User:RevKantor/Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Detroit, Michigan)

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Detroit, Michigan) is a parish of the English District (LCMS) of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in southwest Detroit. Founded June 4, 1882, the parish grew out of a branch school founded in 1877 by Immanuel Lutheran Church. Zion was listed on the List of Michigan State Historic Sites on February 16, 1989; the marker was unveiled March 5, 1990. Zion was designated a City of Detroit Local Historic District on January 18, 1995.

Architecture
Designed by architects Maul and Lenz in the neo-Gothic style, the cornerstone was laid on September 11, 1932 and the church was dedicated on May 28, 1933.

Organ
The three-manual, 45 rank organ is Opus 1576 of the Holtkamp Organ Company. It was designed and constructed at the same time as the church.

Pastors
Christian F. Schatz, 1882-1914 Walter Lussky, 1915-1939 Kenneth E. Runge, 1938-1974 Gene Evans, 1975-1995 John W. Fenton, 1995-2006 Larry Loree, 2007-2008 Mark P. Braden, 2009 to the present

Zion and the Church at Large
Zion organized seven daughter parishes: Bethlehem, 1887; St. Stephen, 1890; Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church,1891; Emmanuel-Dearborn, 1895; Concordia, 1901; St. Matthew, 1903; and Tabor, 1916. In addition to these daughter parishes, Zion has assisted in the founding of the Lutheran High School Association of Greater Detroit, the Lutheran Homes of Michigan, the Glen Eden Lutheran Memorial Park, the Lutheran Center Association, and the St. Augustine's House, the first Lutheran monastery in America.

Zion has had nine sons of the parish enter the Holy Ministry and has served the church in the training of vicars.

Since 1998, Zion has hosted the St. Michael Liturgical Conference which seeks to foster the study and appreciation of the Evangelical-Lutheran liturgy. Each year, the conference draws pastors and laity from around the country to hear expert presenters on a variety of topics in the liturgy.