“As governor, I know who I am and whose I am,” she is quoted as saying in an article in today’s Kalamazoo Gazette. “Faith is an integral part of who I am as governor.” She noted that her father was an elder, her brother is an ordained minister, and that her husband had once studied for the priesthood.
Granholm quoted the Gospel of Matthew and the book Prayer of Jabez. She also provided an addition to the Book of Genesis, according to the newspaper. Referencing the state’s mitten-shaped geography, the governor said, “When God created the world, he put his hand on the globe on the seventh day to spin the globe – and left his palm print, which created the state of Michigan.”
The Democratic governor spoke for nearly six minutes as part of the church’s focus on Christian faith in the workplace, says pastor G. Patrick White. “It was purely worship. It was not a political rally.”
Although the governor is up for re-election in November, “There was very little public gain for her to come into a strongly Republican county,” says White. Roughly 250 people attended the service.
The church has hosted Republican politicians before, White said. Patti Birkholz, a Republican and the state Senate’s pro-tem, attended and also prayed for the governor.
In addition to addressing the congregation, Granholm spoke for more than 10 minutes with the Sunday school children, White says. “This was a memory moment that we helped make.”
To read the newspaper article, please see Kalamazoo Gazette. To learn more about the church and its ministries, please visit Christ Community Covenant.
