• By RJ Walters, Editor •
Detroit Annual Conference is a time of year where old friends join in healthy debate, make decisions about the future of the local church, and a share few memorable meals together, but it is also an annual celebration of purposeful giving.
The 2011 Detroit Annual Conference offers attendees a variety of ways to make a difference locally and globally, with special offerings and collections taking place throughout the four-day event.
To bring to life the theme of engaging in ministry with the poor, the DAC Program Committee is asking clergy and laity to give back to the community that has hosted Detroit Annual Conference for 42 years.
In cooperation with Adrian First United Methodist Church, the Program Committee is sponsoring a collection for food pantry items that will be distributed in Adrian.
Annual conference attendees are encouraged to bring the following goods: diapers and wipes for infants through size 6; toilet paper; boxed milk (that does not require refrigeration); canned fruit; and cereal.
According to county agencies there were more than 600 homeless people in Lenawee County in 2010 and untold more in need of a helping hand.
Another collection aimed at helping people close to home is the Bishop’s Seat Cover Project — an ongoing initiative to collect new underwear for children and youth in the Detroit Conference.
Churches can collect new packages of undergarments in creative ways such as hosting an “Undie Sunday” or making it a youth group-led mission. Underwear should then be delivered to the Ministry Fair at annual conference by May 21.
Any questions about the Bishop’s Seat Cover Project should be directed to Rev. Cathy Freeman at 734-665-5632 or cathyfreeman27@yahoo.com.
The Conference Board of Global Ministries is asking people to remember those suffering in Haiti as well, by helping with a collection of medical supplies.
Individuals and churches can purchase specific medical supplies listed on the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) website at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/.
Medical supplies kits are the only collections being accepted for this specific initiative and every container must include a $20 check made out to “Detroit Annual Conference” to cover shipping costs.
Sticking with the theme of international mission, a special offering will be taken at the opening worship on May 19 to support The Advance’s Hot Lunch Program in Haiti, as well as a safe haven known as Children’s Village in Liberia.
Through the Hot Lunch Program, Detroit and other conferences provide meals for nearly 20,000 children attending United Methodist-supported schools in Haiti.
Lunch costs continue to rise due to hikes in the cost of rice, fuel, and charcoal.
The Bishop Judith Craig’s Children’s Village in Liberia provides a safe and nurturing haven for children who have been orphaned by war, abandonment, death of parents due to HIV/AIDS, or extreme economic difficulties.
For more information on these projects, visit The Advance website at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/.
Youth will also be getting involved in the giving through a fundraiser for SPLASH (Saving People’s Lives and Giving Hope) that is being run by the Conference Council on Youth Ministry.
Youth will be selling buttons and raising awareness about how the conference can help its neighbors in the Liberian United Methodist Church.
Through past efforts, the CCYM has raised enough money to build a well at the Liberian Annual Conference’s new youth center.
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