Set back from West Maple Road in Birmingham, Michigan, First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham has made the phrase "Everybody's Church" its daily working name. Two Sunday morning services, a livestreamed broadcast, a monthly Rejoicing Spirits gathering for people of all abilities, and a calendar full of book clubs, mission projects and children's programming flow out of a single red-brick campus that has served this Oakland County community for generations. Members describe a congregation that is intentionally inclusive, deeply musical, and unusually outward-facing, with partnerships reaching into Pontiac, Detroit and beyond.
Worship on Maple Road
Sunday worship is offered twice each week at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. From September through May the early service is held in the chapel; in summer it moves outdoors to the courtyard, with the chapel as backup in poor weather. Communion is served every week at the 8:30 service, and gluten-free elements are available at both services. The 10:00 a.m. service takes place in the sanctuary and is livestreamed on YouTube, with the Chancel Choir leading worship from September through May and soloists carrying the music during the summer. Communion is observed on the first Sunday of the month at the late service, and all are invited to participate.
A worship bulletin is handed to each visitor by an usher, and fellowship pads are passed during the service so newcomers can be greeted afterward and welcomed by email or note in the week to come. A welcome center by the south entrances (locally known as the "eagle entrance" for the eagle sculpture outside) offers information about the church and serves as a hub for members and guests alike.
Once a month, typically on the third Sunday at 3:00 p.m., the Rejoicing Spirits service fills Knox Auditorium. Designed as a "no-shush" gathering for persons of all abilities, it is lively, interactive and full of tambourines, shakers and drums. Scripture is retold through drama and song, and participants of every age are invited into the liturgy. The community extends beyond Sunday morning into an Inclusive Communities Network that connects families across the region.
An Inclusive Vision
The congregation's stated vision is to "cultivate mission, inclusion and community" as followers of Jesus Christ in the Reformed tradition. The vision statement affirms a commitment to the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit and the freedom of the individual conscience. An inclusion statement makes the welcome explicit: people of any ability, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other life circumstance are invited into the full life of the church.
First Presbyterian Church is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is also a Matthew 25 church, having voted in August 2020 to embrace the PC(USA) initiative that calls congregations to focus on building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. The session, the church's governing body of ruling and teaching elders, links the three Matthew 25 priorities to its own vision: community corresponds to congregational vitality, inclusion to dismantling racism, and mission to eradicating poverty. The congregation is also a member of More Light Presbyterians and the Michigan Presbyterian Black Caucus, and it maintains a library of Matthew 25 resources and a YouTube speaker series on systemic racism.
A Sanctuary Built Around Its Organ
The music program is central to the identity of the church. The 2009 Nichols and Simpson pipe organ is regarded as one of the finest in metro Detroit, with 50 stops and 64 ranks of pipes. Twelve stops were incorporated from the previous Casavant organ, which had been installed in 1953, and the chancel was redesigned architecturally by Constantine George Pappas Architects of Troy and acoustically by Riedel and Associates of Milwaukee. The four-manual console is built of American Cherry with bone and rosewood keys; organists of international renown, including Olivier Latry, Nathan Laube, Thomas Ospital, Cherry Rhodes, Vincent Dubois and Chelsea Chen, have performed on it.
The Chancel Choir, made up of both professional and amateur musicians, rehearses on Wednesday evenings and sings weekly at the 10:00 service from September through May. Anthems range from classical to spiritual, gospel and newly commissioned works. The FPC Ringers handbell ensemble rehearses separately and plays once a month, drawing on a six-octave set of Malmark and Schulmerich handbells and a five-octave set of Malmark handchimes. During a current interim period while the church searches for a new Director of Music Ministries and Organist, Jillian Burgam serves as Interim Music Director, Patrick Kuhl as Interim Organist at 10:00 worship, Mary Beth Jones as Interim Pianist at 8:30, and Donna Hughes as Interim Handbell Director. Concerts at First, a public concert series that has drawn outside choirs, Broadway soloists, world-renowned organists and full orchestra, is on hiatus during the search.
Children, Youth and Family Ministries
Children are present in every corner of congregational life. Sunday morning begins in the sanctuary for everyone; after about fifteen minutes of Time with the Younger Church, children exit to Sunday school classes from age three through high school. The 1st through 5th grade program, CrossWalks, follows a Workshop Rotation Model in which a single theme is taught over five weeks through different creative rooms: Parable Place for puppetry and drama, Temple School for Biblical geography, Noah's Art for multi-medium creativity, Martha's Table for cooking in an "ancient kitchen," and the Red Sea Cinema for an overview of the story.
Three-year-olds through kindergartners gather in Worship Wonder, where a storyteller works with wooden figures over four weeks, inviting children to respond through art and prayer before a small feast. The nursery, staffed with professional caregivers, welcomes children from three months through five years old from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Every child begins in worship with family and is welcome to remain if parents prefer.
On Wednesday afternoons from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., the IGNITE program gathers children from preschool through fifth grade for games, mission projects, music and a pizza dinner, led by Charlotte Darr and Jessica Sinta, with a suggested donation of $5 per week per child. First Theater Guild adds another creative outlet for young performers.
For middle and high schoolers, FPC is one of the founding congregations of STAGE (Somewhere to Ask God Everything), a collaborative youth ministry that began in 1998 with Lutheran, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the Berkley and Royal Oak communities and now brings together Greenfield Presbyterian, Drayton Avenue Presbyterian, Cana Lutheran, First Presbyterian of Royal Oak and First Presbyterian of Birmingham. A STAGE Youth Council supports the ministry, and Jessica Gibbs serves as its Youth Director.
All Abilities Inclusion Ministry
One of the most distinctive features of the church is its All Abilities Inclusion Ministry, or AAIM. The program nurtures the faith of children, youth and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities through a structured, multi-sensory curriculum that is individualized for each student. AAIM also organizes monthly intergenerational events and supports the church's broader commitment that every member of every ability be fully integrated into congregational life. Hadley Moak serves as Coordinator for Young Adults with Disabilities.
Adult Faith Formation
Faith formation for adults is treated as a lifelong endeavor. Two book clubs anchor the rhythm of reading and conversation: the Morning Readers' Circle meets at 10:00 a.m. on the third Tuesday of the month, and the Sunday Readers' Circle meets online at 2:00 p.m. on the second Sunday. A Women's Wellness Group gathers at 7:00 p.m. on the first Monday at members' homes or in the community, and the Mothers of Young Children group meets on Sundays from 9:00 to 9:50 a.m. with childcare provided. A Knitting Ministry meets Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to noon, producing prayer shawls and baptismal blankets.
Lunch and Learn brings people together around a sandwich and dessert on the third Thursday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with a speaker beginning at noon. Senior Adventures hosts fellowship outings for adults ages 50 and over, sometimes using the church van for transportation. Larger topical studies, such as recent series on the Questions of Jesus and the Seven Signs and Sayings of Jesus, run for several weeks and are open to anyone wishing to register.
Stephen Ministry and Pastoral Care
Confidential one-to-one care is offered through Stephen Ministry, a lay-caregiving program that has grown from its 1975 origins to more than 13,000 congregations across North America. Stephen Ministers are trained members who meet with a care receiver for about an hour each week for as long as the need continues. The Rev. Joanne Blair serves as Pastoral Liaison, and inquiries can be directed to stephenministry@fpcbirmingham.org.
Mission Beyond the Building
Mission is woven throughout the congregation's identity. The longest-standing partnership is with Alcott Elementary School in Pontiac, a relationship that began in the fall of 2006 with a small tutoring cadre and has grown to more than three dozen tutors each week. The church has helped reopen the school's library, supplied a computer lab and iPads, funded a STEM program, hosted appreciation meals for faculty and provided food and clothing. The weekly Shop N Drop program sends groceries home for twenty families at a time, while Baskets of Love packs totes of non-perishable food at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Foster Care Outreach and Support ministry, in place since 2011, provides spiritual, emotional and limited financial support to members who foster or adopt and houses the statewide Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care, founded by the Rev. Dr. Kate Thoresen. The First Foundation underwrites seed money for new ministries, term-limited support for emerging projects, education and training, and outreach grants to outside organizations, with quarterly grant cycles and a preference for work related to local basic needs, education in low-income communities, women's needs, foster care, special needs and social justice.
The Board of Deacons directs funds outward to organizations such as Angels' Place, the Furniture Bank, Kids Empowered on the Move, the South Oakland Citizens for the Homeless Welcome Inn, the Baldwin Center, Lighthouse and the Coalition on Temporary Shelter. Mission partners further include Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center, Micah 6 and Forgotten Harvest. The church also opens its doors to host Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon groups, a twice-monthly Alzheimer's caregiver support group, FAR Therapeutic Arts and Recreation, Samaritan Counseling, and the business office of Skyline Camp and Retreat Center, a camp that began as an FPC property in the 1960s before becoming an independent 501(c)(3) in 2005.
Hand-in-Hand Early Learning Center
The Hand-in-Hand Early Learning Center has shared a wing of the church building for more than fifty years. Licensed with the State of Michigan and the City of Birmingham, it serves children from nine months through age five in age-appropriate classrooms with a Christian-centered curriculum, including the Handwriting Without Tears program, plus optional STEM, music, art and movement enrichment classes. The center uses a large fenced-in playground with play structures, climbers, a playhouse and riding toys, and offers extended lunch days, after-school enrichment and a four-day mini-summer camp. Director Heidi Wilkinson can be reached at handinhand@everybodyschurch.org or 248-430-6190.
Joining and Getting Involved
Those considering membership are invited twice a year to an Exploration Class that includes a tour of the building and time with the senior clergy and programming staff. Membership Coordinator Amy Zimmer welcomes inquiries. The Volunteer Brochure and online Volunteer Form open pathways into serving as an usher or greeter, hosting coffee hour, helping at Rejoicing Spirits, joining a Stephen Ministry class or tutoring at Alcott. The building itself is occasionally available to non-profit organizations whose goals align with the church, with room requests submitted through the church office.
Leadership and Governance
The session of ruling and teaching elders is moderated by the Rev. Dr. Lou Nyiri and includes the Rev. Tommy Langejans as an ex-officio member and Martha Rowland as clerk. Elders are organized into three classes with terms ending in 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Board of Deacons, moderated by Carolyn Kyburz, organizes coffee hour, sends cards, delivers flowers, helps with communion, drives members to church and channels funds outward to community organizations. Parish Associates the Rev. Ted Thode and the Rev. Julie Madden extend the pastoral team.
What to Expect as a Visitor
Casual attire is the rule, with worshipers wearing everything from denim to dresses or suits. The main parking lot is behind the building, entered from Maple Road or Pleasant Street, with accessible parking close to the building and in the circle drive along Maple Road. Greeters welcome visitors at both the circle drive and the eagle entrance, and an usher provides a bulletin at the sanctuary door. After either service, everyone is invited to Calvin Hall for coffee, treats and conversation. Those interested in membership, children's programs or any of the church's ministries will find staff ready to talk by email or phone through the main office at 248-644-2040, with office hours Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.