The God’s Country Cooperative Parish
is in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
It covers a 250 square mile area from Engadine near
Lake Michigan, up to Paradise at Whitefish Bay, to Grand
Marais on Lake Superior’s south shore and encompasses
McMillan, Germfask, Newberry and Hulbert. Although it
is located in some of the most beautiful country you
could ever hope to see, the isolation, extremely harsh
long winters, and scarcity of jobs bring real challenges
to these churches and the communities they serve. Unlike
our more densely populated areas where you might find
another United Methodist church within a few miles,
these churches can be up to 100 miles from their sister
churches in the Cooperative. Yet these seven communities
of faith combine their resources, share their faith
and, through their active presence, work to bring self
esteem, hope and faith to all God’s children throughout
their vast parish. These goals are accomplished by:
• Cooperative Mission
Trips
• Cooperative Bible Studies
• Cooperative Youth Activities
• Cooperative Leadership and Training Events
• Cooperative Support of Mission Projects
and Missionaries
• Cooperative Hosting of Volunteers in Mission
Teams
• Cooperative Fellowship Activities
PURPOSE STATEMENT:
The purpose of God’s Country Cooperative Parish is
to help the churches of the Parish in spreading the
Gospel of Jesus Christ by strengthening them through
ministering to each other, through fellowship, through
sharing talents and resources, and through reaching
out to all people by pastors and laity.
GCCP
Director Paul J. Mallory
Mallory Musings:
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore
you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.”
(Malachi 3:6)
I was watching some program on TV the other night
and one of the characters said, “Life changes
and we change with it.” We are in one of those
periods of change right now, the change from fall
to winter. I have heard all sorts of folk saying lately,
“At least the rain isn’t snow.”
I suppose I will hear next May as the change to summer
occurs, “It’s so hot.” It seems
that even though ‘life changes and we change
with it.’ we don’t change to easily. Maybe
it comes from our very birth. The first change we
experience is moving from the warm, safe, and secure
womb to the cold, bright, and unknown world outside
the womb. I would bet that if we could talk at that
moment we might say, “Well, I have never done
it that way before!”
Kathy, my wife, told me about one of her grandmothers
who was quite a seamstress, quilter, knitter and crocheter.
In her later years she was afflicted with severe arthritis
and the fingers of her hands were all gnarled up.
In this condition she still could and would knit and
crochet. It looked so painful and one day Kathy asked
her, “How do you do it Grandma, doesn’t
it hurt?” Her grandmother replied, “It
only hurts when they move, once they get to where
they’re going it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
In the coming year, I would imagine that there are
going to be some pretty significant changes in our
society. Some changes for the better, some changes
for the worse, all of them depending on your point
of view and all may “hurt while we move through
them.”
The thing is, we will get all caught up and worked
up in these changes that do not last.
I remember a quote by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., “I decided early to give my life to
something eternal and absolute. Not to these little
gods that are here today and gone tomorrow, but to
God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
There is an anchor to hang on to in the midst of the
changes of our lives.
Pax,
Paul J. Mallory PO Box 268,
Grand Marais, MI 49839 (906) 494-2653 thevicar@jamadots.com
GCCP Church
and Community Worker Katie Peterson
I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup
of water in my name because you belong to Christ will
certainly not lose his reward. Mark 9:41
Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ,
How have you helped your neighbor lately? Have you
visited a friend or chatted with them really to find
out how they are doing? Have you shared God’s
living water or physical water with someone lately?
Pray about how and where God wants you to be His hands
and feet this winter – to both those you know
and those you don’t.
I have recently returned from attending a few networking
conferences with the great connectional United Methodist
church. It is always a joy to see how and where we
are mission as a denomination all around the United
States and the world. With the state of the economic
conditions of our country, we are all made more aware
of whom the poor are among us. God is amazing though,
how many ways we can and are able to reach out to
assist our neighbors in need in large and small ways.
On behalf of God’s Country Cooperative Parish,
I would like to thank the Marquette and Saginaw Bay
District UMWs for your generous donations of socks,
underwear, hats, gloves, sweatpants, peanut butter,
jelly, Macaroni and cheese, blankets, monetary donations
and other items. All of these donations filled ¼
to ½ of my double car garage! They will help
us reach out to our families and agencies in need,
not only this Christmas but throughout the whole year!
Thank you to Forester UMW and the Port Huron UMW for
your generous donations of gift cards, paper products,
and hygiene items. They will and are being shared
with many families!
Thank you to the following churches for inviting me
to share the joy of missions with your church –
in both large and small groups – over the past
four months: Gwinn, Royal Oak, Plymouth FUMC, Churchill,
Three Rivers FUMC, Farmington Orchard, Friendship,
Maples Memorial, Paris FUMC, Paris District, Murray
FUMW, Gibsonwells, Trenton, Selmer, Soulutions, St.
John’s, St. Luke’s, St. Paul’s,
Collierville, Shiloh, Braden, Capleville, Forester,
School of the North, Livonia-Newburg, and Paint Creek.
These churches range from Lake Superior to the Gulf
of Mexico – encompassing 5 states!
As winter is quickly approaching on us, we remember
our neighbors who may need water to drink, but also
fuel to heat with this cold long winter. Tourism seasons
have not been as good lately – causing several
people to have less hours to work as a waitress, hotel
worker, or clerk in a store. Please pray that we as
a church can spread God’s love to all His children
with what assistance that they might need.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial
support for me as your deaconess and church community.
If you would like to support me as your missionary
– my covenant number is 982942. Please let me
know when you would like me to share the joy of missions
with your church.
Look for ways this winter to share God’s love
each day.
Shalom,
Katie Peterson
Church and Community Worker
Deaconess
PO Box 67, Paradise, MI 49768
(906) 492-3680 ktpete@gmail.com
Advance number 982942
We give thanks to the General Board of Global Ministries
for providing free space for this web site.
For comments on, or additions to, the website, contact
the editor, Jan Barrett at jan_barrett47@hotmail.com
