Press Release: Post Event
Hundreds of Christians from more than Two Dozen Denominations Walked Together on Palm Sunday - and Pledged to Keep Going
Palm Sunday Path Michigan drew more than 800 marchers to Lansing; over 100 people across 28 counties sign the Palm Sunday Promise within 24 hours
LANSING, Mich. - On Palm Sunday, hundreds of Michiganders from nearly 30 Christians denominations and no formal affiliation at all walked together through the streets of Lansing in a public witness for the values at the heart of their shared faith: feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and welcoming the stranger.
The procession which stretched nearly two city blocks from Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ to the Michigan State Capitol, brought together marchers from every generation united by a commitment to the call of Jesus in Matthew 25. Palm Sunday Path Michigan was not a protest. It was a witness defined not by what participants oppose, but by what they stand for.
A Program That Held the Crowd
At the Capitol, the crowd stayed for the entirety of a program featuring speakers addressing each of the movement's three core values: feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and welcoming the stranger. The program included prayers, songs, and calls of "Hosanna!" that echoed across the Capitol grounds.
"Working together across denominational lines has been inspiring,” said the Rev. Cheryl Burke, Associate Conference Minister of Clergy Care and Formation for the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ and a member of the Palm Sunday Path leadership team. "We may have different policy ideas, but we are united in the values of feeding, healing, and welcoming."
The program closed with a powerful visual act: attendees laid their palm branches on the Capitol steps, a symbol of their presence and their commitment to the wellbeing of their communities and their state.
The Palm Sunday Promise: From One Day to Every Day
Even before the last palm branch was placed on the Capitol steps, the movement's next chapter was already underway.
The Palm Sunday Promise, a commitment framework open to anyone in Michigan, whether or not they attended the march, invites people to engage at three levels:
Pray: Commit to regular prayer for the hungry, the sick, and the stranger in your community.
Learn: Engage with resources to deepen understanding of how these issues affect your county.
Act: Take concrete steps — volunteer, advocate, show up — in your own community.
Within the first 24 hours, more than 100 people signed the Palm Sunday Promise, with representatives from a third of Michigan's 83 counties. Organizers say the response signals that the desire for faith-rooted community engagement that extends far beyond Lansing.
"This was never meant to be a single event," said the Rev. Canon Nurya Love Parish, Director for Mission and Community Engagement for the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes and a Palm Sunday Path Organizer. "The Palm Sunday Promise is how this movement lives in every county in Michigan through people who are ready to pray, learn, and act where they are."
About Palm Sunday Path Michigan
Palm Sunday Path Michigan is an ecumenical initiative uniting Christians across denominations around the Matthew 25 call to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and welcome the stranger. Learn more and sign the Palm Sunday Promise at mipalmsundaypath.org.
High-resolution photos from the March 29 procession are available upon request.
Media Contact
Rachel Rose
Director for Communication, Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes
rachel@greatlakesepiscopal.org
616-319-2006, ext. 14
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