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Building our Ministry
The flurry of activity around becoming a SAWC is keeping Pastor Anna busy, along with living out our mission to help feed the hungry, AND finding the right food truck for FedUp.  We are happy to say that we are moving into Phase 2 of our ministry plan and are completing process of creating our constitution, obtaining our affiliation with the ELCA, incorporating as a religious and secular 501c3 organization.

So, what is a SAWC?
St. Lydia’s Dinner Church in Brooklyn NY, shared this definition nearly 10 years ago as they considered this process:

A Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community (SAWC) is a gathering of people around practices of the faith that is not be ready to become a fully self supporting congregation.  The Church however wants test the mission field and begin the ministry in that context. Examples of SAWC’s are ethnic specific communities often with lay leaders, emerging worship communities that are trying new models, or regular worshipping communities in camping or school ministries.

That “E” Word
The ELCA New Congregations page talks about the evangelical nature of developing new worshiping communities in our world today.  “As we seek to grow God’s church and extend welcome to all God’s people, we are worshiping in pews, city parks, brew pubs and libraries; we are breaking bread in homes and in shelters, and we are equipping our neighbors with both spiritual and physical sustenance. With our hands, we are doing God’s work of restoring and reconciling communities in God’s name.”

Mission Communities in Southeast Michigan Synod, ELCA
In 2019, Bishop Don Kreiss identified six mission congregations in Southeast Michigan Synod. These include Grace in Action; Asian Indian Ministry at St. John, Farmington; Hope West in South Lyon; the SAWC in Lapeer; and Micah 6 in Pontiac. Other unique worshiping communities in SEMI Synod include Lutheran Campus Ministry at University of Michigan and Living Water Ministries.  

Excited and Grateful
We are excited to join the ranks of over 300 mission starts in the ELCA. These worshipping communities do ministry in unique ways as they seek to be God’s hands and feet in a hurting world eager to hear “You are welcome here.”

We are grateful for the support of ELCA Churchwide, Southeast Michigan Synod as well as the financial support from congregations throughout the synod including Christ Evangelical, Waterford Township; Christ Lutheran, Sterling Heights; Emmanuel Lutheran, Livonia; Gracious Saviour, Detroit ; Hope Lutheran, Farmington Hills; King of Kings, Ann Arbor; King of Kings, Shelby Township; Lord of Light/Lutheran Campus Ministry, Ann Arbor; Lutheran Church of the Master, Troy; St. Philip, Trenton; Trinity Lutheran, Ann Arbor; and Zion Lutheran, Ann Arbor. We give thanks to King of Kings, Ann Arbor which serves as our home base; to Emmanuel, Ypsilanti and Zion, Ann Arbor for the use of their commissary kitchens. Please keep FedUp Ministries in your prayers as we begin this new ministry in our community.

Learn More
Read more about some of the unique worshiping communities in the ELCA.