Faith Communities

Congregation Shaarey Zedek will be hosting a program for families with young children who do not already belong to a synagogue on February 7. The program, “A Taste of Judaism – Family Style,” is designed for families with children up to age six years old, where at least one parent is Jewish.

In the past, our congregation has offered a three-week adult “Taste of Judaism” course, and each year I provide an adult course in Introduction to Judaism, but this is the first time we are offering this family-style program.

Photo above: 2013 Interfaith Thanksgiving Service

The East Lansing Area Clergy Association invites all to attend the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at 7 pm on Monday, November 24. The host of this year’s service is Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, located at 1701 East Saginaw Street in Lansing.

In 2010 our nation was plagued with a rash of teen suicides in the LGBTQ community. At the time, Krista Rowe was a student on the MSU campus who saw the need to build a faith community among her LGBTQ friends on campus. Rev. Jenn Tafel volunteered to offer clergy support, and Queer Christians Reclaiming Our Sexuality and Spirituality (“QCROSS”) was born at MSU that fall as a response to the tragedy.

This year's annual Blessing of Animals was conducted by Reverends Kit Carlson and Sarah Midzalkowski.

Every hour from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. the carillon marks the hour with the familiar Westminster chimes. Four times a day we hear the bells toll the hour followed by two hymns, evoking East Lansing’s dual nature as both a small town and a vital city.

The current carillon is the fourth to be used at Peoples Church, and all four have been manufactured by Schulmerich Bells in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. The first three relied on a paper scroll similar to that used in a player piano; the current system uses high fidelity recordings of actual bells.