We are saying YES to celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation together with the Lutheran church and with Christians the world over.
We are saying YES as individual congregations to celebrating Reformation Day in our churches.
We are saying YES as a District to celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in enthusiastically supporting the Here We Stand capital campaign!
And we are saying YES in our Michigan District to a celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in a grand worship service in Lansing on October 15, 2017.
We are asking your church to say YES one more time still! Would you say YES this year to sharing the Reformation and the Good News of Jesus with the people of your neighborhood and community?
What Does this Mean?
This means that we are going to have fun. With the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation as a focus, we are going to enjoy an emphasis of standing on God’s everlasting Word—Here We Stand! And we are going to say YES to not only celebrating this as a church, but also to sharing that Gospel with our neighbors. After all, the Gospel is Good News for us and for all people—for you!
Between April and September, 2017, congregations of the district are asked to find ways to reach out into their communities, not only celebrating the Reformation but also sharing Jesus with their neighbors.
You are asked to pick a Service Event (example: building a gazebo at the nursing home), a Celebration Event (example: hosting a family fun day for the community), or a Community Event that Serves (example: a 5K race for a cause). The type of event you choose has everything to do with you, your people, the gifts you have, and your community needs.
It is our hope that you will register your event at herewestandforyou.com, so that we all can have a larger picture of Here We Stand … For You events across the Michigan District.
We invite you to report your event as well. This can be as simple as having people use the hashtag #herewestandforyou on all of their social media. All public posts (across numerous platforms) that are tagged as such will be highlighted in various places by the Michigan District. Select images and video from this stream will also be used at the District-wide Reformation Worship Service in Lansing on October 15, 2017.
Finally, we will all celebrate the events at the Reformation Worship Service in Lansing. To that end, every congregation is asked to decorate a door, which will serve as a focal point for our celebrations and a great doorway to sharing the Good News of Jesus with our communities. These doors, in all of their different colors, will line the entrance hall of the Breslin Center in Lansing on October 15, 2017. They will be testimonies of the Gospel in our midst. They will be testimonies to the door that is opened for us in Christ.
For more information, including event ideas, visit herewestandforyou.com.
