Abundant Health Michigan, a new program within the Michigan Conference, will host a free webinar on ministering through grief and loss for ministry leaders.
Last year, the Michigan Conference became the newest member of The United Methodist Church’s Abundant Health for All Initiative, a global connection striving for mental, physical, and spiritual well-being for all. Click to learn more about this initiative.
By joining Abundant Health Michigan, local churches and ministries in the state will have the opportunity to become a part of this global network. The Abundant Health for All Initiative grew out of the Imagine No Malaria campaign, when the 2016 General Conference voted to expand its global health reach beyond addressing a single disease.
Abundant Health Michigan is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, February 25, at 7 pm Eastern for clergy and laity in local church or other affiliated ministries. Learn from two churches that have started and sustained ministries for people living through grief and loss. Click the button below to register and receive the Zoom link.
You will learn from two churches that have started ministries for people living through grief and loss, a broad topic that affects us all. You will hear how they assessed their community’s needs, found resources, got buy-in, and have evaluated the impact. There will be time for questions and discussion.
Rev. Mark Erbes, a retired elder, will present on the Muskegon: Lake Harbor UMC GriefShare ministry program. He will share about the process his church used to define the need for this ministry, how they identified the GriefShare program curriculum, and how they launched it. Importantly, he will reflect on how impactful it’s been, using examples from their current ministry focus.
SK Osborn, a laywoman, will represent the Ludington UMC program on grief. Her presentation will be framed through her experience moving across the country and the grief of loss she experienced with both personal and place-based transitions. She will also share how Ludington UMC has used the GriefShare program.
Rev. Alex Plum, the coordinator for Abundant Health Michigan, will moderate the event, and extends this invitation: “Come to this webinar if your local church is asking questions about how they can support one another’s journey through loss and grief. Come if you and your ministry are ready to do something but unsure how to start. Come if you’ve been successful in a ministry related to this topic and want to share your advice and perspective with others! Come if you are interested in ministries of health broadly and want to help shape the future of these webinars for additional topics.”
Abundant Health Michigan is seeking individuals passionate about health and wellness ministries to join them. They will likely meet semi-annually with breakout meetings focused on topics of interest, like planning webinars and events at annual conference. If you’re interested in joining them, complete this online form or email them at [email protected].
The group is working on a future webinar around a topic related to mental health. They will also be at the 2025 Michigan Annual Conference to do more planning and organizing together. Alex hopes that others will join their group and help make Michigan’s churches and clergy as healthy as possible. Another important aspect of this ministry, for Alex, is to help “local United Methodist churches identify health topics locally that they can also work on globally in partnership with our covenant partners in Haiti and in Liberia.”
The Michigan Conference Board of Global Ministries (BGM) endorses Abundant Health Michigan and welcomes you to join their efforts. Rev. Dillon Burns, chair of BGM, shares his enthusiasm for this new ministry: “As United Methodists, we have a long and historic commitment to ministries of healing that support abundant health for all people. We are excited to continue this good work right here through Abundant Health Michigan by empowering and supporting churches as they engage in ministries addressing the health needs of their community. Together, and by God’s good grace, our congregations can be beacons of hope that offer a path to wholeness, joy, and abundant life in Christ.”
Last Updated on February 19, 2025