 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.

KENNETH POWERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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