Rev. George Marck reflects on his late-life call to ministry, the outsized mission work of his small-yet-mighty church, and walking through his wife’s illness with faith.
REV. GEORGE MARCK
Troy: First and Waterford: Four Towns UMCs
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles highlighting call stories from recent Course of Study graduates, who were honored at the 2026 Michigan Annual Conference. Course of Study is a required theological and leadership education program for licensed local pastors in The United Methodist Church. Read the whole series.
After retiring from Wayne State University, where I had worked for forty-three years, my wife said to me, “Find something to do; I’ve been retired for three years, and I don’t want you getting in my way.”
So I planned my retirement, and within a month of retiring, I was working almost full-time at Royal Oak: First UMC. After about a month, the pastor asked me to be the hospitality director. Then, after about another year, he said to me, “You should consider becoming a licensed local pastor.”
Rev. Myra Moreland was already on that track at Royal Oak, so I had a path to follow. God is always calling all of us to be his children and his lights to the world, and God has many ways of communicating with us. At the time of the prophet Daniel, and earlier, God wrote with his finger on the wall or on stone tablets. I call that God’s Graffiti.
Currently I’m serving two churches, quarter-time each — Four Towns UMC, a small church in Waterford, and Troy: First UMC.
At Four Towns, we always ask the Holy Spirit to lead. I am convinced that missional work is key to revitalizing and keeping any congregation alive. I often say that Four Towns might be small (12 to 20 active members), but it is mighty.
When I first came in July 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we supported Noah at Central in Detroit by collecting about 300 new pairs of socks for the homeless each year. We also have a sock bin on our porch for the community to drop off socks.
Over the past 18 months, God has called us into two new mission projects. We make sandwiches once a month for two groups — Anchored Hope Outreach and Woodward Outreach, based at Ferndale: First UMC — on the first Sunday of each month. We are also now supporting a social service agency down the street by joining with other churches to serve a monthly dinner at three lower-income housing sites in the area.
One of the challenges facing The United Methodist Church is a continuing decline in numbers and resources. Small churches have been dealing with these issues for years and know how to make every resource count. We can be a source of inspiration and ideas for the entire church on how to cope with this issue. When you put God in charge and in control, God can be a source of hope for all of us, and we can find hope in a hopeless situation.
Since I started this piece with my wife, I’ll end it with another story. My wife suffers from dementia, and we’ve been able to keep her at home for about six to seven years. That time is coming to an end, and we’ve made the difficult decision to place her in memory care this fall. We’ve found a great place with both an enclosed courtyard and a sun porch. And we can sign her out and walk her down to the lake.
Wherever you are in your walk with God, know that he’s always communicating with you and calling you. Just like the young prophet Samuel, we might not know who’s speaking, but keep listening!
This series of articles is made possible by generous financial gifts from local United Methodist churches in Michigan through Ministry Shares. Thank you! Learn about the impact of Ministry Shares on mission and ministry in Michigan and around the world.
Last Updated on September 29, 2026