The Peoples Church of East Lansing

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The Peoples Church of East Lansing is an interdenominational Protestant congregation located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan. It is officially a member of (in alphabetical order) the American Baptist Churches USA, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church. The congregation's membership currently numbers around 1,300.

[edit] History

The congregation known as The Peoples Church of East Lansing began in 1907 as People's Congregational Church; as indicated by the name, the congregation was in the Congregationalist tradition. The congregation was the only church in East Lansing, Michigan, which was then home to the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, which would later become Michigan State University.

In 1924, the congregation made the decision to dissolve its organization and reincorporate as "The People's Church (Interdenominational)" (the name would be altered to its current form later). The founding denominational partners in this reincorporation were the local association of Congregational Churches, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Northern Baptist Convention, and the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. (Each of these 4 denominations went through mergers or name changes since 1924, resulting in the current 4 denominational partners). The re-incorporation of the congregation as fully part of four denominations was one of the earliest such attempts at an interdenominational congregation in the United States, and was thus dubbed "The Great Experiment" by then-pastor Newell McCune. The explicit mission of the congregation stated in the 1924 Articles of Agreement was ministry to the students and faculty of (what was at that point) Michigan Agricultural College.

In 1927, the congregation completed their current church building, located at 200 W. Grand River Ave., on the boarder of the (now-named) Michigan State College campus. The congregation remained the only church in East Lansing until 1940, when St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church was formed.

By the mid-1960s, People's Church spun off a daughter congregation on the opposite end of East Lansing. This was originally to be named Edgewood People's Church and also affiliated with all four denominations, but in the end would be named Edgewood United Church, affiliated with just the United Church of Christ.

In 1965, the church building suffered a massive fire that originated in the pipe organ. By collapsing the sanctuary roof to allow the hot gasses to escape, firefighters were able to save the rest of the building (which surrounds the sanctuary on three sides). Following the fire, the interior of the sanctuary was remodeled in a more contemporary style, including the creation of a prominent stained glass window in the wall facing the congregation.

[edit] Senior Pastors

  • The Rev. F.W. Corbett (Methodist Episcopal), 1907-09
  • The Rev. Robert Goldsmith (Presbyterian), 1909-11
  • The Rev. William S. Steenma (Congregationalist), 1910-16
  • The Rev. James T. Jones (Congregationalist), 1916-17
  • The Rev. Dr. Newell A. McCune (Methodist Episcopal), 1917-49
  • The Rev. C. Brandt Tefft (Congregationalist / United Church of Christ), 1949-60
  • The Rev. Dr. G. Wallace Robertson (Presbyterian), 1960-76
  • The Rev. Dr. Jack Boelens (Presbyterian), 1977-79
  • The Rev. Dr. Richard C. Devor (United Methodist), 1980-84
  • The Rev. Dr. Richard E. Murdoch (Presbyterian), 1984-94
  • The Rev. Michael L. Dunkelberger (Presbyterian), 1996-98
  • The Rev. Dr. Harry H. Johnson (Presbyterian), 2000-present

[edit] Current Life

While no longer, in some sense, the university church, The Peoples Church of East Lansing remains a prominent congregation in the Greater Lansing-East Lansing area.

The Peoples Church of East Lansing is the officially supported campus ministry to Michigan State University for both the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ.

Current Pastoral Staff include:

  • The Rev. Dr. Harry H. Johnson (Presbyterian), Senior Pastor
  • The Rev. Penny Swartz (Congregationalist), Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care
  • The Rev. Dr. Gary Autry (American Baptist), Associate Pastor for Campus Ministry


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