St. Mary’s-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church has a rich history in Orion Township. But a celebration earlier this month was in honor of something new.
On Nov. 4, The Right Reverend Wendell N. Gibbs Jr., the Episcopal Bishop of Michigan, came to St. Mary’s to confer baptism and confirmation, and to dedicate the fellowship hall, recently added to the church. The pastor of St. Mary’s, The Reverend Christine A. Humphrey, also presided.
Several other Episcopal priests in the Oakland County area were also present at the ceremony, as well as Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk, architect Jack Brown and Project Manager Mark Turbeville, from Usztan Construction.
Kim Spilko, with help from her committee, led plans for a wonderful dedication service and party, which included appetizers and desserts. In addition, the children of the church led the Bishop as he blessed each room, and a very meaningful service followed.
St. Mary’s stone church began as the Nina D. Scripps School.
William E. Scripps, president of the Detroit News and founder of Detroit radio and television station WWJ, acquired 3,000 acres of land in the 1920s to create Wildwood Farms.
In 1924 he built a stone schoolhouse for the children of the workers on his farm. Many of the original features of this schoolhouse still remain in the church today.
Scripps insisted manual training be taught, but the township could not afford the money for a manual training teacher, so after one year, the school closed.
The school building stood empty until 1952. At that time, a group of Episcopalians in the area were looking for a building or property to create an Episcopal church, and St. Mary’s began using the Scripps Schoolhouse as a ‘mission? church.
In January of 1955, the Scripps property was purchased. Soon after, through growth in their numbers, St. Mary’s attained ‘parish? status and, through funds collected, built a foundation (basement or ‘Undercroft,? as known in the Episcopal church) for an eventual church.
In 1970, the wonderful church sanctuary we have today was built.
In 1999, Pastor Christine Humphrey asked Steve Wandschneider to lead a Long-Range Capital Planning Committee for the building and physical facilities of the parish.
Many others joined Steve from time to time, and in 2004 the plans escalated, as fundraising timelines were established.
The parish generously responded and so did the Diocese, offering a $100,000 grant. Ground was broken last December, and the permanent certificate of occupancy granted Oct. 11 of this year.
Parishioners now can enjoy gathering in our new, handicapped-accessible large space. They have a big, bright nursery for babies up to age three, with a huge, hand painted mural of Noah’s Ark all around the room.
In addition, they have new classroom space for the elementary age children and a new, wonderfully equipped kitchen.
Along with these physical assets of St. Mary’s, the church has a M.O.M.’s Club that meets several times a month in our building. A Boy Scout Troop and a Brownie Troop also meet there and many of the LOVE, In the Name of Christ board members, coordinators, and volunteers come from St. Mary’s.
In the recent past, St. Mary’s hosted a Three Faiths Study (Christian, Judaism, Muslim) to better understand our many similarities. They have also hosted a program called ‘Via Media,? which describes the thinking of the church that somewhere between the extremes (in the middle) lies the truth, that people can agree to disagree and still respect each other, and that all people have value.
‘We are very excited about what we can do with God’s help in our new space,? Humphrey said. ‘We hope many will come check us out. We hope we will find programs that are meaningful to the entire community and that we will respond to the needs of this community.?
St. Mary’s-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church is located at 2512 Joslyn Court (next to Canterbury Village) in Lake Orion (48360).
Office hours are 9-3 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday. They can be reached by phone at (248)391-0663 or e-mail at office@stmarysinthehills.org, or visit their website at www.stmarysinthehills.org.
Sunday Services are at 8:30 a.m. (w/o music) and 10 a.m. (w/music & choir). Sunday School is at the 10 a.m. services only.