Church Conferences have been scheduled, and forms are available here. The schedule is available here. The 2024 Agenda and form due dates have been emailed to churches. Contact the District Office with any questions.
District News
Bishop Announces Listening Tour
Bishop David Bard announced a listening tour to meet with United Methodists as he begins his final term as resident bishop of the Michigan Conference. The tour will start in Marquette on November 23. This is the first of four stops, concluding on January 11 in Grandville. The sessions will not be live-streamed or recorded.
Ways to Support UMC Hurricane Relief
Two powerful hurricanes have devastated the southeastern United States in a short time. Here are ways you can join our United Methodist response to these disasters.
Ministry Shares
2024 Ministry Shares can be found by clicking HERE.
2025 Ministry Shares >>>
Grants & Loans are Available!
Emerging Ministries Grant provides seed money for new ministries which will be on going (as opposed to one-time) projects. An Emerging Ministries Project can receive support for up to three years. Possible uses might include program and or material resources, staff funding, administrative expenses. Maximum grant available per project shall be $1500. This grant is funded through the Northern Skies District Conference. Download a grant application.
Creative Ministry Grant provides incentive to encourage new creative ministries of outreach and program development which might otherwise not be possible because of local budgetary consideration. This grant is funded by the Northern Skies District Conference. Download a grant application.
Capital Improvement/Project Grant is available to assist churches in completing capital projects or improvements that are beyond the reach of the local church. The amount of the grant will be determined by the District Leadership Team. This grant is funded by the Northern Skies District Conference. Download a grant application.
Loans from District Leadership Team:
One of the functions of the Northern Skies District Leadership Team is “to operate as a lending agency for the financing of church property” (By-laws: article III, section 3). Presently the board has a maximum loan request cap of $20,000. The board wants to be in ministry to all United Methodist churches in the Northern Skies District and to help meet needs and emergencies. Download a loan application.
Update Your Information
We don’t want you to miss anything!
Please be sure to make your local church leadership changes in Brick River, the Michigan Conference official database. Both district and conference staff use Brick River to email important information to your local church leaders. Need a tutorial how to update? Here is the link to the tutorial.
https://michiganumc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Dashboard-Training-Text-1.pdf
Questions about updating your local church dashboard in Brick River? Please contact Pamela Stewart, Database Manager [email protected].
2025 Mission of the Year Applications Now Available
Each year the Northern Skies District chooses a Mission of the Year (MOY) at the Annual District Conference. This is a long-standing tradition going back to at least 1969. Over the years a wide variety of organizations have received funds as a Mission of the Year. Many have been churches who used the funds for building maintenance. A few have been other organizations such as prison ministry, campus ministry, and community outreach. Marquette Hope was selected as 2023 Mission of the Year.
If your church would like to apply as 2025 Mission of the Year, you must fill out an application. Contact the District Office for an application, 906-228-4644, or download one here: Mission of the Year 2025 Application. Applications are due by September 1 and should be mailed to Northern Skies District Office, 927 W. Fair Ave., Marquette, MI 49855.