In cooperation with the Presbyterian Church in Costa Rica (IEPC) and the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) we invite you to study, dialogue and travel in Costa Rica.

 

This encounter is an opportunity to enrich your connections with the church world-wide. This will occur through fellowship and dialogue with Christian brothers and sisters who are doing the work of Christ in their communities. The group will learn about various aspects of culture and gain understanding of the history of the Christian church and its various communities of faith in Costa Rica.

 

Participants will learn about the ministries of the churches and the University, a leading protestant seminary in Latin America. Participants will be seeing how the money raised through the "Two Coins a Meal" program is put into action, while visiting various IEPC sponsored feeding programs. There will also be an opportunity to learn how the Presbyterian Church is supporting the University as it works to train people for Christian ministries.

 

The trip is sponsored by Flushing Presbyterian Church and

First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Pleasant.

 

The trip is scheduled for July 28 through August 6, 2012.

 

The cost of the trip is estimated at $550 plus airfare.

 

For more information please contact:

Flushing Presbyterian Church 

Phone # (810) 659-5831- with office hours from 9am to 3pm

E-mail - flushingpc@sbcglobal.net

Visit our IEPC Costa Rica 2012 page for a printable flyer and an application.

Applications are now being accepted for the McCabe Charitable Foundation. This scholarship program is administered by Scholarship Management Services®, a division of Scholarship America®. Scholarship Management Services is the nation's largest designer and manager of scholarship programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals.

Applicants must: 

• Be Jewish or Presbyterian students from Bay, Saginaw or Midland County, MI
• Show financial need
• Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at Delta Community College or Saginaw Valley State University for the entire 2012-2013 academic year

Application deadline is April 15th.

 

For more information, please click here or call 507-931-1682 or e-mail shintz@scholarshipamerica.org.

The Great Lakes Loons are excited to once again reach out to and partner with the congregations of the Great Lakes Bay Region for the 2012 Fellowship Nights at Dow Diamond.  One of our top priorities is to build and maintain strong relationships throughout the region, which is why we want to invite you to join us for a group outing at Dow Diamond on one of our Fellowship Nights.  While we expect to have church groups at the ballpark every night, we have dedicated a few special nights as Fellowship Nights. 

 

Fellowship Nights will be held on Sunday, June 3rd; Thursday, July 12th; and Tuesday, August 7th.  These nights provide a great platform to bring your congregation together with other churches from the region while having fun with Lou E. Loon and the 2012 Loons team.  These outings are perfect for church members of all ages and a great way to raise awareness in the community.  Churches in attendance on Fellowship Nights will be recognized with a display on the video board as well as a welcoming announcement over the public address system. 

 

Fully utilizing these Fellowship Nights for your church is easy.  Once you have decided on a date, the Loons will help you every step of the way, from promotions to securing ticket orders and the distribution of tickets.  We want this to be a fun experience for everyone involved and something your church can look forward to every season.

 

If you are interested in planning an outing for your church or would like more information, please contact Matt Hoffman, Group Sales Coordinator at 989-837-6136.

 

Click here for a printable flyer.

If not you should know something about it, since Pinterest is the popular new social network that allows people to share virtual pinboards of photos and links.

A member of one of our churches mentioned that after visiting her home church in another city, she showed her current pastor the bulletin from the service.  The pastor noticed that the benediction was set to the song Edelweiss and suggested that she speak with the other pastor about it being a potential copyright violation.  This is what she learned in an e-mail from the pastor of her former church:

"I had thought we were covered under "OneLicense" which we subscribe to every year to allow printing music in our bulletin. To that end I checked to see - and you are right it is not covered. The copyright is actually with the Richard Rodgers estate (of Rodgers & Hammerstein). As such, they insist that the music ONLY be used with the original lyrics that were created for the musical "The Sound of Music."  It is possible to get permission to perform them as originally written, but not as the benediction that was first introduced at a United Methodist Women's gathering in the 1970s. There is a good summary here." 

 

 

 

Copyright compliance can be very overwhelming, even confusing. Come to the FREE Copyright Compliance Training sponsored by Lake Huron Presbytery.  The class will take place at Flint-First on Monday, April 16th.

 

Register today!! 

Article by Lynette Hawkins of Awesome Insight

First time visitors are often paying attention even when you may not know it. For example, one person told me that the reason she came back to her church was because people were accepting of her situation. She had one hand that did not look like the other but when asked to hold hands during prayer, church members treated her with care and love. The kind gesture of acceptance mattered.

 

Not too long ago I visited a church for the first time. I left feeling that was one of the friendliest churches I had ever visited. After reviewing my notes, I realized what that church did was go out of their way to speak and give me eye-to-eye contact. Too often a visit at a church can be like interacting with robots. When the environment feels welcoming its so much easier for a first time visitor to come back more often. Don't you agree? 

 

There's no secret that people who may show up on our church door steps may be wondering, "Is this a friendly church?" However the answer is in the actions that confirm the church is full of people who love God and show Christian love. Check out our blog for more ideas.

 

CLICK here to see the 7 "Acts of Encouragement" 

 

After reading this list and group discussion, What Can You Add that You Already Do to Encourage People to  Want to Come Back?

 With sustainability on its radar, Alma College campus dining is looking to increase the amount of Michigan-made food products offered at campus facilities.

 

With the exception of pre-packaged milk at Joe's Place deli, all milk comes from a Michigan company. By the end of this term, nearly 40 percent of Alma's produce will be Michigan-grown as well.

 

This is a significant difference from 2008, when Alma College purchased the bulk of its produce from a national distributor. Sodexo General Manager Steve Watkins says campus dining hopes to continue this progress.

 

"Prior to the beginning of this term, we purchased about 90 to 95 percent of our produce through a distributor in Detroit," he says. "Depending on the season, about 30 percent of its produce is from Michigan farms. We're looking to increase that number."

 

Sodexo recently secured a contract with Cherry Capital Farms, a food distributor in Traverse City that handles Michigan-made produce and products. Watkins says this an exciting development for campus dining. In January, approximately 5 percent of Alma's food came from CCF.

 

"CCF is very plugged in with farmers," he says. "Ideally, we would love to become more involved with them and help them partner with farms in Gratiot County. Our ultimate goal is to purchase products from steps away from campus, so we can support local farms much more."

 

Many of Sodexo's contracts are regional or national in scope, as living in Michigan makes buying seasonal produce difficult. However, Watkins says the more local vendors that Alma can integrate into its food supply, the better.

 

"By purchasing local, Alma can reduce its carbon footprint," he says. "We also reduce the distance that food has to travel, so we end up with a fresher, better-tasting product for our students."

 

In addition to green split peas from Howard City and other produce now available on campus, Watkins says campus dining has made other important changes to its operations.

 

"Sustainability is certainly a national trend, and we're trying to take the necessary steps in that direction as well," he says. "Alma went trayless two years ago, which cuts food waste and lessens the burden of soap and host water washing the trays every day."

 

In order to make these changes more visible, Sodexo hired two student concierges who steer students at Hamilton Dining Commons to the featured Michigan-grown produce on the dining menu.

 

"The student concierges have been very well received," says Watkins. "It has been a positive experience. Between this and our food partnerships, we see sustainability at Alma College growing to a far greater degree."