Volunteers are the 'heart and soul of our parishes,' says Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance director during annual celebration
DETROIT — If it wasn’t for volunteers, urban parish life in the city of Detroit would greatly diminish.
Volunteers are the ones who clean the church, cook meals for the homeless, serve as catechists, work the livestream for Mass and drive older parishioners to and from church.
All the tasks a parish needs to operate, seen and unseen, big and small, are done by an army of volunteers who provide upkeep for urban parishes that don’t have budgets as big as their suburban counterparts.
For this reason, the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance’s Urban Parish Coalition and the Archdiocese of Detroit's Office for Cultural Ministries sponsors the annual Urban Parish Spirit Awards.
The 14th annual Urban Parish Spirit Awards took place Feb. 24 at Sacred Heart Parish in Detroit, recognizing the tremendous work volunteers do at their parishes.
“Fourteen years ago, the board of the Urban Parish Coalition decided we need to take time to thank all the volunteers who keep our city parishes going,” John Thorne, executive director of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, told Detroit Catholic. “Unlike many other parishes, we don’t have a lot of staff, so we really count on our volunteers to make the work of our parish go.”
Fr. Norm Thomas, pastor of Sacred Heart and St. Elizabeth parishes in Detroit, emceed the event, honoring 17 different parishioners from 16 parishes in the city for their incalculable contributions to urban parish life.
Awards were distributed by parish pastors, as Thorne read the reasons for the recognitions.
“Our volunteers are the heart and soul of our parishes,” Thorne said. “For many of us, we look to the pastor for spiritual guidance. But (it's parish volunteers) ... who give us great uplift, who really do the work, becoming the hands and face of Christ to so many in our community, and that is what we’re really honoring.”
Luz Maria Aguinaga of St. Gabriel Parish in southwest Detroit received a Spirit Award in honor of her work as a sacristan, lector, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, leader in a parish prayer group and helping the Missionaries of Charity distribute food to the poor.
Aguinaga, through her son who served as translator, thanked Fr. Kevin Roelant of St. Gabriel Parish for nominating her. Aguinaga said her faith and parish community helped her when her marriage was going through a difficult period, so volunteering was the best way she could think of to give back.
“Back in the day, our marriage was not in a good place,” Aguinaga said. “Thanks to the glory of God, He fixed it Himself, made the changes that need to happen within ourselves to fix the marriage, and it’s all been a blessing given by Him. I don’t see another way to pay God back for all the blessings I’ve received all these years.”
The award ceremony was a chance for various parishes in the city to come together after almost two years of social distancing and separation. The ceremony, still livestreamed for those not yet comfortable being in person, featured Gospel hymns under the direction of Sacred Heart music director Keir Ward.
“Without volunteers, there would be no urban parish life at all,” said Vickie Figueroa, manager of cultural ministries for the Archdiocese of Detroit. “They are all people who are the oil, the gas and all the parts of the engine. They are the ones who make the parish go. They give their time, and by time, I don’t mean a few minutes or a few hours. They give hours and weeks to this church. They give their lives to makes sure the church runs.”
Figueroa added it was volunteers who kept parish life going during the height of the pandemic, from organizing food drives and writing letters to calling socially isolated parishioners.
“This is meant to honor the people who go above and beyond,” Figueroa said. “I think it’s important to recognize people, to provide a witness of what Christ would do. We are his hands and feet on earth right now."
2022 Urban Parish Spirit Award winners
- Luz Aguinaga, St. Gabriel Parish
- Eric Allison, St. Aloysius Parish
- Shirley Bailey, St. Charles Borromeo
- Andre Brooks, St. Charles Lwanga
- Tim and Sharanne Cholyway, Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
- Pearl Crutcher, St. Peter Claver Parish
- Norma Danzie, Nativity of Our Lord Parish
- LaShonda Fielder, St. Augustine-St. Monica Parish
- Genevieve Houston, Gesu Parish
- Annette Marshall, St. Ignatius Parish
- Lou Vera Smith, St. Moses the Black Parish
- Alexander Taylor, Sacred Heart Parish
- Kennith Troupe, Corpus Christi Parish
- Bertha Turner, St. Elizabeth Parish
- Ben Washburn, Christ the King Parish
- Steve Wasko, St. Suzanne/Our Lady Gate of Heaven Parish
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