Our Lady of Hope-St. Clair Shores

The parish of Our Lady of Hope is located in St. Clair Shores on Little Mack Ave. The church is set off from the street and is highlighted with a large church bell. Other than that the church is very non-descript; in fact if you blink you might miss seeing it.

Once you enter the church through the large double wood doors you come into a small vestibule area. Off to the right of the vestibule area is sitting area with a couch, love seat and chairs in a living room like setting. It is nice place to sit before or after mass to talk and come together in fellowship of the Lord.

Our Lady of Hope church is relatively small in size. There are regular chairs grouped together in 4 rows. The seats are cushioned and most of them have kneelers. The altar is also a small space. When we visited, it was adorned with a red cloth and with red germaniums in front of it to symbolize Pentecost Sunday. A crucifix hung on the back wall over the altar area.

Fr. James Bjorum is the pastor at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church. He began the mass by blessing the congregation with holy water as a sign of our baptismal renewal. In his homily, Fr. Bjorum spoke of the newness and excitement of Pentecost and he urged us to welcome back, to the church, those who have fallen away from it.

Our Lady of Hope was born out of the clustering of St. Germaine and St. Gertrude’s churches in St. Clair Shores. The people of these two congregations came together in faith and love to praise and serve the Lord as one body.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Our Lady of Hope. The people, made up of families, singles and seniors, were very inviting and friendly and they made our visit a pleasant experience.

Up Next: St. John the Baptist-Monroe

Our Lady of Hope Catholic Community

View of front of church

Church Bell

Mary's prayer garden

St. Francis garden

Entrance to Our Lady of Hope

Altar at Our Lady of Hope

Baptismal font

Priest/Deacon seating area

Lectern on the altar

Sitting area off to the side of the vestibule

St. Rene Goupil-Sterling Heights

St. Rene Goupil Catholic Church serves the people of the Northwest part of Sterling Heights around the Ryan Rd and Metropolitan Parkway neighborhood. The patron saint of St. Rene Goupil was a French Jesuit lay missionary. He often worked with the Iroquois Indians and he was martyred in what is now upstate New York on September 29, 1642. He was the first canonized martyr from North America. His feast day is October 19.

When you enter St. Rene Goupil, you walk into a large gathering area. This gathering area has the usual statutes and artwork and it even has a prayer area where you can light a candle and pray and meditate.  This area leads directly into the church.

In the church there are 5 rows of pews and chairs that face the altar. There are 4 brick steps that lead onto the altar area. The altar and lectern are made up of cherry oak. There is also the usual crucifix that hangs above the altar. This week the altar was decorated in yellow and white flowers for Easter. Large statutes of Joseph with baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary adorn either side of the church.

Fr. Steven Koehler is the pastor at St. Rene Goupil. In his homily, on this Saturday after Easter he spoke of the low points or valleys of life and the need to seek the Lord’s guidance during these times. He also spoke on why we should come to church which is to seek God’s forgiveness. We were especially impressed that Father Steve came up to us after mass and took us on a tour of the church where he described many of the churches statutes and artwork. It helped a lot to understand and appreciate all the church has to offer.

We were also very impressed with the people of St. Rene Goupil. They shared their faith and love for Jesus Christ in a very warm and compassionate way. We felt very welcomed and blessed to share our faith with them and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Up Next: Our Lady of Hope-St. Clair Shores.

St. Rene Goupil Catholic Church

Statute of Christ the Redeemer in front of church

Gazebo at St. Rene

This statute depicts the work St. Rene did with the Iroquois Indians

St. Rene Goupil established 1972

Altar at St. Rene Goupil

Statute of Joseph and baby Jesus

Statute of the Virgin Mary

St. Francis of Assisi

Statute at St. Rene Goupil

The gathering area with a place for prayer

St. Thomas Aquinas-Detroit

The Parish of St. Thomas Aquinas is tucked just inside the Detroit border with Dearborn. It is also a clustered parish with St. Christopher’s church which is located a few miles north east of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The patron saint of St. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Priest and a well respected Philosopher and Theologian. He is the patron saint of Catholic schools, academies and universities. The study of his works has long been required study for those seeking ordination as priests or deacons. His feast day is January 28.

St. Thomas Aquinas church was established back in the 1950’s and has seen many changes over the years. Today the church serves  a mix of the Polish community that helped establish and build the church and the upcoming Hispanic community that has been instrumental in helping to keep St. Thomas Aquinas a vibrant and faithful community.

The church is made up of 2 rows of pews that lead up to the altar. During our visit, the altar was draped in purple cloth to signify the 5^th week of Lent. Behind the altar sits a large hand carved crucifix that was also draped in purple cloth.

Fr. Jaime Hinojos is the pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily he helped bring greater understanding to the readings for the week. He told the congregation that we must team with God to defeat the devil and his evil ways. Fr. Hinojos was very engaging in his homily which helped make it more meaningful and fun to listen to.

The congregation of St. Thomas Aquinas was diverse in its makeup. There were people of many nationalities and races at the mass we attended including, the aforementioned, Polish and Hispanic parishioners. There were white, black, old, young, married couples, young families and singles and they all came together on this Saturday afternoon to give praise and thanks to God.

Up Next: St. Rene Goupil-Sterling Heights

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church

Statute of Jesus, Mary and Joseph on outside wall

Garden of Mary

Entrance to church

Artwork in side St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church

Crucifix at St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Joseph

The altar was draped in purple cloth

Portrait of Jesus at Gethsemane

Altar with crucifix in the background

St. Justin-Hazel Park

St. Justin Catholic Church is located in the south Oakland county community of Hazel Park. Its patron saint, Justin Martyr, was an early Christian apologist who lived from 100 AD to 165 AD. Most of his works are lost however a few did survive including a passionate defense of the morality of Christian life known as The First Apology. St. Justin was martyred in 165 AD and his feast day is June 1. He is also the patron saint of Philosophers.

Like the neighborhood that surrounds it, St. Justin shows its age but it still shines bright. When we entered the church there was al line of parishioners in the gathering area that greeted people as they came in from the out of the cold wintry day. The church, itself, runs along side of the gathering room.

Inside the church, there are rows of pews that lead up to the altar with teal blue carpeting which also extends up to the altar. There are statutes of Mary and Joseph on either side of the altar and a silver crucifix hangs over the altar. The altar is oak with a glass base and it has an inscription that reads “IC-XC-NI-KA” which translated means “Jesus Christ the Conqueror”. This inscription is also on the exterior of the church making it a very prominent part of the St. Justin community and powerful reminder that Jesus, does indeed, conquer all.

Father Robert Williams is the pastor at St. Justin. Fr. Williams spoke about the evils that permeate our society and our own lives in his homily. He remarked that only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will we be able to truly overcome the evil that permeates throughout society and our lives.

The people that make up the community of St. Justin are a very proud and faithful group. They have seen some of the best and worst of times yet they continue to march to God’s tune and to believe that God does conquer all and that through him all good things will come.

St. Justin

Statute of the Virgin Mary

Exterior of St. Justin

Crucifix that hangs over the altar

Statute of Mary that sits near the altar

St. Justin altar

The altar at St. Justin in Hazel Park

Jesus conquers all

artwork at St. Justin

Praying Mary 

St. John Neumann-Canton

St. John Neumann in Canton, MI was established in 1976. The patron saint is John Neumann of Philadelphia. He was born 1811 in Bohemia in what is now a part of the Czech Republic. He emigrated to the United States and eventually became the 4^th Bishop of Philadelphia where he served from 1852 until his death in 1860. He is, thus far, the only American Bishop to be canonized and his feast day is January 5.

Attending a mass at St. John Neumann was a bit of a homecoming for me. It is where I met and married my wife, Maria, and it is where our children were baptized into the Catholic faith. Of course, most of the people we knew at that time (the 90’s) are no longer there but much of what use to be still is today.

St. John Neumann has a very modern feel to it. It was built in a town (Canton) in the 70’s that was just starting out itself so it took on the more modernistic feel of the surrounding community. There are no pews or kneelers at St. John Neumann instead everyone sits in very comfortable cloth chairs. The altar is simply designed. It and the matching lectern are oak and had green clothes draped over them. There is a, sort, of art-deco designed crucifix that hangs over the altar.

Fr. Ron Richards is now the pastor at St. John Neumann. At the mass we attended, retired priest and weekend assistant, Fr. Manny Chircop, presented the homily. He spoke on the need for all of us to venture outside of our comfort zone to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to all those we come into contact with.

In many ways, St. John Neumann hasn’t changed much since we last attended masses here over 15 years old ago. It still has some wonderful parishioners who greeted us as we enter the church. The spirit and love for God resonated throughout the church. So we enjoyed our coming home to St. John Neumann; in fact, it almost felt like we had never left.

UP NEXT: St. Justin-Hazel Park

St. John Neumann Church in Canton, MI

Exterior shot of SJN

main entrance

art work at SJN

Portrait of John Neumann

Mural at SJN

Another view of the mural at SJN

The altar at SJN

Crucifix

altar at SJN

Mary with baby Jesus sculpture