FERNDALE — St. James Church in Ferndale held its final Mass on Sunday, Nov. 3, as parishioners, families, well-wishers and community members gathered to celebrate the Eucharist.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish, which includes St. James and Our Lady of Fatima Church in Oak Park, announced the decision to close the church in the wake of declining Mass attendance, offertory trends and increasing building maintenance costs that no longer could be ignored, said Fr. Paul Chateau, a priest in solidum serving the parish.
Parishioners of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish will continue to worship at the Our Lady of Fatima site, 13500 Oak Park Blvd., Oak Park.
Fr. Chateau read a statement to parishioners the weekend of Oct. 26-27 explaining the process that led to the decision to close St. James, which included "over eight months of prayerful discernment," numerous meetings and town halls with parishioners, community members and clergy from the South Oakland 5 Family of Parishes.
The transition team's decision was affirmed by Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, who on Oct. 21 issued a decree repurposing St. James Church to secular use.
In his letter, Fr. Chateau reaffirmed that "the building is closing, not the parish. As we move forward, we must focus our efforts on strengthening and growing Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish."
Fr. Chateau said arrangements were made to move nearly 250 remains interred in the parish's columbarium to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield. Archbishop Vigneron blessed the remains on Nov. 2, the feast of All Souls.
St. James Parish was established in 1919, two years after the city of Ferndale's founding. The current church building on Woodward Avenue was built in 1949. The parish operated a school from 1924 until 1971.
In 2014, as a result of declining trends in Mass attendance and offertory, St. James Parish merged with Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Oak Park to form Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish.
Acknowledging the difficult decision to close St. James Church, Fr. Chateau encouraged parishioners to look forward in hope and to join in worship at Our Lady of Fatima.
"It is my prayerful hope, and I encourage and invite all parishioners who have primarily attended our Ferndale location to attend Mass and parish activities in Oak Park as well as our family of parish activities," Fr. Chateau said. "Please keep our entire parish community in your prayers. You may be assured of mine.
"Our Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us," he added.
