On #GivingTuesday, November 28, focus on #BeUMC and give financially to mission and ministry projects supported by the Michigan Conference.
Giving Tuesday emerged as a movement beginning in 2012 to encourage people all over the world to embrace generosity by giving to nonprofits whose work benefits the lives of others. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are focused on purchasing at the lowest possible cost for oneself, Giving Tuesday focuses on giving as much as possible to benefit the lives of others.
As the movement has grown over the years, an increasing number of nonprofits have taken the occasion to promote special opportunities for giving on that day. For example, Immigration Law & Justice Michigan (formerly Justice for Our Neighbors Michigan), a Step 2 EngageMI Ministry Partner, noted a matching challenge on their Facebook page (click here). Donations will be doubled by a $10,000 matching gift if supporters donate before or on Giving Tuesday.
The Michigan Conference suggests these channels for your gifts to #GiveUMC on November 28.
The Advance
The Advance is the designated giving channel for churchwide mission in The United Methodist Church that ensures 100% of each gift is used for its intended cause. Click this link to explore all the various United Methodist projects and missionaries. What tugs at your heart?
At last year’s Michigan Annual Conference, the Michigan Conference was honored for its generosity in giving to the Advance. On behalf of the General Board of Global Ministries, Jack Amick, Director of Global Migration, celebrated the Michigan Conference’s generosity of $2.1 million given to the Advance in 2022, more than any other annual conference. The Michigan Conference also supported 28 missionaries, again leading The United Methodist Church.
While people can and do give through the Advance all year, concentrating efforts on one day raises awareness about the denomination’s many ministries throughout the world and the incredible generosity of United Methodists.
EngageMI Ministry Partners
EngageMI is the Michigan Conference’s mission engagement program. Dozens of state, national, and international Ministry Partners are committed to a relational model of “ministry with” vulnerable people and communities.
“Ministry with” seeks not only to meet immediate needs but also to foster mutual relationships where all participants are met with dignity, engaged in shared leadership, and growing together in God’s love. It is a challenge for all of us to prioritize people over programs, relationships over resources, and developing long-term solutions over quick fixes.
The EngageMI Ministry Partners here in Michigan and around the world are all seeking to respond to this invitation.
Take a few minutes to review the various Ministry Partners by visiting this landing page. Some may be familiar, like Cass Community Social Services in Detroit and Red Bird Mission in eastern Kentucky. But others will be new to you. Which of these speaks to your heart?
Bishop’s Advent Offering
This year’s Advent offering will be split between After the Storm and the Readers to Leaders campaign, two life-giving, hope-filled ministries birthed out of the Michigan Conference. Both are EngageMI Ministry Partners as well.
Congregations and individuals wishing to give to Bishop David Bard’s Advent appeal on Giving Tuesday can send a check, payable to the Michigan Conference, to the Conference Treasurer, 1161 East Clark Road, Suite 212, DeWitt, MI 48820. Write this phrase in the memo line: Advent Offering. Donations can also be given online by using this secure PayPal link.
Bishop Bard says, “I am delighted to direct this year’s Advent offering toward two Michigan Conference-initiated ministries that are making a difference. Every year, it seems the weather brings disaster of one kind or another. We established After the Storm as a separate nonprofit to provide a caring response when disasters strike. Our support through this offering allows them to be ready when needed. You have been responding generously to the Readers to Leaders campaign to support summer educational and empowerment programs for children and youth here in Michigan, along with helping provide educational scholarships for students in Liberia. This offering will help us meet our two-year goal for these programs.”
“At Christmas,” he concludes, “we celebrate a generous God whose love makes all the difference in our lives. We, in turn, have the opportunity through this offering to share God’s goodness with others generously.”
Last Updated on November 28, 2023