As the oldest Protestant church continuously operating on the same site in Detroit, Christ Church Detroit has a long history.
But the Episcopal congregation is moving forward with new programs to engage with the city. It recently started a reading camp that teaches about 40 to 50 children from poor backgrounds. And it plans to start this year a center for homeless people in the daytime.
Currently, there are overnight facilities for the homeless in Detroit, but they often don’t have a place to go in the morning.
[blockquote] “We see ourselves as a beacon of hope,†said Rev. John Talk, the rector at Christ Church. “If you’re marginalized, we want to be your home.†[/blockquote]
A worthy ambition. But without the power of the gospel, it will fail, just as the general ministry of liberal churches is failing. There is not a mention of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the article. Perhaps that is a failing of the journalist, but journalists usually reflect what their subjects tell them, and if the rector or his church had a focus on the original message of Jesus Christ it didn’t percolate through to the journalist.
This is why liberal churches seem to be incapable of growing their congregations.
How is the Episcopal Church going in Detroit, or in Michigan for that matter? Is the Statmann around?
Michael – yes, the Episcopal Church is struggling in the Diocese of Michigan. A few of us are holding to the faith. My parish has gone from 50 to 190 ASA in the past 11 years. But I have also had 45 people move out of state in 2008/2009 for employment! Here is another article in the Detroit Free Press about other downtown Churches, mine included, http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012304080004 and the common thread throughout most (Sweetest heart of Mary, Trinity Lutheran – Missouri Synod, Mariners) is traditional worship and faith.
This series of articles was inspired by a relationship with the religion writer I developed via Twitter (@StJohnsPriest), which resulted in an article about our Ash Wednesday Services as well as a mention about our Good Friday Services (a quote gleaned by him from my Twitter post). On Ash Weds. we discussed downtown churches that were surviving, and from there he began researching it. We couldn’t have been able to afford advertising in the Free Press.
sjr, glad to hear it. May the Lord protect you from all assaults of your enemies and prosper your work.