by Graham Sturgeon, co-editor
REVEREND MIKE PRINCE of the Corunna Nazarene Church will be stepping down from the pulpit following his final worship service on Jan. 29 to dedicate more of his time to his duties as a hospice bereavement chaplain. Rev. Prince said he thinks the church and its members deserve a pastor who can dedicate all of his time to the job, something he has not been able to do because of his duties as a hospice bereavement chaplain. (Independent Photo/Graham Sturgeon)
Reverend Mike Prince, who has been the lead pastor for the Corunna Church of the Nazarene for the past 12 years, will step down at the end of January, following one last sermon on Jan. 29. The Stronghold Quartet will be holding a celebratory concert at the church on Jan. 22 to honor Mike and his wife, Kris, who will be transitioning into a full-time role as Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Minister for SouthernCare Hospice of Flint. Pastor Prince’s last Sunday at the church will be Jan. 29, and the church will host a farewell potluck following the 11 a.m. worship service.
Rev. Prince has been a pastor in Corunna for 12 years, a full-time senior pastor for 25 years, as well as an associate pastor for 10 years. He has also been working as a hospice chaplain for the past 15 years.
“I am not retiring, and I still hold my Ordination Credentials in the Church of the Nazarene,” Rev. Prince said in a recently released statement. “Simply put, it has always been my desire to be about my Father’s business, and it has always been God’s plan. I have also been working as a hospice and bereavement chaplain right along with pasturing these last 15 years, and I feel the plan God has for me is to work only as a hospice and bereavement chaplain for now. I love my church, and I will continue to preach here from time to time, for which I am very thankful. God has also been dealing with Kris and I on possibly doing more mission work in the community; maybe a soup kitchen, or even going to Uganda. We will continue to depend on God’s leading, and I have said many times that we should be thankful for God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s leading. He has great things in store for all of us.”
The Stronghold concert will be at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Corunna Church of the Nazarene, 230 N. Woodworth St., and the public is welcome to attend.
“Since our start as a group, we’ve sung at least once a year at Pastor Mike’s church,” said tenor Don Byers, who along with his brother Dennis and their family, attended the Corunna church for several years as youngsters. “Pastor Mike has been one of our most enthusiastic supporters, and we wanted to share one more service with him and his congregation.”
Stronghold was organized in 2005 at the Howell Church of the Nazarene (now Centerpointe Church). They now sing extensively in central-Michigan and are home-based in the Howell/Fowlerville area. They have recorded and released six CD projects to date, including their latest, “Mercy Revealed,” released in April, 2016.
Rev. Prince also notes that the quartet has been “instrumental” in the church’s fundraising efforts over the past twelve years, as the church had to find a way to finance a $22,000 roof repair and a $30,000 basement repair.
