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Parish Staff
Contact Information
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St. Therese's
History
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Our
parish, St. Therese of Lisieux, began in 1991 with a diverse
congregation coming mainly from St. Lawrence, St. Matthias, St.
Isidore and St. John Vianney. So, it is only fitting that our
church is made up of diverse pieces from other parishes in the
Archdiocese of Detroit, as well as other parts of the United
States.
- Beginning
in 1991, Fr. Tom Sutherland and others began to canvas parishes in
metro Detroit and elsewhere for items that could be used in our new
church. Our pews came from St. Philip Neri in Detroit and St.
Anastasia in Troy. Our St. Therese statue came from the Cathedral
of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Our statuary of St.
Therese, Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus came from the
Baldachin in the chapel of the Carmelite Monastery located on
Wyoming Avenue in Detroit. The altar in our chapel was crafted by
Fr. Bohdan Kosicki from an altar rail from the Carmelite Monastery
Chapel. Our ambo is from St. John Vianney. The main altar of the
church, made of Italian marble, hewn by a Swiss designer in 1962,
was from the Xavier Missionary Sisters in Detroit. Our stained
glass windows are from St. Thomas the Apostle in Detroit and
churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Our bell is from Mary,
Mother of the Church in Detroit, and our reupholstered chairs from
St. Thomas a’Becket in Canton, and our tabernacle and the Sanctuary
Lamp were from St. Stanislaus in Detroit. Many other items, such as
our crucifix and piano also came from other parishes or were donated
to make our church what it is today.
- Our
name, St. Therese of Lisieux, was chosen by Bryan Thomas, in a
random drawing from Fr. Tom’s chalice between Masses on August 4,
1991. There were three names in the chalice: St. Margaret of
Cortona, Mater Christi (Mother of Christ) and St. Therese of
Lisieux. On October 6, 1991, Bishop Dale Melczek officially
installed Father Tom Sutherland as the pastor of our parish. With
nearly 500 families registered, the Archdiocese agreed on September
14, 1993 to a loan of $2.8 million, so we could begin construction
of our parish church. The groundbreaking for the church was on
October 30, 1993, with the first Mass celebrated at 4:30 PM on
November 12, 1994. On January 15, 1995, Adam Cardinal Maida
dedicated the building as a church and presided at the 4:30 PM Mass.
- Today,
our congregation remains diverse with congregants whose roots are
from all over the world. Our parish, known for its warm welcoming
atmosphere, now has approximately 2850 families, and we continue to
grow. May this warmth of spirit continue in the name of Christ our
Savior.
FROM FR. TOM SUTHERLAND’s LETTER FOR
DEDICATION:
“…Our beginnings in a store-front church
were simple and unpretentious…. The use of artifacts, stained glass
windows, statues, pews, office furniture, supplies, etc. from other
churches, businesses and parishes pleases us immensely in that it
reflects the continuity of faith life from the places in which many
of us, or our ancestors were nurtured. It also challenges us not to
be caught up in a spirit of sophistication, fashion or trend which
could undermine or cause us to abandon those down-to-earth ways
modeled by St. Therese of Lisieux.” -Fr. Tom Sutherland
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