100 Years of Faith: Celebrating our Past, Embracing our Future
We are the Church: All are welcome, All belong!
Dear Parish Family,
We’re approaching a significant milestone. The year 2025 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the dedication of our parish building! While our centennial celebration is a reflection of our rich past, it also presents a vision for our future, showcasing the hope, faith, and sense of community we cherish here at St. Mary in Ann Arbor. As co-chairs, we wanted to preview a few exciting things to come.
While Fr. Kyle and Fr. Dan have been engaged in the initial strategic planning process, one theme has become apparent. St. Mary is a place where all are welcome and all belong! Rachel and Vernnaliz certainly agree with this as long time parishioners. Rachel attended St. Mary as a child with her family and later served as a peer minister during college. After college, she moved away and when she returned to the Ann Arbor area five years ago, she was thrilled to reconnect at St. Mary. She felt called to volunteer for the centennial celebration work after attending the Synod on Synodality celebration in Rome. Vernnaliz started attending more than 20 years ago when she moved to MI as a newlywed to work in the auto industry. Very quickly, she felt at home at St. Mary and was moved to volunteer her time in multiple ways.
To celebrate the rich history of this inclusive community, we are leading the effort to organize special events for everyone to join. Starting this fall, you will begin to see opportunities to connect with others to celebrate our 100 years of faith at St. Mary. Besides a special Mass to celebrate, we’re offering numerous opportunities for alumni, current students, faculty, priests who have served over the years, and others to join us throughout 2025 to honor and celebrate. A few of these activities are:
- Early 2025 – Timeline display featuring St. Mary through the decades.
- February 22, 2025 at 5 PM – Commemoration of the First Mass at St. Mary – Bishop Boyea will preside.
- April 2025 – Cornerstone Commemoration Event
- September 2025 – All Parish Mass at Outdoor Location
- September/October TBD 2025 – UM Homecoming Game Special Events to be announced!
- December 7 & 8, 2025 – Concluding Masses and final reception with museum showcase
Given the grand scope of this celebration, we began planning nearly a full year in advance. The steering committee and its volunteers have been meeting and will continue to be central to our centennial celebration. Please join us in thanking all the volunteers:
Historical: Paul Conway
Howard Bromberg, Gretchen Farah Gretchen, Amy Butchart, Bryan Skib, Edgardo Reyes,, Laura Durocher
Marian: Carole Dubritsky
Jamye Aparicio, Carlos Briceño, Nathalie Cardichon, Rafael Chávez Giraldez, Danny Ignacio, Etta MacDonagh Dumler, Isabella Mikhail, Ngozi Nnodim, Winifred Northcross, Rita Shemmai
Events: Kathy Hughes
Jo Ann Mitchell, Kay Ness, Jason Wenzlaff, Lisa Psarouthakis
Marketing: Bailey Burke and Nathan Ottenwess La Huis
Logistics/University Liaison: Shawn Ricoy
Volunteer Coordinator: Rommel Sagana
We are thrilled to be a part of such a vibrant parish. If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to Rommel Sagana at [email protected]. We are in particular need of a person who has expertise in videography or interviewing and podcasting to help capture the multitude of stories from our parishioners in the next year.
Peace!
Rachel Guinn Feder and Vernnaliz Carrasquillo [email protected] and [email protected]