Press Release
More Than 1,000 Michigan Christians Will Unite Across Denominations in Public Witness at State Capitol This Palm Sunday
Coalition of Christians of different traditions to process through downtown Lansing affirming Matthew 25 values: feeding the hungry, healing the sick, welcoming the stranger
LANSING, Mich. — On Palm Sunday, March 29, more than 1,000 Christians from across Michigan will gather in the state’s capital for a mile-long ecumenical procession from Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ to the Michigan State Capitol. Clergy and lay people from across a broad spectrum of denominations will walk together carrying palm branches in a public witness to the values Jesus calls his followers to in Matthew 25: feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and welcoming the stranger.
The event is not a protest. It is an act of Christian witness : a visible, peaceful declaration of shared faith in a moment when the public voice of Christianity has often been fractured.
“In a time when so many forces work to divide Christians from one another and to define our faith by what we’re against, Palm Sunday Path Michigan is a chance to show the world what we are for,” said the Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel, Conference Minister of the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ and a featured speaker at the event. “When Christians from a variety of traditions walk side by side through the streets of Lansing, that itself is the sermon. We don’t agree on everything. We never have. But we agree that the gospel calls us to care for the hungry, the sick, and the stranger, and that agreement is more than enough to walk together.”
Palm Sunday Path Michigan is part of a nationwide movement spanning 16 states from New Jersey to Oregon, in which Christians are putting their faith into visible, public action on Palm Sunday afternoon.
The procession will begin at 3:00 p.m. at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ (125 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Lansing) and move west along Michigan Avenue to the east lawn of the Michigan State Capitol. There, participants will gather for a program featuring a 90-person ecumenical choir and speakers from across the denominational spectrum. Near the close of the program, participants will lay their palm branches on the Capitol lawn as a symbolic connection to Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the event Christians around the world commemorate on Palm Sunday.
The coalition behind the event is led by a volunteer ecumenical planning team representing the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes, the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church, the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the ELCA, and the Presbytery of Lake Michigan (Presbyterian Church USA).
“Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, welcoming the stranger - these are more than church words. ” said the Rev. Rachel Laughlin, Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Portage, Michigan, and a member of the Palm Sunday Path Michigan leadership team. “Being hungry, being sick, and being the new kid are practically universal human experiences. Having needs is part of what it means to be human, and so is having the desire to help meet the needs of the people around us. As people of faith, we believe God calls us to love our neighbors by building the kind of community in which everyone’s dignity is honored and in which we strive for all people to thrive, not just ourselves. But you don't have to be a person of faith to believe feeding, healing, and welcoming others is important. These are the values of good neighbors. They are the values of caring communities, Christian or not."
All people, regardless of denominational background, faith tradition, or even a lack of faith, are welcome to gather to affirm these values together in a powerful show of unity in our state’s capital. Registration is open at mipalmsundaypath.org, and the event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but is encouraged to help leaders plan for the appropriate levels of safety and logistics support. Denominational leaders will be available for media interviews during and after the event. Members of the press may contact the media contact listed below for advance coordination.
About Palm Sunday Path
Palm Sunday Path is a nationwide movement calling Christians to put their faith into visible, public action grounded in the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25. The movement originated in Minneapolis, where Faith in Minnesota, supported by the community organizing group ISAIAH, was inspired to create a national vision for people of faith seeking to promote gospel values. From that beginning, Palm Sunday Path has grown to encompass events in 16 states. On Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026, Christians in state capitals and cities from New Jersey to Oregon will process together, echoing Jesus’s own entry into Jerusalem: a public act that drew a deliberate contrast with the powers of his day. Learn more at palmsunday2026.com.
Palm Sunday Path Michigan is led by a coalition of faith leaders spanning five denominations, united not by what they oppose but by what they affirm: that the Christian faith calls us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger. Learn more at mipalmsundaypath.org.
Media Contact
Rachel Rose
Director for Communication, Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes
rachel@greatlakesepiscopal.org
616-319-2006, ext. 14
