Rev. Kenneth Michnay Remembered

The Rev. Kenneth T. Michnay was remembered across the Synod on Saturday, April 23, 2022 during a Service of Christian Burial at Dr. Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in Muskegon, MI followed by the Committal rite at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, MI where his mortal remains were laid to rest.

Pastor Michnay began his ministry in the Slovak Zion Synod in 1966 and his Christian witness and ministry continued until his passing on December 4, 2020. He accepted his first Call to be Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Stafford Springs, CT where he served nearly ten years. His second Call was to Dr. Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in Muskegon, MI where he served for twenty-five years from March 1976 to August 2001. His ministry spanned many decades and touched the lives of countless people of all walks of life throughout the world.

Bishop Wilma S. Kucharek presided at the Rite of Christian Burial at Dr. Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in Muskegon, where Pastor Michnay continued his membership in his retirement. The Rev. Jared Cramer, Rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, MI, where Pastor Michnay served as Priest Associate in his retirement, preached and eulogized Pastor Michnay. The Rev. Chris Anderson, the Rev. Igor Feldi, pastors loci: the Rev. Katie Johnson and the Rev. Michael Johnson, and numerous parishioners served in liturgical roles; the Muskegon Chamber Choir offered their voices with special anthems. (Pastor Feldi is an alumnus of the Synod’s Student Immersion Program, and represented those who had spent their summer internships at Dr. Martin Luther Church under Pastor Michnay’s guidance and supervision; the Muskegon Chamber Choir was one of the many choirs with whom he sang and of which he was an avid member.) Video of this service was streamed live on the synod’s social media channels and website/apps, and is attached below.

Following the service at Dr. Martin Luther Lutheran Church, the mourning procession escorted Pastor Michnay’s remains to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven for the Committal rite, led by Father Cramer and Bishop Kucharek, and the interment in the Columbarium of the parish’s All Souls’ Chapel. Remembrances and stories were shared at the service by congregants, members of the Muskegon Chamber Choir, Rev. Feldi, and many who mourn his loss.

Following the committal, friends and family gathered for a luncheon in the refectory at St. John’s Episcopal. The luncheon featured locally brewed beer and Kenneth’s own recipe for nut roll kolach. Following the luncheon, the assembly gathered for the blessing of two gifts in Pastor Michnay’s memory: an icon of St. George the Martyr, and a plum tree, which will begin bearing fruit this summer.