Walled Lake — It was a day for food, faith and fellowship; all of it 75 years in the making.

Parishioners, along with pastor Fr. Michael Savickas and Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, celebrated 75 years of baptisms, first Communions and weddings at St. William Parish in Walled Lake, founded in 1940 to serve the outlying area of what were then Detroit’s start-up suburbs.

Milestone anniversaries are a reason to celebrate at any parish, but for St. William Parish in Walled Lake, there was only one way to celebrate June 28 — have a lot of food.

Following the 9 a.m. Mass, the Knights of Columbus offered a free breakfast in the parish’s community room. There people socialized and looked at 75 years’ worth of pictures projected on the wall.

For fourth-degree Knights of Columbus member Jack Jamieson, the breakfast and afternoon picnic were just another example of what makes the community special.

“We served about 200 people at today’s breakfast, and at the picnic we planned for around 700,” Jamieson said. “Today means a lot to the people of the parish. We all have met a lot of friends here and got very much involved with activities and programs.”

The day was also about giving thanks and praise, said Archbishop Vigneron, who presided over the 11:30 a.m. Mass.

“Today, we are celebrating 75 years of God being faithful to the covenant with this community,” the archbishop said as he congratulated the community and generations of parishioners who have made St. William home. Today, the parish has about 2,100 families.

“Our task today is to praise and thank God for day in and day out, month after month over the past 75 years looking over us,” he said.

During the homily, Archbishop Vigneron acknowledged many of those who established the parish and built it are no longer living, but assured the congregation they are still present with the parish.

“Those that you have loved that have passed on have now become immortal,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “That happed right here — they’re still here. Give thanks for that. Give thanks for the priests and deacons who have carried on the faith here through all these years.”

The archbishop finished his homily by drawing back to the history of the parish, which was founded as an outpost for the archdiocese during the formative years of Detroit’s suburbs.

“St. William’s is like a MASH unit, a mobile hospital where Jesus sheds his mercy upon us and prepares us for a life with God,” Vigneron said. “For 75 years, St. William has been that outpost for the mercy of God.”

After Mass, parishioners had the chance to have their pictures taken with the archbishop while people made their way outside for the picnic, which was sponsored by the Dad’s Club, a group of laypeople in the parish and the Parent-Student Association at St. William School.

“The Dad’s Club does a picnic every year, and the PSA helped out this year for the 75th anniversary,” said Tom Convery, Dad’s Club president. “Food is life. When you have social events like this, it naturally leads to building a faith. It’s just inevitable, and important that we come together and share as a community. That’s living our faith.”

Coming together as a community and sharing one another’s company outside the walls of the church is what makes St. William Parish special, said Fr. Savickas, reflecting on the parish’s mission: “To live the Good News so joyfully, that we can’t help but proclaim it.”

“We’ve had 75 years of God’s grace and blessing, and we continue to be blessed as a community,” Fr. Savickas said. “Our abundance means we can reach out to others.”

The parish is also marking its anniversary by raising money for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. To date, the parish has raised more than $28,000.

“Our parish mission statement calls us to live out our faith joyfully,” Fr. Savickas said. “When we get together, we can’t help but eat and greet people warmly. It’s what makes us who we are.”