Church clean-up has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 2nd, beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Our last movie and potluck night, until fall, will be Monday, May 8, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
UMW (Women of Faith) News
The UMW (Women of Faith) met in March and discussed the Easter Brunch to decide if any changes should be made for next year. It was accepted that all seemed fine except for the congestion around the toasters. Next year we will put some space between the toasters in the hopes of eliminating some of the “bottleneck!”
The application with the Oceana Health Department has been filled out and sent in so the requirement to hold the Strawberry Social can be fulfilled for August 11th.
We have a new member to the UMW, Carol, and she is willing to take over Doris’s secretarial duties. Unfortunately, no one came forward to replace the chairperson. The positive side is that she gets wonderful assistance from the group!
A Note from the Past – Tanis
Claybanks UMC has been blessed to have Jim Tanis as a visiting preacher at our church for 42 years. His relationship goes back to the beginning of the Claybanks congregation.
The July 5th, 1885 edition of the Muskegon Chronicle: “… The timbers were hewed by hand by Archie Green from trees taken from the woods east of the Brocker farm. Leslie Steffe, then only nine years old, drove one team and helped his father (Thomas Steffe 1853 – 1905, Jim’s Great Great Uncle hauled the timbers to the building site. The building committee for the church included Thomas Steffe, chairman, assisted by William Gee, A. B. Sumner, and Herman Buttleman” (1853 – 1934 Jim’s Great-Grandfather ).
The Steffe family, David (1825 – 1884) and Elizabeth (1830 – 1918) moved to Claybanks Township in 1866 (Jim’s Great Great Grandparents). They were leaders in the Claybanks ME congregation the rest of their lives. Their son Thomas married Laura Greene who was the daughter of Archie Green who hewed the timbers for the church. Thomas was appointed class leader to succeed his father and was appointed throughout the years from the church militant to the church triumphant. In 1914 their son Jacob served as pastor in the Whitehall Methodist Church.
The Buttlemam family, Jurgen (1823 – 1899) and Louisa (1829 – 1893) (Jim’s Great Great Grandparents) came to Claybanks about the same time as the Steffe family. The descendants of Jurgen and Louisa have populated the Claybanks Methodist church throughout its existence with several surnames represented over five generations. Cinda Lohman Moulds is one of those members.
Claybanks United Methodist Church 