The God’s Country Cooperative Parish
is in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
It covers a 2500 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
MISSION STATEMENT:
God’s Country Cooperative Parish is to bring together
people of the seven churches to provide mutual love
and support for a greater impact, serving Christ,
community, and mission to all.
GCCP
Director, Deaconess, Church and Community Worker
Katie Peterson
Message from Katie:
“Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken
us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the
sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new
life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its
ruins. . .” Ezra 9:8-10. Spring has sprung
in daUP! Flowers are starting to
pop up and trees are budding. These signs mean that
preliminary work for the summer Volunteer in Mission
projects is starting. Projects are being assessed
and supplies are getting ordered. We will be helping
to repair many homes this summer.
We are delighted to introduce Ted Geiger, as our Project
Manager. He is developing the order lists, preparing
project descriptions, and getting all of the supplies
delivered to each project for starting day. He will
be our behind-the-scenes handy person. Welcome Aboard,
Ted!
Thank you to all of the individuals, churches, and
groups who have and are continuing to support God's
Country Cooperative Parish and/or me as your Deaconess
and Church Community Worker. Your monetary and material
donations are greatly appreciated. Over the past 3
months, we have been able to help several families
and individuals with gas cards, enabling them to get
to their doctor or school appointments. We have been
getting about $200 in gas cards each month. With the
increase in gas costs, we fear that we will need to
increase this amount.
Please pray to see if this is a ministry that you
would like to support. There are several GCCP-wide
events coming up this year; read on to find out what
exciting things are happening. Thank you to all of
the churches and groups that have invited me or a
representative to come share with you the joy of missions
from GCCP.
Thank you to all of the churches and UMWs for your
generous prayers and support for God’s Country
Cooperative Parish and for me as your Deaconess and
Church and Community Worker!
If you would like someone to share the joy of missions
with your church or organization, please contact me.
Shalom, Katie
Katie Peterson
PO Box 382, Paradise, MI 49768
(906) 492-3680 ktpete@gmail.com
Advance number 98294
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
