By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
The parishioners of the Lake Orion King of Kings Lutheran Church at 1715 South Lapeer Rd. are extra excited for this’Sunday, March 30.
A special 50th’anniversary celebration service will kick off the Church’s 51st’year in the community, and will offer a reception bearing appetizers, beverages and fellowship starting at?10 a.m. for the entire community.
The theme for the 50th anniversary is ‘Team Nifty,? or ‘team next fifty? to focus on the next 50 years of service in the community.
For more information please contact?248-639-1676?, or email’secretary@kofklo.org.
King of Kings was founded on March 29, 1964 on Easter’Sunday. The first services were held at the Hanoute GM Dealer’s garage in Lake Orion where 41 children and 13 adults were baptized. The congregation used the garage for their services until the first church was built in and expanded.
Over the last 50 years King of Kings has evolved to meet the needs of the local community and surrounding communities.
‘As they looked at the community they saw some of the needs that were there and tried to respond in a way that would help,? Pastor Bruce Weber said. ‘It is a continuation of what we do now with helping the hungry at FISH and the Baldwin Center, and at one time they had a very large gathering of high school youth that came together. For several years that was a primary way of outreach to the community.?
Outreach also involved service and work projects around the world in South America and Africa.
The congregation continues to support other local mission ministries including Love Inc., Habitat for Humanity, Oxford-Orion FISH and the Baldwin Center through donations and people, including the Crop Walk in May, Kids against Hunger, and Relay for Life.
Now their mission is to Know, Grow, Sow: know the love of God, grow his word and Sow the love throughout the world, a mission that was developed about ten years ago.
‘It’s based on God’s freely giving love that embraces us so that we can embrace others,? Pastor Weber said.
King of Kings Evangelical Lutheran Church was originally a congregation extending from the Lutheran Church of America (LCA). In 1988, the LCA church at large officially merged with the ALC forming the current Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
‘We are thrilled to death. We’re excited and we’re in a re-growth pattern, so we’re continuing on, and making a big push for the next 50 years,? Nancy Lovell, a long time church member, said.