The congregation at St. Mary’s-in-the-Hills Episcopal Church needed room to grow, but they didn’t want to sacrifice the history of the building they currently occupy on Joslyn Court near Canterbury Village.
The church’s Capital Projects Group found a solution by proposing an addition, to be added onto the original church, which will supply a new fellowship hall, small kitchen, nursery, bathrooms and a coat room.
A groundbreaking will be held at the church on April 9, and St. Mary’s hopes to open the addition by that time next year.
‘The Capital Projects Group (CPG) started eight years ago, and we kept throwing money at patching stuff. We needed a plan,? said Sue Sanna, a member of the group. ‘We made a plan to get things like a new sign, carpeting and lighting…and for a new fellowship hall.?
The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan provided St. Mary’s with a grant of up to $100,000, which will allow the church to be able to break ground for the addition, while securing an affordable mortgage and continuing to collect pledges.
‘The Diocese is providing a five-year loan, interest-free, to help St. Mary’s get started,? said Sanna. ‘This is a huge gift, which we are very thankful for…We feel very strongly about having done our own fundraising.?
The CPG originally considered going with a fundraising company to help solicit donations for the addition, but decided that wouldn’t be the right way to go.
‘We felt that to spend that kind of money would negate the hard work many of our parishioners have already done to bring this church this far,? Sanna said.
In their campaign to raise funds, St. Mary’s held Cottage dinners and lunches, as well as ice cream socials.
Fundraisers were also held by Arbonne Skin Care (Sherri Smith) and Partylite Candles (Patti Lee), as well as calendar sales and a pancake dinner by the church’s Rite 13 teens.
A theatre night with the Clarkston Village Players is being planned for September, and a golf outing for next spring.
‘We really got a good response,? said Sanna. ‘We met our major pledge drive goal of $425,000. We have 115 families here at St. Mary’s…I really want to see this happen for the kids.?
The church plans to take out a small mortgage, and are confident they can raise the remaining funds to pay for the $750,000 addition (with $80,000 left to raise) in the next five years.
Currently, St. Mary’s utilizes the ‘undercroft,? or basement, for the nursery and children’s classes.
‘Our sanctuary here was new in 1970,? Sanna said. ‘This latest addition will be connected to the church and be built out into what is currently our parking lot, towards Joslyn Road.
‘We feel we need to be more visible to the road,? she said.
Architectural drawings by the project’s architect Jack Brown, of Brown-Teefey Associates in Bloomfield Hills have been completed.
‘We are just waiting to finish getting approval from the township, Sanna said.
St. Mary’s was built in 1924 by the Scripps family as a school house for workers on their farm. After one year the stone school was closed, and in 1952 the Episcopal Church bought the building.
St. Mary’s was formed as a mission under All Saints Episcopal Church in Pontiac, and in 1956, St. Mary’s became a parish.
‘Since then the congregation has continued to grow, and church gatherings outside our actual church services have been difficult, as there’s no room large enough, or handicapped accessible,? Sanna said.
The late Jean Rich Beer, both physically handicapped and longtime members of St. Mary’s, always advised the CPG to keep the handicapped in mind when they expanded the church, she said.
‘We constantly think of them as well as anyone coming in for funerals and other things,? said Sanna.
‘In the past 10 years, St. Mary’s has had the constant guidance of a remarkable priest, our Pastor, Christine Humphrey. She is a former school teacher, and continues ‘teaching? to all of our children, and adults alike,? she said.
Through Pastor Humphreys? leadership, St. Mary’s congregation has doubled, and the church’s Outreach programs now serve nine different local and national/international agencies.
The church’s Adult Education programs have brought interest from other congregations, as they studied Christianity, Islam and Judaism this year.
St. Mary’s also participates in the Circle of Faith Habitat for Humanity project, and is a host site for Boys and Girls Scouts.
If anyone would like to donate to the expansion project at St. Mary’s, they can contact the church at 391-0663.