Detroit — Jenny Davis knows what it’s like to join a new parish family. The mother of two young children, Davis moved to the west side of Detroit three years ago, and was quickly embraced as soon as she found her Catholic church, St. Raymond Parish.
“I didn’t know anybody,” said Davis, standing with a stroller with her two children, Peniel and Joel. “They were my family.”
Members of the parish even visited her when she was in the hospital after giving birth to Joel, now a three-month-old.
Today, the people of St. Raymond hope to welcome more Catholics into their church building. On June 26, the two parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Raymond became a single parish, named St. Raymond-Our Lady of Good Counsel.
They will worship in St. Raymond Church.
Previously, the parishes had been clustered — along with another parish, Our Lady Queen of Heaven in Detroit.
An emotional closing Mass was held June 19 at the Our Lady of Good Counsel site, followed by an opening Mass for the new parish, celebrated June 26 by Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon.
Though it’s difficult for parishes to merge — most so for parishes which lose their worship space — Fr. Robert Kotlarz, the pastor of both the former parishes and now the merged parish, says the parishioners and parish councils have been supportive throughout the difficult transition.
“People have been open to following the Lord,” he said following the opening Mass.
During the Mass, Bishop Hanchon — who opened the liturgy by cutting a ribbon on the door of the church and leading a procession inside — noted that no amount of meetings by parish leaders could take the place of being good neighbors.
“We’re surrounded by things and people that I hope we are, or will become, very familiar with,” said Bishop Hanchon during his homily. “We’re gathered as a family around the Word of God.”
Focusing on the Feast of Corpus Christi, the bishop continued his homily by focusing on the Body of Christ, remarking that, through the Eucharist, He “wants me to become a part of him so as to share His kingdom forever.”
He spoke about respectfully receiving the Body of Christ at communion time, and appreciating what it means.
“It is a moment that, if we appreciated it every time that we received it, it would probably wear us out because it’s so wonderful,” he said.
At a reception following Mass, parishioners of the new church gathered for a reception.
Naturally, the last Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel still was fresh in the minds of its long-time parishioners.
“It’s hard to say goodbye,” said Betty Ball, who was born into the parish 68 years ago and belonged there her whole life. “We had a lot of really good times. The heyday of the parish really was a heyday.”
Her friend Richard Horon, a parishioner since 1966, said he remembers when the church would be “jam packed.”
“The people were really friendly and nice,” he said.
Meanwhile, longtime parishioners of St. Raymond say they’re hoping their neighbors-turned-fellow-parishioners will feel welcome at the St. Raymond worship site.
“Hopefully the people from Our Lady of Good Counsel will join us here,” said Eilene Caponi, a St. Raymond parishioner since 1952. “We’ll be very happy to help them.”
