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Sashabaw
Presbyterian Church Home Schoolers Celebrate Graduation of the Class of 2007
with a Prom and Commencement Service.
The
Home Schoolers of Meadows Co-op (a ministry of the Sashabaw Presbyterian Church
on Maybee Road in Clarkston)
celebrated the first graduating class of their organization with a Formal Prom
on Friday, June 15 followed by Commencement the next day. Ten
Seniors graduated.
Friday
night's prom was organized by Abigail Lee, a Junior of the group and member of
the Sashabaw Presbyterian Church. The event was held at the Holly Hotel with the theme of
007. The attendees enjoyed dinner, a program including a DVD featuring
each Grad followed by an evening of dancing. "I've never been a big
fan of "Christian groups" but these home schoolers were not what
we expected," said one of the employees of the Holly Hotel "They were
so nice to the staff and to each other and I have never seen a group of
teenagers dance so many different kinds of dances. They were a fun
group. One of the guys even gave his buttoner to one of the
waitresses. That was sweet."
The next day, Sashabaw Presbyterian Church proudly hosted the Commencement
services. Eight of the 10 graduates participated in the service.
All the graduates have been accepted by various colleges and universities
throughout the country. The service was conducted by Mr. David Lee, a
member of the Sashabaw Presbyterian Church and an attorney in Oakland County. Businessman,
Blair Rosenhan, gave the key note address which encouraged the students to
continue to think like home schoolers "thinking outside the box", not
being afraid to do things in non-traditional ways and not to be afraid of
mistakes. Each of the graduates was given an opportunity to speak and
each one expressed their thoughts, thanks, hopes and dreams in their own unique
way. Special music was provided by Graduate, Shannon Meiner, on
violin. A vocal duet by Abigail Lee ('08) and Graduating Senior, Shane
Lichtenberg singing the folk song, "Homeward Bound" concluded the
service. A reception followed.
"We
are very proud of these kids." stated David Lee. "Among our
grads are two full 4-year scholarship recipients to U of M and University of
Louisville, a Michigan Merit Scholarship recipient, and a member of the
National Honor Society."
"This
ministry has been a real blessing to our congregation" states Teressa
Waller, Elder. "We have been told over and over again by the parents
of this group that their own churches would not allow such a diverse and
ecumenical group in their church buildings. Our group is a mixture of
Lutheran, Mormon, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Non-Denominational, Presbyterians
and others. We truly feel that God is working through the ministry to
bring about understanding among those with very diverse beliefs as well as a
witness for God's grace. Also, we can attribute a rise in visitors, new
regular attendees and new members to the outreach these ministries provide (the
local paper gives us a lot of free publicity for these ministry activities).
Within our own membership, there has also been more interest in the study of
Presbyterian beliefs. For example, the Mormons do not believe in the
Trinity, our association with them has prompted our congregation to look at our
Trinitarian beliefs and begin to develop vernacular language to understand and
explain the foundations of our faith."
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