Woodside Bible Church missionaries have returned to Chiang Rai, Thailand, where they previously built an orphanage to accommodate nearly 50 Akha children who may otherwise have been sold into sex slavery. Akha, according to Woodside's Pastor Brad Hulcy, is a hill tribe that spans the international borders of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, northern Vietnam and southern China. “Most of the children were abused prior to going to the orphanage,” said Steve Miller, missionary. “Predators come into villages and tell people they will take care of the kids. They take the kids to Bangkok and indoctrinate …

Epic Life Church in White Lake is in the beginning stages of growth, but the enthusiasm of the modest congregation rivals that of a long established church. “(The service) is lively,” said Roz Barrett, member. “We make the trek all the way from Sterling Heights to come to this church because of the realness of the pastors.” “It’s just the beginning,” said Pastor Dave Dreyer, a White Lake resident. “We only have about 40 members. My wife and I have been pastoring for 16 years and we started (this church) in our home.” The interdenominational church meets at 10a.m. on Sundays and is open to …

For nearly 17 years, the women of Oxbow Lake Baptist Church in White Lake have been gathering monthly to build relationships and strengthen their faith in God. “We meet the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the church,” said Lora Lowery, women’s ministry coordinator. The group meets from September to May and combines their January and February meetings. “I love the fellowship and getting to know ladies in the church.” As many as 40 women come to discuss their faith and societal issues affecting women today through the ministry. “Right now we’re studying women of the Bible,” said Sharon…

St. Patrick Catholic Church in White Lake is bustling with the spirit of the season as thousands come to carol and see the Gospel reenacted by children at its Christmas Eve services. “We have a Christmas Eve mass at 3:30 p.m. and that will have the children’s choir and the children’s drama,” said Diane Miller, St. Patrick’s worship coordinator.   The choir consists of about 20 children, mainly 8-year-olds to 14-year-olds, who will serenade parishioners during their Saturday afternoon mass. “Then, children act out the Gospel as its being read,” Miller said. Parish children will play the parts …

Calvary Evangelical Church in White Lake is getting into the Christmas spirit and giving back to the community through their toiletry-giving tree this year. “I think we’ve done this for three years now,” said Pastor Ken Fouty. “The first two years were the mitten and scarf trees. This year we’re doing the toiletry tree.”   The Christmas tree, located in the narthex of the church, is already filling up with generous donations of razors, shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper and toothpaste from church members. The tree went up at the end of November and items will be donated to the Open Door …

Every Saturday at 9 a.m., faithful fitness enthusiasts at Woodside Bible Church in White Lake meet in the church gymnasium for fellowship and wellness. Jenny Irvine, fitness instructor and member of Woodside, has been teaching the class for four years. “We do a little bit of everything,” Irvine said. “We use stability balls, dumbbells and resistance bands. In the summer we do boot camp outside at the church. We do a little bit of aerobics and a little bit of weight training.” The class is composed of women ranging in age from teenagers to seniors and can have as few as a couple women or as …

Every Wednesday evening, children of all backgrounds and faiths gather in the lower level of Oxbow Lake Baptist Church for Master Club, a ministry designed to help young people learn about the Bible and apply it to their lives. Beverly Samuel, director of Master Club, said, “We have about 30 kids on average who come to Master Club. It gives them an opportunity to begin building Christian character. They aren’t sitting on the sidelines watching adults do Christian things; they’re getting involved.” The group encourages children to reach out to other kids who are being bullied or ignored. “…

Starting Nov. 26, worshippers at St. Patrick Catholic Church, and English-speaking Catholic churches around the world, will note minor changes to the Mass. Since 1974 the language of the Mass has gone untouched, but in 2000, Pope John Paul II announced a revised translation of the Roman Missal. This is the third time the Roman Missal has undergone changes. “It doesn’t affect any Bible translations, Gospel readings or hymns," said Michael Chesley, deacon for St. Patrick Catholic Church in White Lake. "The biggest change will be the responses from the people.” “The mass has not changed, but the…

Four times a year, faithful blood donors line up in the hallway at White Lake Presbyterian Church to offer a life-saving donation and enjoy a piece of homemade pie. “We usually do a blood drive in February, June, August and October,” said Debbie Lennis, office administrator at White Lake Presbyterian. The church has offered its building as a blood drive site for the American Red Cross for more than 15 years. It staged its most recent drive on Oct. 6. “It’s one of the missions that we do. We help out the Red Cross by making the building available and we have our pie makers make pie,” she said…

The White Lake Community Garden at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, which has already produced more food this year than in its inaugural season in 2010, will continue to flourish into October or later. “Last year this was a small and focused project,” said Colleen Thompson, project manager of the community garden. “This year we have a broad team. This season, we’ve had about 75 volunteers.” In 2010, Calvary delivered 1,200 pounds of food from the garden to soup kitchens, food banks and the Open Door Outreach Center in Waterford. “We grew a lot of tomatoes and zucchini last year," Thompson…

Carnival rides and elephant ears are coming to town as White Lake gears up for St. Patrick Catholic Church’s 29th annual Summer’s End Fair. The event will take place at the church from Sept. 22-25. “Everyone is buzzing,” said Mary Friedenstab, co-chair of the event. “You can just tell it’s getting close to fair time. The kids start talking about it.” The fair offers a variety of indoor and outdoor entertainment for adults and children.  “We’ll have the traditional rides,” Friedenstab said. McDonagh’s Amusement has been the supplier for the Summer's End Fair for many years. “We never know …

After months of preparing themselves physically and spiritually, 11 members of Woodside Bible Church will depart later this month for Kashmir, located on the northern borders of India and Pakistan and the southwestern border of China. The group will traverse the Himalayas to build relationships with Tibetan nomads and provide school children with basic necessities. While members of Woodside journey around the world on mission trips throughout the year, members said this voyage will be particularly challenging. “We’ll be working at very high altitudes,” said Brad Hulcy, pastor at Woodside. …

Members of Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church’s youth group and their families will hit the water at 10 a.m. Saturday for a family canoe trip on the Huron River. “This is the first year that we’re going to do this,” said Deborah Robitaille, administrator and youth program coordinator for Calvary. “We’re trying to plan an activity for the youth group every month. We found that there were a lot of adults and families who wanted to participate, so we opened it up to everyone.” The launch location will depend on the size of the group, but they expect to launch at Proud Lake through Heavner Canoe…

Outdoor Worship This Sunday, White Lake Presbyterian will worship in the sunshine as the congregation christens its new pavilion with an outdoor Sunday service. The hour-long service will take place under the pavilion at 10 a.m. on Aug. 7 on the northeast end of the property. “It’s been five years since we’ve had an outdoor service,” said Debbie Lennis, office administrator at White Lake Presbyterian. The church had been doing an outdoor service for decades before its pavilion burned down several years ago. “People had been asking about it. They’ve always enjoyed an outdoor service. It’s just…

For more than 15 years, Woodside Bible Church has ministered to White Lake community members suffering from the effects of divorce and separation. “Divorce is an event that affects you the rest of your life,” said Pastor Brad Hulcy of Woodside Bible Church. “It affects people and their children very deeply and emotionally.”   When Hulcy was called to Woodside in 1997, the divorce recovery program was up and running, and he knew he wanted to be a part of the ministry. “I grew up in a single-parent home as a child of divorce,” he said. “I remember the pain caused by divorce. When my mother was …

As the temperature heats up, donations for the Food for Sharing program at St. Patrick Catholic Church of White Lake have gone down. “People are not bringing as much in during the summer because they feel like people don’t need it as badly,” said Mary Domine, Christian Service Coordinator at St. Patrick. “Last week, we only received a box of spaghetti.” While the sunshine and beach weather can offer the illusion that the urgency for charity is lessened, it increases greatly for families with young kids. Children who would typically benefit from the free lunch programs at local White Lake …

PandaMania has hit Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church as kids gear up to grow with God in White Lake’s only (if temporary) bamboo forest. Calvary in White Lake will host Vacation Bible School (VBS) from Monday through Thursday during which, with the help of volunteers, the grounds will be transformed into a bamboo forest in keeping with this year’s PandaMania theme.  “Right now, we probably have about 40 volunteers,” said Terri Miller, director of children’s ministry at Calvary. “We have wonderful, creative volunteers who will create giant bamboo trees out of carpet tubes. They use fabric …

Woodside Bible Church is building friendships and hoping relationships will bloom through its new singles ministry. “The church saw a need and we are responding to that need to make sure everyone is included in the life of the church and there is a place for all to serve,” said Jeff Hartman, coordinator of the Adult Fellowship Group at the White Lake campus. The ministry is less than six months old and has been broken up into two groups: Focus for ages 40 and over and Impact for ages 28 to 39. Husband-and-wife team Max and Gina Chu lead the Impact group, while Hartman and his wife, Paula, …

Centuries after his death, the mission of St. Vincent de Paul, known as the "Father of the Poor," is being carried out through congregants at St. Patrick Catholic Church in White Lake.   "The parishioners at St. Pat's are very generous," said Stan Freville, member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and president of the local conference. "They donate their money to the society and, in turn, we act as good stewards to work with people who are experiencing financial problems. We help them out to basically get them back on their feet." Volunteers of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul meet with…

Members of White Lake Presbyterian Church are rolling up their sleeves again this year to help their less fortunate neighbors get their homes into shape for spring. Through Rebuilding Together, a nationwide program that assists low-income homeowners with critical home repairs, volunteers from the church will band together to assist local families.   “In Oakland County, we do this once a year,” said Gail Hale, a member of White Lake Presbyterian. “We go into the homes of the elderly and handicapped. They have to put in a request and a committee looks at their circumstances and determines if it…