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: “The wind blows where it chooses,
and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know
where it comes from or where it goes.” John
3:8a (NRSV)
The following story came to me from a friend who
found it on “Uncle Arthur’s Online.”
“Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic
seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands.
Most people were reluctant to work on farms along
the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged
across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings
and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for
the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age,
approached the farmer. ‘Are you a good farmhand?’
the farmer asked him. ‘Well, I can sleep when
the wind blows,’ answered the little man. Although
puzzled by the answer, the farmer, desperate for help,
hired him. The little man worked well around the farm,
busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied
with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and
rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping
quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, ‘Get
up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they
blow away!’ The little man rolled over in bed
and said firmly, ‘No sir. I told you, I can
sleep when the wind blows.’ Enraged by the response,
the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead,
he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his
amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks
had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in
the barn, the chickens were in the coop, and the doors
were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything
was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer
understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned
to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.”
Jesus told Nicodemus that the wind (Spirit) blows
where it chooses. When the Spirit blows toward you,
are you frightened by what it may mean for you? The
‘winds of change’ blow us, and we may
become frightened or challenged. Both are very disquieting
for us. When the Spirit blows, we are really challenged
or frightened by the unknown of where it will take
us. We can be secure when we are anchored in the Word
of God, attentive to regular worship, and steadfast
in prayer. Can you sleep when the Wind blows? I pray
you will be seen in church this Sunday.
Pax,
Paul J. Mallory PO Box 268,
Grand Marais, MI 49839 (906) 494-2653 thevicar@jamadots.com
GCCP Church
and Community Worker Katie Peterson
God is Great! Spring is finally coming to the UP!
As I am writing this, the snow is almost out of my
yard. The trees are budding and the flowers are starting
to bloom. God’s great creation is beautiful
to watch as the seasons change. As the seasons change
in the year, our lives and ministry is also changing.
We are preparing for another great summer of VIM teams
and projects, schools are coming to a close for the
summer and students are preparing for their transitions.
Let us not forget through our transitions –
the most important reason of living – putting
Christ first in our lives each day.
Thank you for your prayers, cards, and support for
myself and my family in the recent loss of my grandfather,
Leicester Fosmire. He celebrated 90 wonderful years
of life with us here on earth, and is celebrating
life with his eternal Father in Heaven.
We celebrate that two of our youth - Chelsea Blankenship
and Joshua Mullin have recently completed their Youth
Lay Leadership Training at Gladstone Memorial UMC.
Thank you to GCCP and Marquette District for making
it possible for them to attend!
There are 6 Volunteer in Mission teams preparing
to come to God’s Country Cooperative Parish
this summer. We will be hosting close to 150 volunteers
from all over the place to assist us in serving our
neighbors with home repairs and yard cleanup. We would
like to thank Newberry and Paradise UMCs for both
making 100 pasties – so that we can share these
with our VIM teams and local volunteers!
Thank you to all of our supporting churches and individuals
who have sent items and are continuing to donate sweatpants
and socks to our local elementary schools. These are
well appreciated by our students and schools –
to help each student to have something dry to put
on when needed.
Look for Christ in all that you do – each and
everyday!
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
