What have our Michigan District congregations and ministries been up to this summer, besides VBS? Below is a compilation of stories we gathered from social media and from submissions sent to us. (We didn’t include VBS stories or pictures because we couldn’t keep up!)
14 Baptisms / 12 Confirmations / 24 New Members / 2 New Congregations
On May 31, Faith, Grand Blanc posted: “How was your Sunday? Ours was great. TWO baptisms—TWO new members in the holy hall of fame. Welcome to the Kingdom!” New Life Community, Swartz Creek posted: Join us in celebrating the four youth who made their Confirmation of Faith this past Sunday! May the Lord bless and keep each of you as you walk forward with Jesus. Also on May 31, five young women were confirmed in the faith at University Lutheran Chapel, Ann Arbor (ULC).
On June 7 there were twin Baptisms at St. John, Adrian; two Baptisms at St. Peter’s, Big Rapids; one adult Baptism at Christ, Milford; and 3 adult confirmations at St. John’s, Grand Haven.
On June 14, St. Paul, Ann Arbor welcomed 11 new members.
On June 14 and 28, St. John’s, Grand Haven celebrated two Baptisms (one each Sunday).
On June 27, Ephphatha Mission Society posted: “After completing Lutheran instruction at Christ the King Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Flint, one of the Deaf LWML first timers was baptized during the opening worship at the 2026 Michigan District, LCMS LWML Convention.”
On July 12, ULC received 9 new members and the Michigan District, LCMS received two new congregations: Emmaus, Ann Arbor officially became a part of the LCMS and Michigan District, LCMS and installed elders and deacons. They posted: “Praise God for His faithfulness as He’s continued to grow our church body, raise up leaders, and empower us to see, hear, and love our neighbors on the Old West Side and beyond!” And Zion, Harbor Beach posted: “Pastor Durance, along with several members from Zion, went to Marlette to celebrate as our newest member of the Thumb circuit, Hope Lutheran Church, was received as a member congregation of the LCMS! What a glorious day, and Christ’s blessings to the members of Hope!”
On July 27, Good Shepherd, Cass City welcomed two new members.
August 2: Cross of Christ, Bloomfield Hills had one adult Baptism, and Shepherd’s Gate, Shelby Twp. had two infant Baptisms.
On August 16: Peace, Waterford celebrated one Baptism.
Installations and Ordinations
On June 28, Christ, Milford celebrated the installation of their new Director of Youth
and Family Life, Seth Illich; St. Peter’s, Big Rapids celebrated the installation of their new Director of Faith Formation, Bria Carter; and St. Paul Lutheran Church and Christ the King Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Flint celebrated the ordination and installation of Pastor David Krueger, who knows American Sign Language. This will help him serve Christ the King and the greater Michigan District Deaf Ministry.
On July 5, Zion, Hemlock celebrated the installation of their new SMP Vicar, Ron Zuccaro.
On July 12, Rev. Jim Bartok was installed at Peace, Ann Arbor, and Rev. Noah Dunsmore was ordained and installed at Zion, Mt. Pleasant.
On August 2, Our Savior, Lansing celebrated the installation of its new vicar for the year.
On August 9, ULC, Ann Arbor celebrated the installation of its new associate pastor, Rev. Nicholas Gonzalez.
On August 16, St. Lorenz, Frankenmuth celebrated the ordination and installation of its new Associate Pastor, Rev. Eddie Krez. And Shepherd’s Gate, Shelby Twp. celebrated the installation of their new Music Director, Jeff Cartwright.
On May 31, Trinity, Jackson celebrated the 40th anniversary of the ordination of
Rev. Dr. David Erber. Trinity posted: “Pastor Erber and his wife Joyce have served their entire ministry as missionaries in Africa and only recently returned to live in the U.S., though they are continuing their service in the mission field and to LCMS World Mission from afar. They presented a beautiful wooden cross carved in Ghana as a thank you gift to Trinity for the congregation’s support over the years.”
Congregation News
Several congregations, including Peace, Ann Arbor and Trinity, Davison, held workdays in May, cleaning up and beautifying their campuses.
On May 28, Trinity, Jackson posted: “Dice and snacks helped forge relationships between Trinity students and Trinity Lutheran Church members this year. Mr. Genthner's 3rd and 4th graders visited the church basement on May 28 for their last weekly game of Bunco for the school year, complete with hot dogs, mac and cheese, and prizes for everyone. Thanks, Bunco Bunch, for welcoming our students and making them feel loved!”
On May 31, ULC, Ann Arbor held a Leadership and Ministry Summit after worship to discuss a longer-term vision for ULC. Over 60 people came together to learn about where ULC has come from, where they are now, and brainstorm ideas for the future.
Also on May 31, Huntington Woods Lutheran Church in Huntington Woods celebrated the 50th anniversary of its preschool ministry.
On June 7, St. Luke, Haslett and St. Luke, Christ Campus held a Unity Service bringing both campuses together. They posted: “What a blessing to worship together as one congregation!”
On July 28, Lutheran Church of the Lakes, Addison posted: ‘We had 25 people at our Tuesday morning Bible Study at Lutheran Church of the Lakes; we lived out Acts 2:42!’
On August 2, Peace, Detroit posted: “As a community-focused ministry, Peace Lutheran serves local residents through a weekly food pantry and clothing closet. Join us as we celebrate 99 years of ministry in Eastside Detroit and look forward to the years ahead!”
On August 9, Holy Cross, Warren dedicated its new organ.
On August 16, St. Peter, Macomb celebrated 150 years of ministry and the opening of its school building expansion.
Service
On May 30, Our Savior, Lansing posted: “What a day! Almost 60 volunteers, 26 job sites, the love of Jesus shared, yards mowed, painting done, junk removed, and prayers prayed. All in all, a GREAT day for CityServe 2026. God sightings and awesome moments abound! God blessed us with great weather, generous sponsors, and a great day to serve our community. God be praised! ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45).”
On May 31, the final day of Sunday school, students at Good Shepherd, Cass City shared a project they've been working on. They have pooled their offerings with those of sister Lutheran church Sunday schools, namely, St. Peter, Kinde; Peace, Sandusky; Good Shepherd, Caseville; and St. Paul, Linkville and directed the funds to the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF). These offerings will be used to provide Lutheran materials, free of charge, to fellow believers around the world. With some funds still to be added, the current total was $1,171.16. As first-time donors, the Thumb Circuit Sunday Schools also qualified for a dollar-for-dollar challenge grant. This resulted in a total of $2,342.32. With the average cost for LHF to publish, print, and distribute a book at $5 per copy, the students will be placing almost 475 Christian books into the hands of brothers and sisters around the world.
On June 3, Academic Resource Classroom (ARC) students from Peace Lutheran
School (Saginaw) had one final opportunity of the school year to show off their reading skills during a visit with our friends at the Wellspring Lutheran Services senior living campus near Peace. It was a great time for our students and the Wellspring residents!
On June 22, ULC posted: “Thank you to this month's volunteers for serving our meal at Family of God! We love that the people of ULC are so willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus all across the globe, whether it be Costa Rica, Southwest Detroit, or Ypsilanti!”
On June 30, Christ, Milford posted: “Over the weekend, several of our members volunteered to work at the ‘guest services’ desk for the Michigan LWML Convention. Held at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, the women helped around 450 attendees with directions to event rooms, parking passes, lost and found, and other duties.
On July 8, Christ, Stevensville shared: “A couple of months ago, during National Volunteer Week, Thrivent recognized one of our own, Thelma Szoke, for her years of faithful service to Christ Lutheran and our community. Check out the article here.
Thelma’s recognition is also a reflection of something we see every day at Christ Lutheran: so many people quietly giving their time, energy, and care to support our church, school, and community. Whether it’s helping with events, serving behind the scenes, or stepping in wherever there’s a need, our volunteers are such an important part of who we are. We’re so thankful for Thelma and for all of the volunteers who give so generously of themselves.”
On July 8, Cross of Christ, Bloomfield Hills posted: “With grateful hearts, we celebrate more than 800 prayer shawls and blankets that have been shared through the Cross of Christ Prayer Shawl Ministry over the past 15+ years. Each shawl has been prayerfully created and lovingly given as a visible reminder of God's abiding presence, comfort, and peace. Whether offered during illness, grief, recovery, or other difficult seasons, these gifts have wrapped recipients in warmth, prayer, and the loving care of our congregation. We give thanks to God for every willing pair of hands, every faithful prayer, and every life that has been touched through this ministry.”
On July 18, student volunteers from St. Peter, Macomb helped the church’s Life Team assemble adult shirt protector kits. They all had a great time and made 27 kits.
On July 27, a group of college students from St. Matthew, Walled Lake went to Caldwell, Ohio to serve. They did home repairs and other chores for locals.
On August 5, Our Savior, Lansing posted: “Thank you for all the donations that were provided for the Backpack Supply Drive. We were able to fill 100 backpacks that the OSL Food Bank will be passing out to children in the greater Lansing area to help prepare for a successful school year!”
In August, St. Peter, Macomb collected and donated over 200 backpacks and an abundance of school supplies for the Macomb Charitable Foundation to distribute to local children experiencing homelessness.
On August 6, Wellspring Lutheran Services posted: “A big thank you to the volunteers from Christ Our Savior, Livonia for helping beautify the courtyards at our Wellspring Livonia Campus! (New Directions is a residential foster care campus for youth ages 12-18 who have cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges and need more care and structure than a traditional foster home can provide.)”
August 6, Hope, Linden posted: “At the Desert Angel packing party today, 416 individual goodie bags were packaged to be sent to deployed soldiers.”
On August 8, St. Peter, Eastpointe posted: “Our VBS crew put their faith into action! During VBS, our students assembled Community Birthday Bags to help make birthdays a little more special for children in our community. We love seeing our VBS kids learn the joy of serving and reaching out to others! What a wonderful way to share God’s love beyond the walls of St. Peter’s!
On August 15, Peace, Ann Arbor posted: “Peace's member Beth Ragle collected new socks and t-shirts for students attending Hard Court Hitters' summer reading program. Hard Court Hitters is a non-profit initiative based in Detroit. Their summer program is open to students ages 4-14. It is sponsored by Mt. Calvary, Detroit nd run by retired school teacher Clare Carlisle, who serves God by meeting the educational, emotional and spiritual needs of children, teens and adults alike in inner-city Detroit. As most of the kids' mothers are single parents working 2 jobs with little energy left over for their children, Clare is able to use her gifts to support these families by acting an honorary/second mother for the approximately 60 children attending the program this year. The new shirts and socks from Peace will be included in the gifts Clare will give to the kids in the last session of the summer. Thanks to the generosity of Peace's members, Clare now has 79 shirts/180 pairs of socks for the boys, and 51 shirts/207 pairs of socks for the girls.”
Orphan Grain Train wrote in their enewsletter: “The picture here shows only the final contingent of attendees and delegates at the Michigan District LWML Convention who volunteered for a servant event to pack Mercy Meals. On June 26, packing lines were set to mix the rice, soy, vegetables, and nutrient packs that will eventually be sent to those suffering from food insecurity. The great spirit and effort from these wonderful people adds momentum to the newly established Mercy Meals initiative in our Orphan Grain Train branch.”
Participating in the Life of the Community
June 14, St. John’s, Grand Haven held a 30-minute Prayer Walk.
On July 4, St. Luke, Ann Arbor participated in the Ypsilanti parade by cleaning up afterwards. They posted: “Crowds at the Ypsilanti 4th of July parade saw that St. Luke ishere to serve! Many of the spectators shouted, ‘Thank you, St. Luke!’ when they saw that we were there simply to help clean up.”
Also on July 4, Christ, Milford helped host the Firecracker 5K and 10K races, with the church’s parking lot serving as the starting point. There were 380 runners from the community participating. Church volunteers also participated in the local parade and promoted their upcoming VBS.
On Wednesday, July 15, Rev. Tyler Carter of St. Peter, Big Rapids participated in the “Celebrity Race” with horse and buggy.
On July 21, Good Shepherd, Cass City hosted another community meal: “We provided hamburgers and hot dogs and all the fixings for 119 guests!”
On August 8, St. Peter, Macomb held its Holy Smokes Car Show, a free event for the community, and Zion, Hemlock entered a float in the Merrill Farm Fest as a way to participate in the community life.
Ministries/Other
A significant event this summer was the LCMS National Convention in Phoenix, Ariz. The Michigan District was represented by 131 people (delegates, staff, and honored guests).
The Michigan District, LCMS held two big events for youth. The High School Gathering took place in Mackinac Island with 784 in attendance, and the Jr. High Youth Gathering happened in Frankenmuth with 534 in attendance. Praise God!
In May, Akima and Joy from POBLO International Ministries visited an LWML gathering at Redeemer, Jackson to introduce POBLO's new Bible Distribution in Various Languages initiative. Joy shared her testimony, and together they highlighted the growing need for Bibles in the heart languages of immigrants, refugees, and international communities across the United States. Attendees painted tote bags that will be used to distribute the Bibles, creating a meaningful hands-on way to support the ministry. The warmly received event was also a reminder of how local churches and individuals can work together to support mission work within their own communities.
In June, ULC, Ann Arbor posted: “Last month, our Costa Rica mission team partnered with some of our brothers and sisters in Christ from Texas to connect with students at a church and its connected school, visit community centers sponsored by the church, paint and freshen up their building, and meet friends, both old and new! We thank God for the work He is doing down in Costa Rica!”
On June 22, Camp Restore Detroit (CRD) wrote: “We had a fantastic first week of camp! It was full, with beautiful God-driven, relatively strategically controlled chaos. We had 68 overnight volunteers, 40+ kids in kids camp, 23 new summer staff, plus our four admin staff. A video crew was on campus, a ministry partner came to visit, four electricians, new daytime local volunteers arrived a couple days, and our volunteer speech pathologist came! Oh! And our community BBQ was full inside due to rain with an added bonus indoor worship evening, with many, many community members!”
The next day, CRD posted: “Today, a group of teens and young adults had the
opportunity to tour CrossPointe Vocational Trade School and explore exciting career pathways in the skilled trades! This fall, we’ll be helping several students take the next step by providing transportation and support as they begin their training. The best part? By the end of their first semester, many will already be gaining hands-on experience and working in their chosen trade. We’re proud to invest in the future of these young adults and help open doors to meaningful careers and lasting success.”
On July 13, KFUO shared the interview with Jenny Jaroneski of CrossPointe for the Trades. Listen here.
Gifts for All God’s Children posted: “Christmas in July is behind us, and our hearts are full. On July 14, this community filled Petruzzello's to support underserved children across Southeast Michigan, and you showed up in a big way. We are still adding up the final numbers, but we can already tell you this: it was a night to remember, and one that will help fund our mission all year long. To everyone who sponsored, bid, attended, and cheered us on, thank you. You are the reason children in our community know they are seen, valued, and not forgotten.”
The Luke Clinic posted: “What a wonderful day we had at The Luke Clinic on July 23! Every smile, every conversation, and every patient we had the privilege to care for reminded us why this work matters.”
Three people from the Michigan District were at the Hispanic National Convention, July 28-31, in Irvine, Calif. Rev. Ricardo Granado (pastor of Pan De Vida, Detroit and a member of the Hispanic Missionary League) was a voting delegate, with his wife Pricila accompanying him; and Mrs. Kaye Wolff was there representing the Multiethnic Symposium Committee of Concordia Seminary St. Louis, in support and celebration for the various culture groups in the LCMS. Rev. Dr. Douglas Rutt (Emeritus Professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and member of the LHF Board) was representing the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (LHF), which gave each attendee a Spanish copy of the Lutheran Prayer Book, Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics, and the Lutheran Hymnal. About 250 people attended the convention.
On August 7, Ephphatha posted: “The Ephphatha Lutheran Mission Society hosted a one-day sign language camp at Concordia Theological Seminary this week. 26 children from local Lutheran congregations attended and learned Bible stories, hymns, and parts of the Sunday Divine Service, including the Lord‘s prayer, in American Sign Language. This was made possible by our talented staff with a gift from the LCMS Office of National Mission.”
On August 19, The Luke Clinic posted again: “Thursday, August 6th, was all smiles at The Luke Clinic! We loved welcoming moms, babies, and families through our doors for another busy clinic day. From prenatal care and ultrasounds to education, medications, and support, our team was honored to care for each patient who joined us. A huge thank you to our amazing team, volunteers, and everyone who helps make clinic days possible. We are so grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside moms and their babies!”
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Photos submitted by individuals or ministries and/or downloaded from Facebook.
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