Members of Birmingham and Berkley: First UMC visit the Micah 6 Community in Pontiac to clear trash and debris from community garden plots. ~ photo courtesy Birmingham and Berkley: First UMC
Michigan Conference | October 21, 2025
DETROIT — On Sunday, September 21, 2025, over a dozen churches from the Greater Detroit District heeded the call to move outside the walls of their buildings to serve in their communities. The district-led mission initiative, called The Church Has Left the Building, encouraged congregations to replace their typical Sunday worship service with a day of mission engagement.
In previous years, the district invited congregations to come together in one location for Hands with Detroit. This has become an annual pillar of mission-focused work. Still, as the district boundary widens in geographic scope, the Greater Detroit Missions Committee envisioned a day when each congregation could be in mission at the same time but not in the same place.
The committee was inspired by what some congregations were already doing and followed their lead. The dream for The Church Has Left the Building is that churches would dialogue with their congregations about how they could extend open hearts and hands to the people and places around them, making a wave of difference across the district. How might the routines in worship and practices shift to embrace reinvigorated purpose and intentional outreach?
And ultimately, that Jesus would be alive in the communities in the Greater Detroit District.
Members of Dearborn: First UMC clean up trash and debris along the Rouge River Gateway Trail. ~ photo courtesy Dearborn: First UMC
“What we know is that sometimes, in our Sunday routines,” said Susanna Klimek, Director of Mission Engagement, “it can be easy to forget that what happens within our church walls must also expand to outside our church walls. The Church Has Left the Building nudges our churches to follow our calling to go out into the world and be the hands and feet of Jesus, to recognize that mission can be a form of worship.”
In its first year, The Church Has Left the Building became a success as churches throughout the district stepped outside their buildings to engage their communities. A summary of what each congregation did is found below. District leadership is excited for what will come next year.
Klimek concluded, “We heard stories of children through seniors — and everyone in between — out making a true impact. Many of the churches praised the day by reflecting on the energy that came alive within their congregations through the participation and energy that was transferred to the people they reached. We can’t wait to see what will unfold in years to come!”
Birmingham and Berkley: First UMC visited Micah 6 Community in Pontiac to clear trash and debris from empty community lots and garden plots. They also made cards for lunch recipients at Noah at Central, an EngageMI Ministry Partner, and for hospital patients at Corewell Health.
During a community picnic, members of Detroit: Metropolitan UMC welcome neighborhood children with learning materials and God’s love. ~ photo courtesy Detroit: Metropolitan UMC
Dearborn: First UMC had teams cleaning up along the Rouge River Gateway Trail, visiting homebound individuals, and creating greeting cards for military personnel and Noah at Central lunch recipients.
Detroit: Cass Community UMC visited Woodbridge Estates, Wayne State University, and Detroit Fire Department’s Station #5, located behind the church, with cookies and Honeycrisp apples. A church report said, “Connecting the church and the world around us is one way to make the church visible and known within the communities we serve. The WSU football team and the medics at the fire station were especially grateful for the connection.”
Detroit: Metropolitan UMC invited the Historic People’s Community Church over for a picnic on the front lawn. People in the neighborhood were welcomed to receive children’s learning materials, along with free home prescription delivery, free vitamins, free aspirin, and free vaccinations sponsored by Fenkell Pharmacy in Detroit.
Downriver UMC partnered with the Samaritas home to assist with the housing of families by purchasing bed sheets for 13 families and future ministry needs. They also visited Leo’s Coney Island, where they blessed people by providing families with a $10 gift for their lunch and inviting them to their FREE-KIN Pumpkin Patch event.
Members of South Rockwood UMC serve meals at GodWorks Soup Kitchen in Monroe County. ~ photo courtesy South Rockwood UMC
Erie UMC spent the afternoon at Hickory Ridge, a nursing center. They had a hymn sing with the residents and took snacks to share. One of the church members made crocheted crosses and angels to give them as gifts to the residents. A church report said, “We had a great time, and are talking about doing this again at Christmas.”
Mount Clemens: First UMC collaborated with the Beautification Committee of Mount Clemens to clear overgrown grass and weeds from several areas. The committee, comprised mainly of older adult volunteers who aren’t able to do as much as they used to, lacks enough volunteers. For families and people with mobility concerns, the church offered outreach-focused activities, including packing snack bags for those experiencing homelessness and helping with two greeting card projects for local nursing homes.
South Rockwood UMC helped serve meals at GodWorks Soup Kitchen in Monroe County and canvassed their neighborhood to hand out flyers for upcoming events.
Trenton: Faith UMC went to a local animal shelter to hold and play with the cats. They also had a free car wash for the neighborhood in their parking lot.
Walled Lake UMC met in the sanctuary for a hymn and a prayer, then promptly left the building to go out into the community. Pairs delivered cookies to first responders, local businesses, and church members who are unable to attend, aiming to build community and spread the love of Christ. Two groups visited local schools to clean up the schoolyards and plant flowers. And two other groups went to local assisted living centers to deliver “prayer bears” to residents who receive few visitors.
Members of Trenton: Faith UMC visit a local animal shelter to hold and play with the cats. ~ photo courtesy Trenton: Faith UMC
Wyandotte: First UMC had a team that prayed over the Downriver schools, a Worry Worm Crochet Crew that placed worry worms in public places to be found with a note and enjoyed, a group that made gratitude baskets and delivered them to police stations, fire departments, and hospital emergency rooms, a team that wrote cards of encouragement to accompany care packages to homebound members and visitors, some who fed 40 persons experiencing homelessness at ChristNet in Taylor, and a team that cleaned up trash in Bishop Park in Wyandotte.
Other participating churches included Detroit: Trinity-Faith UMC, Ferndale: First UMC, Hazel Park: First UMC, Monroe: Faith UMC, New Baltimore: Grace UMC, and Southfield: Hope UMC.
Editor’s note: This article was compiled thanks to content from Greater Detroit District staff members Susanna Klimek and Adrienne Trupiano-Stepaniak.