JULY 9 • 2020 | 27
T
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 cus-
tomized backgrounds. As his
business grew, he began to hire
people from the Jewish commu-
nity who referred him to clients
who needed pictures for bar
mitzvah events.
Stewart, a Pontiac native,
describes his experiences work-
ing with bar mitzvah events as a turning
point for him, as he established positive
relationships with people in the Jewish
community and began to incorporate the
principles he learned from them to improve
his own life.
“When I first came to the bar mitzvahs
and saw the community coming together to
celebrate younger people, I was impressed.
In life we need to celebrate each other and
mark important moments,
” he said.
Stewart was also impressed with the teens
at the events who had a vision of their career
paths at a young age. He credits the older
generation of Jewish Americans for guiding
and supporting their vision.
“I like the fact that a lot of Jewish
Americans think and plan generational-
ly. They invest a lot in their children and
youth,
” he added.
One of the Jewish teens he met over
10 years ago, Lexie Garfield-Turner, has
fond memories of working with Stewart
Photography as a photographer’
s assistant,
which was her first job.
“I loved working at the bar mitzvahs. I
remember working with other young people
and everyone was professional, but we had a
great time,
” Garfield-Turner said.
Garfield-Turner, who is now a licensed
therapist, described John as “the go-to guy”
for bar mitzvah photos in the Metro Detroit
Jewish community in the early 2010s.
“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 com-
munity,
” she said.
As time progressed, Stewart expanded his
work in the Jewish community as he pho-
tographed 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 experi-
ences with the Jewish community and his
understanding of the Hebrew phrase l’
dor
v’
dor, which means “from generation to gen-
eration.
”
“
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-generation-
al vision,
” he said.
“I try to emphasize the role of family in
my life and ministry. The family is the pil-
lar of any culture,
” he said. “If the family is
destroyed, people will have a hard time try-
ing to build.
”
John
Stewart
Inspired by
Jewish Values
Local photographer builds
business and ministry
from l’
dor v’
dor.
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