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The formation of God’s Country
Cooperative Parish came about because of necessity. During the
1960s and 1970s, the seven churches that now make up the
Parish were served by only two pastors. One served Newberry
and Paradise, and the other served all five churches of the
“McMillan Charge” – McMillan, Engadine, Hulbert, Germfask and
Grand Marais. These seven churches covered five counties, five
school systems, five funeral homes, at least nine cemeteries,
four hospitals, two regional hospitals, and several nursing
homes.
The first seeds of the Cooperative
Parish were planted by Pastor Audrey Dunlap, Rev. Ralph
Edwards, District Superintendent John Grenfell Jr., and Field
Worker Rev. John Huhtala. Many meetings between any or all of
these four took place in 1976 and 1977. Ideas were bounced
around and support for the idea of some type of cooperative
ministry began to grow.
In 1978, the District Consultation Team
met with members of each church to gather information
concerning the church, its effect on the community, and
related information.
Reports from the Consultation
interviews came out in the form of a “Blue Booklet” and were
presented to the staff members and to two members from each
church in February of 1979.
In August of 1979, Rev. Ralph Edwards
moved to a new appointment and Rev. David Hill became the
pastor of Newberry and Paradise.
By the winter of 1980, Grand Marais was
removed from the McMillan Charge except for administrative
oversight. The church was served by “supply” speakers during
the winter and by a Resort and Leisure student pastor for ten
weeks in the summer.
In June of 1980, the decision to staff
Paradise/ Hulbert with a student intern became a reality. This
effectively took Hulbert off the McMillan Charge and also left
Newberry as a single station. The staff in June of 1980
consisted of Audrey Dunlap at McMillan, Germfask and Engadine
(with oversight at Grand Marais); Steve Schick, summer student
pastor at Grand Marais; David Campbell, intern at Paradise and
Hulbert; and David Hill at Newberry. The new Marquette
District Superintendent was the Rev. Theodore Doane. Also
involved with the Coop plans was the Rev. Larry Brooks who was
the Detroit Annual Conference Associate Council Director for
the Marquette District.
On August 13-18, 1980 a meeting was
held at the Hulbert church which called for a plan to secure
final approval of all seven churches individually to form a
Cooperative Parish. The Administrative Boards of each church,
according to a previously set policy, had to provide their
approval in the minutes of their meeting to make it official.
At this special meeting in Hulbert were the Rev. Robert Davis
(Conference Parish Developer), Larry Brooks, David Campbell,
Audrey Dunlap, and Dave Hill who was the
“Director-to-be”.
September 7, 1980 – all seven churches
had given their approval and the birth of this Cooperative was
accomplished. For convenience, it was called the
“Newberry-McMillan Area Cooperative Parish”.
The Cooperative Parish staff, under the
leadership of the new Parish Director -- Audrey Dunlap,
continued to meet on a regular basis throughout 1981. This
served a purpose of joint planning, support, and
fellowship.
In 1982, steps were taken to involve
the laity in the administration of the Coop. An Advisory
Committee was formed from volunteers from each church. This
committee continued to function with monthly meetings until
1987 when an official elected Parish Council was formed with
representatives from each church.
At the September 1982 meeting of the
Advisory Committee, a budget for the Parish Director was drawn
up. Each church paid a percentage of this budget.
At the Advisory Committee meeting on
November 22nd, 1982, a plan was developed to name the Parish.
At the time it was still called the “McMillan-Newberry Coop”.
A contest was designed and held in all seven churches. The
contest came to an end on January 9th, 1983 with the judges
selecting the name “God’s Country Cooperative Parish”. Dr.
James Terrian of the Newberry church received a Jerusalem
Bible for his winning entry.
Also in 1982, Audrey Dunlap started a
newsletter for the Cooperative. In 1984, a contest was held to
name the newsletter. The name “The Cooperative Courier”,
submitted by Valerie Robinson, was the winner. At present, the
newsletter is still called the ”Courier” and it is distributed
four times a year to approximately 600 recipients..
In April of 1983, an application was
submitted to the Board of Global Ministries requesting a
Church and Community Worker. This worker would focus on
Hulbert outreach ministry – primarily for youth and children.
This became a reality 1985. As the years went by, the Church
and Community Worker became the Parish Director.
In January of 1984, the Advisory
Committee formed a “Purpose Statement” for the Coop and this
was subsequently sent out to the seven churches for
approval.
So by the end of 1985, the Parish
had a birthday, a name, a purpose statement, a newsletter,
an Advisory Committee, a Church and Community Worker,
and a Parish Director. The God’s Country Cooperative
Parish had become a reality.
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