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Inspired by Jewish Values
wenty years ago, local African American entrepreneur John Stewart, owner of Stewart Photography, set himself apart in his field as one of the first to offer digital keepsake photos with customized backgrounds. As his Local photographer builds business grew, he began to hire business and ministry people from the Jewish commufrom l’dor v’dor. nity who referred him to clients who needed pictures for bar KENNETH POWERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS mitzvah events. John Stewart, a Pontiac native, Stewart describes his experiences working with bar mitzvah events as a turning Americans think and plan generationalpoint for him, as he established positive ly. They invest a lot in their children and relationships with people in the Jewish youth,” he added. community and began to incorporate the One of the Jewish teens he met over principles he learned from them to improve 10 years ago, Lexie Garfield-Turner, has his own life. fond memories of working with Stewart “When I first came to the bar mitzvahs Photography as a photographer’s assistant, and saw the community coming together to which was her first job. celebrate younger people, I was impressed. “I loved working at the bar mitzvahs. I In life we need to celebrate each other and remember working with other young people mark important moments,” he said. and everyone was professional, but we had a Stewart was also impressed with the teens great time,” Garfield-Turner said. at the events who had a vision of their career Garfield-Turner, who is now a licensed paths at a young age. He credits the older therapist, described John as “the go-to guy” generation of Jewish Americans for guiding for bar mitzvah photos in the Metro Detroit and supporting their vision. Jewish community in the early 2010s. “I like the fact that a lot of Jewish “The photographers that competed with
John for business back then didn’t stand a chance because of the technology that he used and because of his charisma. He not only did quality work, but he established a lot of positive relationships with the community,” she said. As time progressed, Stewart expanded his work in the Jewish community as he photographed weddings, high-end parties and sports events. Also an ordained Christian minister, Stewart started his own church called Generation2Generation Ministries in Bloomfield Hills a few years ago. He says that the church’s name reflects his experiences with the Jewish community and his understanding of the Hebrew phrase l’dor v’dor, which means “from generation to generation.” “As a Christian minister, I teach what the Bible says about generations. You can see it in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible speaks about wise stewards who pass an inheritance to their children. As a church, we need to have a multi-generational vision,” he said. “I try to emphasize the role of family in my life and ministry. The family is the pillar of any culture,” he said. “If the family is destroyed, people will have a hard time trying to build.”
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JULY 9 • 2020
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