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Co-Directors Economic Justice Project
Church and Society Committee, First UMC-Brighton & Whitmore Lake
We wanted to share with you our excitement about what God is doing in our work. A little over a year ago the need for adequate public transportation was made known to us by our own Mary Kushner, who works faithfully and diligently at Torch 180 in Fowlerville. Torch 180 trains young adults with disadvantages to work in the restaurant business. Mary shared that some of the students struggle to keep employment because of the lack of adequate public transportation.
So, advocating for expanding public transit in Livingston County has been one of our project’s goals for the past year. In 2022, we showed our appreciation to the Livingston Essential Transportation Service (LETS) staff in a little celebration at the LETS garage with about a dozen people present. It was the first celebration of Rosa Parks/Transit Equity Day, national day of action observed on Rosa Parks’ birthday, Feb. 4). It was a start.
On Feb. 3, 2023, we held our second annual Rosa Parks/Transit Equity Day celebration at Torch 180 with about 40 people in attendance, enjoying pancakes using Rosa Parks’ recipe and a full breakfast. We partnered with the Transportation Coalition, Sierra Club, Torch 180 and Molina Health to plan and carry out this special event. Molina Health presented us with a check to fund the breakfast. The representative from Molina shared how touched she was by the testimonies people gave about how expanding public transit has improved lives.
Appreciation and recognition was shown to Putnam, Unadilla and Hamburg townships for their efforts to expand public transportation. The LETS staff was shown appreciation for the wonderful services they provide for our community, the Sierra Club and our Church and Society was shown appreciation as well.
We were excited that a representative from Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin’s office attended and expressed appreciation for our efforts. Two of our county commissioners came and one commissioner made a point of letting us know how inspiring our celebration was and pledged to work on this issue. We were also able to get the cities of Brighton and Howell to recognize and proclaim Feb. 3 as Rosa Parks Transit Equity Day.
The celebration was everything we hoped for and more. God was present and people were inspired. Doing this work has been rewarding in so many ways. We get to meet and work with wonderful folks from our community that care about people and are working to help people in Livingston County flourish. We are all growing in our understanding of the needs in our community and get to see other people grow as well.
We would like to invite you to be part of this work. The Economic Community Project meets once a month on the third Tuesday at 7 pm on Zoom. Contact Anne Sparling or Pam Kummer for details.
Pastor Lindsey will lead a New Member Class at the Brighton Campus on Sunday, Sept. 10, 17, 24 at 6 pm. Learn more about the United Methodist Church and how you can be part of its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Contact Pastor Lindsey.
During her tenure as Director of the First Steps Preschool, the program has flourished. She has served as both Director and teacher offering her administrative and personable gifts to parents and children alike. Lisa has also been an important part of the church staff and volunteer Sunday School teacher. She attended weekly staff meetings and did everything she could to support and plan events for children and their families.
The Rev. Lindsey Hall and the Rev. Jon Reynolds have been appointed by Bishop David Bard to serve as co-pastors for First United Methodist Church – Brighton and Whitmore Lake Campuses, effective July 1, 2020. Their first Sunday in worship will be Sunday, July 5 — online only.
They are excited to begin a new ministry in Brighton and Whitmore Lake with First UMC. Several “meet and greet” opportunities are scheduled — both online and in person. To help keep everyone safe, please sign up for an event. If you sign up for an online event, you will be emailed a link to the Zoom conference. If you have any trouble signing up online, call the office at 810-229-8561.
“Welcome Joshua (age 4) and Lydia (age 2) — and their parents, Pastors Jon and Lindsey, too — to First Church.”
Please extend a warm welcome to the Reynolds-Hall family by driving by the parsonage located at 7608 Brookview Court (Mt. Brighton subdivision), on July 5, between Noon-1pm.
If you would like to bring a welcome gift for Joshua or Lydia (and Jon and Lindsey), that would be wonderful. Ideas: Joshua and Lydia both love outside summer things such as shovels and buckets for the sandbox, water balloons, bubbles, chalk, flowers, etc. They also love Curious George books. Joshua loves Legos and science experiments. Lydia loves anything purple. She also has fun with bracelets and purses.
Being new to the area, gift cards to your favorite restaurant or store are perfect for Jon and Lindsey. Monetary contributions to welcome the Reynolds-Hall family may be made via the Church (drop off or mail to400 E Grand River Ave, Brighton MI 48116).
Let’s show them a warm and loving First Church welcome! No registration needed for the drive-by.
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! We have been praying for you and our church from the moment we learned that the Bishop appointed us to be Co-Senior Pastors of Brighton and Whitmore Lake. We are so excited to move to Brighton in a little less than a week. We have been inspired by your faithfulness, generosity, commitment to mission and your hospitality. Our children, Joshua (4) and Lydia (2), were so excited to see inside the beautiful parsonage and they are excited to make new friends in our community.
As you read this letter, perhaps you are curious to know a little more about us. Lindsey grew up in Nebraska and Jon grew up in Michigan. We met nearly halfway in between in the northern suburbs of Chicago in Evanston, IL. We met the first day of orientation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and the rest is history. We got married shortly after our third year of school there and quickly moved to Michigan to start new ministry positions at Birmingham First United Methodist Church and Rochester St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Lindsey loves to walk, tap dance, camp, and enjoys coffee and chocolate. Jon is an avid Tigers fan, and in his spare time he loves to ride his bicycle.
We could not be more honored to be your pastors and look forward to worshipping with you, growing disciples in small groups, serving together in mission, challenging each other in our faith and helping each other to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. God is up to wonderful things in our church!
The Rev. Lindsey Hall and the Rev. Jon Reynolds have been appointed by Bishop David Bard to serve as co-pastors for First United Methodist Church – Brighton and Whitmore Lake Campuses, effective July 1, 2020.
Pastors Jon and Lindsey are married and have two children, Joshua (age 4) and Lydia (age 2). Jon grew up in Clarkston, Michigan and attended Albion College where he studied Philosophy and Political Science. After college, Pastor Jon was called into ministry while working as an intern at Cass Community UMC in Detroit. Pastor Jon attended Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Chicago where he met Lindsey. After seminary, Jon served as an Associate Pastor at St. Paul’s UMC in Rochester, Michigan where he helped launch two worship services and focused on reaching young adults. Pastor Jon currently serves as an Associate Pastor at Cass Community UMC. Outside of church, Jon loves biking, walking the dogs, and the Detroit Tigers!
Rev. Lindsey was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University where she studied Communications and Theatre Arts. After college, Lindsey served as a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries in Hawaii, working with children and youth. Called to ministry, Pastor Lindsey attended Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and earned a Master of Divinity in 2013. Pastor Lindsey has served at Birmingham First UMC since 2012 as an Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Contemporary Worship. Rev. Lindsey loves mission work, small group discipleship, preaching, and working with people of all ages. Lindsey loves singing, dancing, drinking coffee, eating chocolate, and visiting her family in Nebraska and Texas.
Pastors Jon and Lindsey will serve our congregation as co-pastors, a model new to our church. Neither will be a senior or associate pastor; instead they will share responsibilities equally and cross-over in most areas. We pleased and excited about Pastors Jon and Lindsey’s appointment, and know that you will welcome them with open minds and open hearts. Please hold them in prayer during these months of transition.
Read the full letter from the Staff-Parish Relations Committee.
Pastor Bob Fuchs has been appointed to serve at DownRiver UMC. The Rev. Dr. Sherry Parker-Lewis announced last fall that she would be leaving Brighton First UMC in June. Her husband the Rev. George Lewis is retiring and the couple are moving to Mattawan, Michigan. Sherry will be working for the United Methodist Foundation of Michigan.
Pastor Bob Fuchs has been appointed by Bishop David Bard to DownRiver United Methodist Church in Taylor, Michigan, effective July 1, 2020. We are appreciative of Bob’s gifts and his service while appointed here and long before that. As United Methodists, we affirm with faithful understanding that we, the Church, are the Body of Christ. It is Christ’s sustaining Spirit that will guide us in the days ahead. We will trust and rely on Christ’s presence and grace during this time of transition.
In the coming weeks and months, we will have the opportunity to express our appreciation for Pastor Bob’s ministry in our midst. There will be time to say our good-byes, and time to begin planning a welcome for the new person whom God will send to become our next pastors.
Read full letter from the Staff-Parish Relations Committee
Lead Pastor Rev. Dr. Sherry Parker-Lewis announced recently that her tenure at First United Methodist Church will conclude June 30, 2020. Read her letter to the church.
She will continue to serve with great joy and appreciates the love and support of this church. Her husband Rev. George Lewis, pastor at Howell First United Methodist Church, has applied for retirement beginning next June 30. And the couple will move to Mattawan, Michigan, where they have purchased a home. Pastor Sherry is seeking an appointment from Bishop David Bard to that area.
The staff and Staff-Parish Relations Committee invites you to congratulate Pastor Sherry on her new direction. We pray that her future is as blessed as we have been by her presence here.
Those who would like to share their thoughts on the gifts and skills of a new senior pastor can send an email to sprc@brightonfumc.org.
On Sunday, July 1, 2018, the congregations of Brighton First and Wesley United Methodist Church of Whitmore Lake became one congregation worshiping and serving in two locations. Congregation members from both churches voted to merge our ministries on Sunday, April 15, 2018.
Rev. Bob Fuchs is the Whitmore Lake Campus Pastor. The worship service at the Whitmore Lake Campus is at 9:30 am. If you have questions, please contact Pastor Bob at bob@ brightonfumc.org.
This is a blessed time for our congregations. Together, we will strengthen compassionate outreach and make disciples for Jesus Christ in our communities. If you have questions, please contact Pastor Bob at bob@ brightonfumc.org.
