This is a special musical performance of Run, Mary Run by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.
Yes, there is always an Emmaus. Christ joins himself to us as we are traveling on the way and we, too, begin to feel our hearts burning within us. Opening our hearts and our minds to God’s presence, we then can live out in our time what he lived and died to prove. As we share the broken bread, it nurses our broken faith and nourishes our courage to leave our grave-clothes behind and vacate the vault of our defeated and broken dreams. Renewed by the resurrected Christ, we respond by moving from where we are to meet the world head on, ready to face the risk and change that God’s presence allows. As our hearts burn within us, this burning becomes a light that empowers us to reveal God’s love to others, continuing God’s ministry through our acts of compassion and mercy, welcoming and caring for all others, and living into God’s dream of justice for this broken world.
This is a special musical performance of I am sending you by Mary McDonald performed by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
Earth Day Sunday is a day to celebrate God's creation. When God created the world, God blessed it and called it very good. In today's gospel, Jesus reveals himself to Thomas. God is continually revealing God's self to us. As we celebrate the Creation God has given us, we find God is revealed through the beauty, power, abundance, and mystery of the natural world. Through wind and flame, water and wilderness, creatures and seasons, God is continually present and active in the world. So, on this Earth Day Sunday, we, a community of people who believe that all of Creation praises the Creator, commit ourselves to become more deeply involved in Creation care as an integral part of our faith and love for God and neighbor. For the human family, our home is the Earth, the environment that God the Creator has given us to inhabit with creativity and responsibility.
This is a special performance by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir of the Easter Echo Carol with brass quartet members: Sho Dembinski, Shannon Sheldrick on Trumpet and Drew Kilpela and Kyle Tilstra on Trombone.
The Service of Tenebrae has a rich tradition in the church dating back to the eight century. Tenebrae is a word derived from Latin meaning "darkness." Through word and music, this service dramatizes the suffering, death, and burial of Jesus Christ.
As the service moves from light into darkness, the diminishing light symbolizes the fading devotion of the apostles as well as the gradual dying of our Lord.
Do not be afraid! Because of Easter we are secure and our future is secure! For the powers of death have been defeated already and no matter how they rage and what power or authority they claim, Christ has already won the victory! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today we have a new commandment. Come listen to the sermon from the Maundy Thursday Service.
This is the gospel from the 2017 Palm Sunday Service at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
This is a special musical performance of Lenten Love Song from the Chancel Choir of Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
This is a special performance of All Glory, Laud and Honor by the Faith Bells Bell Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.
As we experience this last Lenten service focusing on Luther’s Small Catechism, our topic is Holy Communion. Christians have many names for this meal. It is sometimes called the Sacrament of the Altar to emphasize the importance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin. More often it is referred to as Holy Communion to accent the intimate bond created between those who come to the meal and its host, Jesus Christ. Some also refer to this meal as the Eucharist, a Greek term meaning “thanksgiving.” And, in the New Testament, the name most often used is the Lord’s Supper, identifying whose supper it is – it is the Lord’s Supper, not our supper.
Discussion panel participants include:
SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES
Judge Donald L. Allen, Jr.: is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., was appointed judge of the 55th District Court by Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2008. He was elected to the bench in 2010 and reelected in 2016. Judge Allen was appointed chief judge of the court by the Michigan Supreme Court on January 1, 2016.
The Honorable Donald L. Allen, Jr., is a 1983 graduate of Wayne State University Law School and spent most of his professional career as an assistant attorney general in the Michigan Department of Attorney General. In 2005, he was appointed deputy legal counsel to Governor Granholm, and in 2006 appointed to serve as director of the Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP). Judge Allen served in that position until his appointment to the 55th District Court Bench. Judge Allen is the presiding judge of Sobriety Court. which focuses on the rehabilitation of repeat offense substance abusers. Sobriety Court has changed hundreds of lives, saved tax dollars, and has been recognized for excellence.
Angela Waters Austin: is founder, president and chief executive officer of One Love Global, Inc. a 501c3 nonprofit corporation committed to peace, justice and opportunity. Angela leads One Love Global with over twenty-five years’ experience in promoting racial equity, public and community relations, fund development, marketing, special events, corporate sponsorships, program design and management. Angela is founder, producer and host of the Equity Equals radio show which airs weekends on the Michigan Business Network . Angela has co-hosted and co-produced public affairs programming for Lansing’s WLAJ-TV53 and developed educational and cultural special features for The Michigan Chronicle newspaper. Angela serves as co-chair of the Within Our Lifetime Network Communications Working Group.
Angela is a 1990 graduate of the University of Michigan, with a B.A. in communications. In 1998, Angela founded Diverse City Design & Communications, Inc. to help nonprofit organizations build capacity through strategic partnerships with the private and public sector.
LaShawn Erby: is an alumna of Baylor University, Author, Social Justice Warrior, Camp Administrator and Community Organizer. Her work has led her to local, state, regional and national stage.. She fell in love with politics at the age of nine when she participated in her first of many campaigns. Some of which included Former Texas Governor Ann Richards and President Barack Obama. As an author, LaShawn’s latest work is featured in The Huffington Post (Feb.17, 2017) titled “Young Black Voters, You Got This!”
Owner of One in a Billion Consulting, LaShawn serves as a Professional Trainer/Workshop Facilitator providing on site professional development sessions for educational institutions, for profit and not-for-profit organizations, medical/mental health personnel and those in the hospitality industry. LaShawn utilizes a model called “Everybody Matters,” an interactive workshop that illuminates and models the conscious act of appreciating others. Created as a basic course, “Everybody Matters” is tailored to meet the specialized needs and/challenges specific to that entity or organization.
Nathaniel Lake, Jr.: is the current President of the Lansing chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Managing Partner of Brannon, LLC a leadership development consulting firm with clients nationwide. Heavily engaged in the mentorship of African American youth, Nate serves as an Elder within The Turning Point of Lansing, an organization dedicated to Transforming Boys to Men by providing an afrocentric group mentoring experience developing strategies for success in their lives, school, and communities.
A 1974 graduate of Spring Arbor College with a B.A. in business/economics, he served 30 years in state government at various positions, ultimately retiring as Director, Office of Performance Excellence. After work as an assistant coach for the MSU Women’s basketball team, Nate served as MSU’s Director of Basketball Operations. Called back to state service, Nate served as Deputy Chief of Staff/Cabinet Secretary to Gov. Jennifer Granholm until her term end.
Rev. Kenneth Ponds: Ken Ponds served as chaplain at Starr Commonwealth’s Albion campus for nearly 40 years. He is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In his role as chaplain, he provided pastoral services to both students and staff. He has been active in the Calhoun County community, where he served as board chair of the Calhoun Intermediate School District. Ken has also been a member of boards for the Albion School District, the Calhoun County Board of Health and the Battle Creek Health System among others. Additionally, he chairs the Publicly Engaged Church Committee of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of ELCA. He earned a master’s of divinity from Christ Seminary in St. Louis, MO., and the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, IL. He has also been trained in several youth and human services techniques, such as Life Space Crisis Intervention, Specialized Foster Care, Childhood Sexual Victimization, Outdoor Adventure Education Facilitation and racial healing. He has been an advocate for Starr’s racial healing efforts with Glasswing, serving as a facilitator for dozens of two-day sessions.
Milton L. Scales: is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and former Meridian Township Trustee. He is the President of M.L. Scales & Associates, LLC, a full service environmental, strategic planning and political consulting firm. Milton serves as a mentor to Haslett and Okemos High School’s Black Student Unions, organized students of all races focused on learning and teaching others about diversity demonstrating that through engaging in activities focused around acceptance and tolerance, we gain a better understanding of others while learning about ourselves, allowing all to coexist and succeed.
Milton earned a Master of Science in Administration and a B.S. in community development from CMU after graduating with an Associate’s degree in business/criminal justice from LCC. Having served 33 years in law enforcement, beginning with the Detroit Police Department and later within state departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, Milton retired in 2010 as the DEQ Director of Criminal Investigations.
Even though we travel through the reality of loss and reversals, defeats and disappointments, and even death, none of these things have the last word. Everything that entombs us in multiple ways will not have the last word. In fact, we ourselves do not have the last word. God alone has the last word. God has rolled away the stone that blocks our lives and seals us off from life itself. Jesus’ life-giving command to, “Come out!” is a call to each one of us! Come forth and live into a life of love, a life of hope and a life of grace.
This is a special performance of This Do in Remembrance of Me by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.