This article is part of our Sunday Series, an occasional feature about the role of faith in the Lowell community. We welcome your suggestions for future stories.
Jon Propper was raised in Georgia as the son of a Pentecostal minister, but don’t assume it was a given that he would work in ministry himself one day. “I left home as a teen and started a very long spiritual journey,” he explains.
It’s a journey that brought him to Michigan, took him elsewhere and brought him back again. He’s explored and embraced multiple faith traditions and now, thanks to a partnership with Park Church in Grand Rapids, he’s finding a new spiritual home at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Lowell as the Minister of Worship and Community Outreach.
Searching for God in Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism
When Propper says he has an eclectic religious background, he’s not exaggerating. The 28-year old came to Grand Rapids to earn his undergraduate degree in communications from Aquinas College, a Roman Catholic institution. While there, he converted to Judaism and joined Temple Emmanuel, where he is still a member today.
At Aquinas, he also met a fellow student, Lindsay, who would later become his wife. Together, they moved to Philadelphia for a brief while, and Propper studied in the seminary at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. However, life would then take them to Florida for three years.
In Florida, Propper did marketing work for a synagogue before taking a job at an Episcopal school. “The school’s policy was that the students had to attend worship two or three times a week,” he says. He accompanied students and discovered a form of Christianity that was new to him. “It spoke to me,” he remembers.
However, that wasn’t the end of the journey. Propper was exploring the Tibetan tradition of Buddhist meditation while also a member of a synagogue and eventually found his way to the United Church of Christ. “It’s a very eclectic series of connections,” he says of his faith experience.
Creating an Open and Diverse Community in Lowell
When Propper and his wife decided to move back to Grand Rapids, he quickly found work with Park Congregational Church. There, he is the Director of Conversations (Adult Education). After Park and the Lowell First Congregational Church entered into a partnership, Propper was tapped to head up the ministry here.
“This is a fun experiment,” Propper says. The partnership helps Park expand its outreach, but the main beneficiary will be the community in Lowell. “We get big church resources while still being a welcoming little country church,” Propper says.
Members of Lowell First Congregational Church will see some changes, but Propper says a major goal is to continue the church’s tradition of being a welcoming sanctuary for people of all walks of life and backgrounds. “We welcome [all], not just in the sense of you can sit in the pew, but you are a part of this as well,” he says.
An organist will be added to Sunday worship, but Propper doesn’t want anyone to think that means they need to put on a suit and tie before heading to church. “What we’re trying to do here is have a [somewhat] formal, emotionally engaging, intellectually engaging church where you can still wear jeans and flip flops,” Propper explains.
Just as with the church’s Open Table meals and upcoming Thanksgiving dinner, all are welcome to join the Lowell First Congregational UCC on Sunday mornings. “If you’re not sure what tradition you’re of, come and be here,” Propper says.
Sunday worship at the church runs from 9:30-10:30am with a coffee hour to follow. For more information, visit the Lowell First Congregational United Church of Christ website or follow its Facebook page.
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