Our parish is nurturing a mutual exchange of ideas
and hopes,
and sharing our Catholic faith with members of
Corpus Christi Catholic Parish
Detroit, MI
Visit www.corpuschristi-detroit.org/
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Contact:
the
St. Francis Parish Social Ministry Office,
.
Or, contact Fr. Donald (Don) Archambault,
Pastor:
: (St. Gerard Center 313-537-5770); Nalani (Nikki)
Bradford, Social Ministry Director
is at Immaculate Heart of Mary Center IHM;
Visit www.corpuschristi-detroit.org/
St. Gerard Center & Mailing Address:
19800 Pembroke Ave., Detroit, MI 48219-2145.
IHN Center at:
16000 Pembroke Ave., Detroit, MI 48235.
On the web at:
* Past Accomplishments & History:
On 7/20/2008, A
Backpack & Supply Drive:
Donations of Backpacks and School Supplies
are needed for our Sister Parish! On July
19/20, 2008, please bring donations of needed school supplies and backpacks
in new or excellent condition to weekend Mass. At the time of the offertory
(when Father invites the children to bring forward canned goods for the
poor) place your donation in the basket near the altar. Our parish children
will pack the supplies during Vacation Bible School.
School Supplies Needed:
Backpacks (new or in excellent condition);
pencils; crayons; washable markers; glue sticks; erasers; child safety
scissors; paper tablets (school writing paper); folders; lunch boxes.
The
backpack and school supply drive benefits the disadvantaged children in
our sister parish, Corpus
Christi in Detroit and is being organized by
our St.
Vincent Service Committee here at St. Francis
Parish. For more information, please contact
Ellen
Ward (821-2132) or Chris Mollo (734-222-0629).
Thank you!
On 1/20/2008, At
our 5 pm Mass on Sunday, January 20, we welcomed
20 choir members from Corpus Christi Parish (our
sister parish in Detroit) who were invited by our Peace & Justice Committee
to visit us, and, sing and worship with us to
commemorate the memory of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (See
more photos.)
After mass in the PAC all were invited to supper
to welcome & meet our Corpus Christi Choir member visitors.
Thanks to those of you who went out of
your way to make this happen: Michelle Baines, the Corpus Christi’s
music minister; Carol Fedewa, the St. Francis’ music minister; and members
of St. Francis Peace & Justice committee, especially, Phil Kearney,
Patti Yonka & Mary Wakefield.
On 6/24/2007, Food/Grocery
Drive, for Kids
in Detroit at our Twin-Parish Youth Camp where:
75% of Kids Cannot Afford Meals.
On Sunday June 24th 2007, a small but enthusiastic
group of St. Francis parishioners traveled to our sister parish, Corpus
Christi Catholic Community in Detroit, to deliver the groceries gathered
during that weekend’s food drive. The groceries were used to feed
lunch to the kids attending the Summer Activities for Youth Achieving Integrated
Hearts and Minds (S.A.Y.A. IHM) program (summer day camp).
S.A.Y.A. IHM is a four-week summer enrichment program for youth ages
6 to 17 in Corpus Christi’s community. The objective of the program
is to provide opportunities for community youth to engage in healthy activities
(mind, body and spirit) to develop meaningful skills and relationships
that will help them be successful during their summer break and throughout
life.
Over 148 youth attended this year’s program. Most of the families
of these children do not have the economic means to pay for the lunches.
The following are words of thanks to you from Nalani (Nikki) Bradford,
S.A.Y.A. IHM Summer Camp Director & Christian Service Coordinator of
Corpus Christi.
“Because of your generosity, more than 148 children in our community
had an opportunity to develop meaningful skills and relationships that
will help them be successful during their summer break and throughout life.”
“On behalf of S.A.Y.A. IHM campers, staff and dedicated volunteers,
I would like to thank you for your considerable food donation. The
food provided over 800 meals. Our staff enjoyed the time spent with
St. Francis Parish volunteers during our lunch together and while you all
helped to categorize the food items. Your commitment to helping children
in our community is sincerely appreciated.”
For more information and more pictures from this year’s program, please
visit www.corpuschristi
-detroit.org/html/camp.htm.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this a very successful food drive!
The generous donation of your money and time is greatly appreciated.
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On 1/22/2007, Renee
Keogh wrote: I just received a nice letter from Christine
Laing (Formation) at Corpus Christi and thank you letters from six students
in her Eucharist class. We continue to pray for them and will be
writing back today, most likely. Christine also sent a copy of a blessing
for the signing of our senses. We'll probably do that in our class today
too. Blessings, Renee
On Saturday, October 21, 2006,
Allen Sherzer, Steve Polgar & Scott Wright met with Fr. Don Archambault
the pastor at Corpus Christi in Detroit. Our car pool departed from
Ann Arbor at 3PM. And, we returned to Ann Arbor by about 6PM.
In 2004, Scott
Wright made contact with Fr. Don Archambault the pastor at Corpus
Christi in Detroit, and formally announced our Twin-Sister-Parish Relationship.
Sister
Parish Serach Notes 2004.
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Information & History:
Corpus Christi Catholic Parish is the result of a creative merger on
July 1, 2006, of the two communities: St. Gerard & Immaculate Heart
of Mary. Now Corpus Christi Catholic Parish has 700 members, 2 charter
schools, a medical clinic, a housing project corpration,
a youth activity corporation with 2 summer programs, 2 summer bible
studies, etc...
Fr. Donald (Don) Archambault the Pastor said, "The
people are not so much poor [economically disadvantaged]. The Institutions
are poor [economically disadvantaged]."
Prior to 2006 our Sister Parish was:
St. Gerard Parish, Detroit, 600 families as of October 1, 2004.
The membership is about 70 % Black people & Island people & first
generation of African people. The School Closed in 2004.
The parish community has founded some new non-profit / charitable organizations
during the last year. 'New Hope Community
Dev. Corp." to renovate homes - non-profit corporation + one also for
youth activities in the neighborhood. We Work on an institutional
level ... have a Sister Parish in Hati,
& another sister parish in Detroit.
New Project IDEAS:
Know the need & see a concrete project where
they can do something...
Haiti ... orphanage (self supporting bakery)...
Choir exchange... Fund development talents... Secretary/Receptionist...
Paint the gym... (paint free?)
Home Shrubs video program...
An Action Oct 21, 2006...
Pastor pulpit exchange...
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A first draft of our Philosophy, Objective and Goals
for the Twin Sister Parish Relationship might look like this:
We seek to nurture a mutual exchange of ideas and hopes,
partnering, and sharing our Catholic faith with members of the parishes.
And, to foster a cooperative relationship between the parishes that focuses
on sharing our gifts with one another. Our objective is to build
meaningful relationships between people of both St. Francis Parish &
St. Gerard Parish, leading us all to a better understanding and appreciation
of one another as Children of God.
We hope to begin considering some Long Term (5 year) &
some Short Term (this year) Goals.
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