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Episcopalians help organize large Palm Sunday procession to Michigan State Capitol

March 27, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of the Great Lakes is part of an ecumenical team organizing a Palm Sunday procession that is expected to bring more than 1,000 Christians from across Michigan to the state Capitol in Lansing on March 29 in public witness to Jesus’ command to feed the hungry, heal the sick and welcome the stranger. Participants will begin on foot at 3 p.m. and process about a mile, from Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ to the Capitol, carrying palm branches. The program at the Capitol will include an ecumenical choir and speakers from several Christian denominations, after which all participants will place the palm branches on the Capitol lawn “as a symbolic connection to Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem,” according to a news release. Registered participants are expected to travel from 30 Michigan counties to Lansing, inspired by the Christian values contained in Matthew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” “As followers of Jesus, we, too, stand for healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and welcoming the stranger,” the Diocese of the Great Lakes said in an online post inviting Episcopalians to join the event. “The second step of this path is for Christians to take coordinated local action primarily at the county and city level, and by contacting state and federal representatives – to advocate for access to healthcare, for food on our tables, for our foreign-born neighbors, and for the dignity of everyone in our communities.” In addition to the Diocese of the Great Lakes, which spans the center of the state, the coalition’s planning team also is drawn from the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ, the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church, the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbytery of Lake Michigan (Presbyterian Church). “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,” the Rev. Rachel Laughlin, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Portage, said in the event’s news release. “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.” The Michigan-wide event is organized as part of a national Christian movement called Palm Sunday Path, with public events that span 16 states from New Jersey to Oregon. “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,” the Rev. Lillian Daniel, conference minister of the Michigan Conference United Church of Christ, said in the news release.