%20Day/Bishop's%20Day%202012%20Brochure.pdf These links are also available on the Grand Traverse District website: www.gtdistrictumc.org Or check us out on FacebookGrand Traverse District - United Methodist Church.   Mandatory Sexual Ethics Training The office of Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton announced that mandatory sexual ethics training for all clergy in the Michigan Area will take place at three sites from March 19-21. All clergy currently under appointment or anticipating an appointment are required to attend one of the single-day sessions. The dates and sites available for clergy in the Michigan Area are as follows: March 19 - Birmingham: First UMC March 20 - Gaylord: First UMC March 21 - Cornerstone Church (Caledonia, Mich.) Check-in at each site will begin at 8:00 a.m., and the training will take place from 8:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Pre-registration will be required for each site, and online registration will be available beginning January 3. The registration cost will be $8 in advance and $15 at the door. The Rev. Michelle Foster, clergy ethics coordinator for the Western North Carolina Conference, will be the trainer for all three sessions. During the training, conversations will focus on healthy boundary setting and boundary keeping within interpersonal relationships and in engagement with technology. Handouts will be provided, and those attending are encouraged to take notes throughout the day. This information is on the West Michigan website: www.westmichiganconference.org   Grand Traverse Clergy Retreat: April 17 & 18, 2012  Lake Louise Retreat Center “Running without Becoming Weary:  The Pastor and Self-Care”  Ministry can be one of the most challenging and stressful vocations persons engage.  Beyond the well-known adages about physical health, diet and exercise, this retreat will explore the deeper dimension of our basic self needs and the role of spirituality in our work.  There will also be time to reflect on these explorations and to share together about the struggles and the joys in our particular settings.  Lallene Rector is the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean at Garrett-Evangelical Theological seminary.  She is also Associate Professor of Psychology of Religion and Pastoral Psychotherapy and has been a member of the faculty since 1986.   Her academic interests include pastoral care, feminist theology, racial identity studies and the psychology of whiteness, as well as exploring the psychological implications of religious experience.   Lallene is a trained and practicing pastoral psychotherapist, as well as being trained in adult psychoanalysis.  She is on the faculties of the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago and the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago. Lallene is a United Methodist layperson who serves on the Advisory Committee for Candidate and Clergy Assessment, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.  She enjoys British murder mysteries in her spare time. Ř This retreat is being offered free of charge to all active pastors in the Grand Traverse District. Please call or email the district office to reserve a room.   District Youth News Chicago Trip             March 16-18             Excitement is building for the Multi-cultural worship experience in Chicago with our District Superintendent on March 16-18. We will experience worship in a Jewish Synagogue on Friday night, Willow Creek on Saturday night, a Serbian Orthodox Cathedral and the church that President Barack Obama attended on Sunday Morning. This trip is for 7th – 12th graders and will cost $80.00 plus some food expenses. If you are interested, act quickly and get your permission slip and $80 check made out to the West Michigan Conference Treasurer to Kevin Hahn, 4505 Stone Ridge Ct. Traverse City, MI 49684 by March 1st. For more information and forms click on the links below and download everything you need.   Chicago Trip Flier                Chicago Trip Schedule              Chicago Trip Permission SlipChicago Trip Covenant                  Chicago Trip Packing List                            Spring Splash          April 21-22             You need to act fast if you are going to get in on this one, and save $10. Registrations that are received before March 1st for this great event, are only $65, if postmarked after March 1, it’s $75. We are bringing in a great band HARLAND who sometimes travel with internationally known speaker Bob Lenz. Visit the bands website at http://harlendband.com/. Speaking of bands our guest speaker, Grant Norsworthy, is from the band SONICFLOOd who recorded and performed many popular praise songs including “I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever,” “Open The Eyes Of My Heart,” and “Here I Am To Worship.” Get to know Grant Norsworthy at his website   http://www.grantnorsworthy.com. On top of all this, you get access to Avalanche Bay, an overnight at Lake Louise United Methodist Camp and meals. That is on April 21-22. You can download the information from here.      Spring Splash Flier                                                 Spring Splash registration form                  We Want Your Help If you have a youth that is organized, helpful and has some great ideas, we would like to get their help with some district events. Download the District Counsel on Youth Ministry’s Application, have them fill to out and send it in. We look forward to hearing from them. Also, if one of your youth is already on the District Youth Counsel, they need to reapply every year. Summer Mission Trip          June 23 – July 1             We are still working on the details for this trip, but this is what we know this far. The group will leave on June 23 and head down to the Atlanta, Georgia area. While we are there, we will work on two projects. One is a food kitchen, food pantry, homeless shelter. The other is a building-home repair type project. We will be staying at Shiloh UMC in Almon, GA. We will be back on July 1. The cost will be between $200 and $300. This trip is for 9-12 graders. If you have younger youth, we are thinking about a Jr. high work experience in the Lake Ann area in August. Look for more information to come about both trips. If you are interested let Kevin Hahn know at kh@i2k.com or 231-492-0046.       The New Shirts are out                       The Grand Traverse District Counsel on Youth Ministries have released their new shirt design. The shirts are available to buy at any of our events for $15.       The Youth at District Conference             It was fun to see the Youth at the District Conference. It helped to remind us that the church is not of just one generation.    One of the questions that came up at the Youth Workshop is, “How do you get youth into your youth group? I have found that showing interest in the youth gets them into the church/youth group. I have been going to the schools and volunteering for years. Schools are so desperate for help that they will take most anyone that is willing to help. You don’t proselytize there, or carry your Bible, but when they asked why you are there, you can let them know that they are Children of God and therefore of value to you. You can let them know what church you attend and even invite them to come. Ask your school if they need some help.    We are also looking forward to seeing you all at Bishops Day in March 10th in Big Rapids.   Fifty Days of Prayer On March 16, 2012, as a subscriber of the 50 Days of Prayer emails, you will begin receiving daily meditations that will enable us to join in prayer in the days before—and during—General Conference.  Be sure to invite others to join with United Methodists around the world who will be using this resource. The 50 Days of Prayer resource is available in several formats so as to be accessible to everyone. We need you to help get the word out and remind others to join together in prayer during this important time in the life of The United Methodist Church. Let others know: Multiple translations are available as free pdf downloads, and other translations are in the works; There is a free English eBook; There is an English print edition available: individually for just $4.95, or even cheaper when purchased in bulk for groups and congregations; And, there is a free RSS feed, so individuals can easily receive the daily meditations via email. Visit http://50daysofprayer.upperroom.org and use the sharing tools available to help get the word out.   PAUMCS Celebrates 30 Years   There will be fun, fellowship, and fabulous training sessions in RICHMOND, VIRGINIA   APRIL 12-15, 2012    REGISTER NOW for the 2012 PAUMCS Annual Conference! More information available at www.paumcs.org           West MI 2012 Annual Conference  The theme of the 2012 Annual Conference has been announced.  "A Healthy World: Mind • Body • Spirit" will be held Wednesday, June 6 through Saturday June 9, 2012 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids.  This is the 44th Session of the West Michigan Conference and the final year themed on the four areas of focus of The United Methodist Church.  "Combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally" will explore three sub-themes; mind, body and spirit.  Preachers for the event include the dynamic author, pastor and sociologist Dr. Anthony Campolo, Resident Bishop of the Ohio West Area Bishop Bruce Ough and our own Bishop Jonathan Keaton.  The three keynote speakers for the final day of Annual Conference sometimes referred to as "Miracle Saturday" have been selected and will be announced soon.   District Missions Secretary, Dave Hamman from the Ludington UMC would be interested in hearing from all the churches in our district concerning their involvement in different mission projects so we can share ideas and opportunities.  Please feel free to contact Dave by phone:  231 845-0174 or by email:  dbhamman@charter.net District VIM Meeting will be at Mancelona UMC on February 23, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. This meeting is open to anyone who would like to talk about the purpose and vision of the GT Volunteers in Mission. Matt Moore In Concert Matt Moore and his Acoustic Band is performing in concert at the United Methodist Church of Cadillac Saturday, February 25th at 5pm. Matt plays contemporary Christian music (no hard rock or rap) which will appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Matt recently played at Camp Living Waters (Luther)and Youth Invasion (Benzie); he also played at United Methodist Summer Camps in 2011 so some of the youth may know his music already. The concert is free and reservations/ tickets are not necessary so invite your youth, teens, families, small groups and circles. Free downloads and samples of his music may be found at http://www.mattmooremusic.com/fr_home.cfm Debbie Pant (231) 779 - 2999 timothypant@mac.com United Methodist Church of Cadillac 1020 E. Division Cadillac, MI 49601 (231) 775-5362 umccadillac@sbcglobal.net    Recycling used religious materials? The Centenary UMC in Pentwater recently had this information in their newsletter. “In this Used Religious Materials box are items that have been used by the church that are outdated; books or Bible studies, Sunday School curriculum, VBS material, magazines, devotionals, etc.” They are sent to Love Packages in Butler, IL. They are then sorted by volunteers and sent worldwide to pastors and missionaries who are unable to afford new media. Find out more at http://www.lovepackages.org/ or call 217-532-6701.   Office Hours: Our regular office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If there is an emergency after these hours or over the weekend, please call the office (231-947-5281) where DS Anita Hahn’s phone number will be available. If the schools in the area are closed because of weather, the district office will also be closed.   Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.