The Michigan Conference’s new Courageous Communities Project, launching Oct. 9 with a lunch and learn session, will help United Methodists learn how best to advocate for their immigrant neighbors. Michigan Conference Communications image.
Michigan Area | Sept. 24, 2025
LANSING, Mich. — When Greg Bright, a lay member of Coldwater UMC, found out that hundreds of Haitians in his community were recently laid off from their jobs following changes to immigration law that impacted their legal status to live and work in Michigan, he knew he had to do something.
Greg could not fathom the idea of them having to return to Haiti, a place that has been gripped by violent political unrest. His Christian faith called him to do more.
The people of Haiti have been close to his heart for over two decades. He has visited the island nation five times and supported orphanage ministries there. So when he and his wife moved to Coldwater from Indiana five years ago, he was pleased to learn that the Michigan Conference has a longstanding covenant relationship with Haiti.
Through conference connections, he was introduced to the Rev. Alice Fleming Townley, a United Methodist elder and consultant who is coordinating the Michigan Conference’s new Courageous Communities Project. This UMCOR grant-funded project aims to provide resources for church leaders who desire to support their immigrant neighbors with an online toolbox, consultations, and trainings.
The Courageous Communities Project officially launched on October 9, 2025, during a free 30-minute "lunch and learn" from 12:15 to 12:45 pm ET. Participants were to discover resources available to every United Methodist in Michigan seeking to do more for their immigrant neighbors.
Volunteers Ben Balas, Larry Caudill, and Paul Balas (left to right) load donated furniture to deliver to a family supported by Troy: Big Beaver UMC’s Furnishings for Our Neighbors ministry. This church program, which was initiated with funds from a Mustard Seed Migration Grant, supports refugees and asylees as they settle into their new homes in the Detroit area. (Photo courtesy Brenda Balas)
All these factors fuel anti-immigrant sentiments and misinformation that are contrary to United Methodist faith principles and a commitment to truth and justice. Scripture calls people of faith to extend radical hospitality and to accompany the sojourner as they seek a new homeland. The United Methodist Social Principles also declare our support for displaced individuals and families. Review the Social Principles, section G, on “Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees.”
The current political climate and recent changes to immigration policy have prompted congregations like Coldwater UMC to figure out how to support their neighbors in need. It’s a Holy Spirit moment for the Michigan Conference, a timely convergence of energy, need, funding, and mobilization. And the Courageous Communities Project is serving as the resource nexus.
Thanks to support from the Courageous Communities Project, Coldwater UMC connected with an immigration law clinic and translators and received “Know Your Rights Emergency Planning” booklets in English and Haitian Creole. They hope to host an "Asylum Pro Se" workshop for Haitians living in the Coldwater area. Wheels are set in motion, faith put into action.
The genesis of the Courageous Communities Project stems from a conversation the Rev. Alice Fleming Townley had with Rev. Jack Amick, an ordained elder in the Michigan Conference who now serves as Director of Global Migration and Special Assignments for UMCOR. She and Amick talked during the 2025 Michigan Annual Conference a few months ago.
In 2021, Warren: First UMC started a new ministry for immigrants and refugees in their neighborhood, thanks to a Mustard Seed Migration Grant. Anyone in the community interested in learning how to sew to gain skills for employment or enjoyment is welcome. ~ photo courtesy Melissa Claxton
His office is responsible for the Mustard Seed Migration Grant program, which “encourages U.S.-based United Methodist churches to engage in community-based ministries with migrants and refugees in their midst.” Churches that apply and are accepted receive $2,000 in seed money to start a new ministry or program that reaches migrants or refugees in their community.
Several local churches in Michigan have received Mustard Seed Migration Grants in the past. Discouraged by the lack of churches applying for a Mustard Seed Migration Grant this year, Amick expressed to Townley, “We are losing the messaging war, that welcoming the stranger is core to the faith.” Both expressed frustration with the misinformation and the anti-immigrant rhetoric that is causing some to back away from their immigrant neighbors.
But Amick was encouraged by what Alice told him about people in the Michigan Conference and how many are hungering to do more, especially considering recent changes to immigration policy. A growing interest in these matters led the Michigan Conference’s Board of Justice to create an Immigration Justice Task Force earlier this year.
The task force first met at Advocacy Day in Lansing during a session for those interested in advocating beyond the state level. The task force is currently led by Rev. Dr. Jill Zundel, a retired elder who last served at Detroit Central UMC. Those interested in immigration justice gathered again at a table with Amick during the Board of Justice luncheon at the 2025 Michigan Annual Conference.
Wilberto and Hazzel (left and right) join weekly English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in rural Leelanau County hosted by Kim Speicher (center) and others. Kim is a member of Leland Community UMC and applied for a Mustard Seed Migration Grant to assist Wilberto, Hazel, and other immigrants and political asylees as they build a new life here in the United States. ~ MI photo/James Deaton
Hearing that many in the conference are wondering what they can do, UMCOR is supporting the Michigan Conference with a $10,000 solidarity grant for a resourcing project. In essence, it’s a Mustard Seed Migration Grant sized for an annual conference rather than a local church.
Fleming Townley is coordinating the Courageous Communities Project, assisted by a design team that includes Tori Booker, Sonya Luna, Rev. Dr. Jill Zundel, Rev. Rob Cook, Rev. Dillon Burns, Rev. Kristi Hintz, and Rev. Leslee Fritz. This includes representatives from the Michigan Conference Committee on Hispanic Latino Ministry, the Board of Justice, the Board of Global Ministries, and the Cabinet.
The name for the project emerged from early design team meetings. It’s inspired by Borders and Belonging, a book by Pádraig Tuama and Glenn Jordan. In it, the authors write about the Book of Ruth. Ruth, by staying with Naomi, became a Moabite in the land of Judah. Judah had clear scriptural guidance on how strangers should be treated, yet their Moabite neighbors were hated. Ruth’s acts of courage and faithfulness inspired a whole community to embrace their courage. They stepped beyond prejudice and fear to show kindness.
Courageous Communities Project launched an online resource page Oct. 9 that local church leaders can access. Regardless of where congregations land on this issue, there will be ways they can engage and grow in understanding and action.
Perhaps congregations would like to have a book or Bible study or prayers, sermon illustrations, and a sermon series on immigration justice, as seen through the stories in scripture. Congregations can also donate to Immigration Law & Justice — Michigan, one of our Engage MI Ministry Partners that is aiding this justice work. The Courageous Communities Project’s online toolbox will have a variety of resources.
Courageous Communities Project can be contacted by email at immigration@michiganumc.org.
A refugee and a church volunteer from Birmingham: First UMC work together assembling furniture. The Church and Society Ministry of Birmingham: First stepped up and reached out to refugee families in their community by helping them furnish their new homes. This ministry was launched, in part, thanks to a Mustard Seed Migration Grant. ~ photo courtesy Carol Driscoll