The Biggest Little Church in Kalamazoo
North Church has been located in Kalamazoo County since 1919. Photo courtesy
of North Presbyterian Church. A chuckle rose from everyone gathered under the shade of
the ancient oak on a late summer afternoon at Curtis’ description of North
Presbyterian Church. Then it
dawned on us; he just might have described this congregation very well!
Never large by numerical standards, never flush with financial
resources, North Church has been big — generous when it comes to its life
together and its life within the community of Kalamazoo County.
North Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing that is lifted by compassion.
Photo courtesy of North Presbyterian Church. Located in the
urban center since 1919 (in the same area since its founding in 1864 by four
young women!) the church has been an “incubator” of kingdom seeds — addressing
racial injustice, hunger and housing. Since 1989 it has been a place of welcome
and inclusion for people living with disabilities — particularly serious
mental illness and brain injury. Partners in ministry include the Presbytery
of Lake Michigan, other congregations, community mental health and individuals.
Recently North Church stepped into the public arena with
congregations around the county to form an interfaith, congregation-centered
community organization (ISAAC). Affiliated with the Gamaliel Foundation, North
along with the local organization has strengthened public efforts to fund and
address affordable housing, public transit (the first ever countywide tax passed),
and skilled-trades workforce development. Why these? They are important to us — we
need these so that we can participate in life’s abundance God has promised
in Christ to us and to all.
We’ve been around many years, but we are still young, forming and reforming,
answering God’s call to do justice and love mercy.
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