Michigan Conference
United Church of Christ

Please join us October 10 & 11, 2014 for our 
Annual Meeting of the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ. We welcome our keynote speaker, Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber; author of New York Times Bestselling theological memoir, "Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint" (Jericho 2013). She is the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado and an ordained pastor in the ELCA. She is a Mom and a gifted writer; honest and outspoken - she is insightful and hilarious. She is a deeply engaging pastor who just happens to have sleeves of tattoos. She is ready to enlighten you in ways only she can with two Continuing Education presentations, a special Friday evening worship service (open to the public), and keynote presentation on Saturday!

Church Multi-person Discount: Eligible churches will have 5 or more people attending Annual Meeting from the same church and are eligible to receive a $5.00 per person discount on up to 10 people. All participants must be registered at the same time to receive the multi-person discount - either online or a paper form. To receive the $5.00 per person discount enter
Promo Code: 5MOREGUESTS (case sensitive) for the registrant and subsequent guests. To complete the registration in full you must have the following information for each person registered: Full name, email address, status at the meeting, any special needs, and meal information. If anyone is in need of childcare, that information will also need to be completed as well. A credit card can be used to pay for all registration fees; if paying by check it must be mailed to our office within 1-2 business days from the day of registration. Payments are not being taken at Annual Meeting to avoid congestion at the registration table and lessen wait times for you and others checking in. We appreciate your understanding as we strive to make your Annual Meeting experience the very best from beginning to end!

Meals:  Friday, October 10th, lunch is "On Your Own" - East Lansing has many great restaurants  and eateries to choose from; Jonna 2 (located just steps from The People's Church) has many great food options from pizza and subs to salads and entrees. There are other options as well; Beggar's Banquet, Dublin Square, Crunchy's, and El Azteco. A "Program Booklet" will be available closer to Annual Meeting time with a list of restaurants and their locations, along with more detailed information of the area.

Meals offered at Annual Meeting are the Friday evening dinner buffet and Saturday lunch buffet. Food will be prepared by Grand Grillin' of Lansing.

Workshops: A complete list and description of each workshop will be available soon. Stay tuned and keep checking our website (www.michucc.org) for more details!  Thank you!

Cookies: A Michigan Conference Annual Meeting tradition; we invite folks from any of our UCC churches in attendance, to bring 3 - 4 dozen cookies to share during our break times at Annual Meeting.  We love all different kinds of cookies or dessert bars we just ask that you mark your containers with the kind of cookie/bar and if your cookies contain any nuts or fruit. If you have a favorite vegan or gluten free cookie/dessert bar that you would like to share that would be wonderful as well! Thank you in advance for all of your baking efforts  - we look forward to trying your creations!

Childcare:  Childcare is available during Annual Meeting - with the exception of meal times. Children will spend meal time with their parents/guardians and are welcome to return to childcare afterward. Please plan to bring along some snacks (avoiding nuts of any kind), and any other supplies they may need. Make sure you sign your children up for any meals that they will need as well.  If you are in need of childcare be sure to sign up through registration. Please also download and fill out the additional form below and bring it with you to Annual Meeting. Thank you!  CHILDCARE FORM

Innovation Awards:  Think - new, invention, advancement, creation, design, imagination, ingenuity, original, inspirational, resourceful, revitalizing, energizing!  What innovative ministry, worship, outreach, mission or other program would you initiate if money was not a barrier, but an opportunity for meeting a profound need in your community? What if you used this money as matching funds for your congregation and doubled the impact? What if you applied for other grants and added this one to accomplish your hopes for a world transformed by God's love? We are inviting you to dream and to listen and to imagine what God is doing in your midst. Put that dream into an innovation plan and you are ready to apply for this grant - 2014 Innovation Grants. Deadline for application is September 1, 2014 with notification of awards at Annual Meeting.  

Friday Evening Worship (Open to the public):  The Friday evening worship will feature our keynote speaker the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber. This worship service is open to the public and free of charge. A free will offering will be taken if you wish to participate. Worship begins at 7:30 p.m.

Displays:  The Michigan Conference United Church of Christ welcomes your tabletop displays as part of our conference mission and support. Display space is limited and will be assigned as your application is received. The deadline for applications is September 29, 2014. Applications received after all space has been assigned will be notified. A representative of your organization is asked to register for this meeting to be available to prepare the display and provide information during the meeting. Exceptions can be made if traveling to East Lansing is prohibitive. Materials for the display may be shipped to: 

The Peoples Church
Attn: Andy Mayville
200 W. Grand River Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823

DISPLAY REQUEST FORM

Please mark your display materials clearly; they should be received between Monday, Oct. 6 and Thursday, Oct. 9 to insure there availability for setup Friday morning. If you have questions please contact John Ditzler (jmditzler@charter.net). 

Hotels:  We have contracted with four (4) area hotels. You may make your reservations at any time. Please note that each hotel has their own deadline for reserving a room at the discounted rate. Please be sure to make your arrangements before the designated deadline.There are many other options for lodging - if you prefer to search for those on your own.  
Hotels/Parking Information

 

Register Now!