| T h e H is to ry |
| Lift Up You r Han ds Mini strie s was foun ded in 199 3 by Fou nder and Dire ctor Kar en L. Rus h. A few year s befo re that, the Lor d had plac ed on Kar en's hear t to inter pret Gos pel song s thro ugh the med ium of Sign -mi me. Kar en was first intro duc ed to Sign -mi me whe n she was in the The spia n Tro upe at her Seni or High Sch ool. It was at Edw in Den by High in Detr oit, Mic higa n, whe re her The spia n Dra ma Tro upe wou ld use the com bina tion of Am eric an Sign Lan guag e and pant omi me to inter pret song s. Afte r High Sch ool, Kar en enro lled in the Sign Lan guag e Stud ies prog ram, at Ma don na Univ ersit y of Livo nia, Mic higa n. She grad uate d in 199 3 with a Bac helo rs of Arts Deg ree. This was also the year she start ed Lift Up You r Han ds Mini strie s. She beg an teac hing Basi c Sign Lan guag e clas ses at diffe rent chur ches and com muni ty cent ers in the Detr oit Are a. She also gave a full lengt h solo con cert at Swe et Kin gdo m Mis sion ary Bap tist Chu chch in Detr oit on May 28, 199 7. Kar en is also one of the sign lang uage inter pret ers for the Han ds in Serv ice Mini strie s at her local chur ch in Sout hfiel d, MI. She is also the Inter pret er for the cabl e telev ision sho w "Buil ding Brid ges and Bre akin g Barr iers" , host ed by Arth ur No wlin & Dr. Kim Log an- No wlin and is also the sign lang uage cons ultan t and inter pret er for Dr. Kim Log an- No wlin' s Ann ual Sign Lan guag e choi r's con cert "Go d's Han ds Of Prai se. May 9, 199 8, was the deb ut of the "Lift Up You r Han ds Mini strie s Sign -mi me Cho ir", at Kar en's Hol y Gho st Birt hda y Cele brati on. Ten Spiri t filled Chri stian s mad e up that choi r rang ing from the ages of 8 to 37 year s old. Fro m that deb ut, the choi r has mini ster ed at vari ous chur ch func tions and prog ram s in and arou nd the Detr oit area . Also from that deb ut, the choi r has gro wn to a me mbe rshi p of 30 me mbe rs rang ing from age 8 to 60 year s of age. The Lor d has bles sed this mini stry and will cont inue to bles s it as long as we cont inue to Bles s Him in all we say and do. |
| "Lift up your han ds in the sanc tuar y and bles s the Lor d." --Ps alms 134: 2 |