January 19, 2025

Here it is a Tuesday morning, and I am gazing out the window watching gentle snow falling. The ground is covered in white dispelling the bleak and barrenness of winter. I believe this is how the heavenly Father envisioned our winters. The dormant trees and grounds are covered with a promise of hope and goodness with His dusting of snow over the landscape. This is one of those days when I am glad to be inside looking out at the beauty, because the temperature is fifteen degrees! I am also grateful to be back in the normal rhythm of writing for the bulletin. Since Thanksgiving we have been drafting articles well in advance of its publication date. It was not easy writing a Christmas article when I just started to submerge myself in the first week of Advent! It is good to be able to see beauty amidst our daily activities, as our heavenly Father desires us always to see goodness and love in our daily work. Since our work here on earth is never done, it is important for us to bring Jesus into all that we do. 
 
Yes our work is never done! One may say this when it comes to growing in our relationship with Jesus and being his disciple. Every turn we make there is a call to be a disciple – be it through our compassion, speaking the truth with love, and encouraging one another to draw closer to Christ in the ordinary times of life. We are blessed here at St. Paul to be able to come to worship Jesus Christ in a beautiful, historic church. We are overwhelmed by the beauty of walking out to marvel at the wonder of Lake St. Clair. With the very cold temperatures the lake is finally starting to freeze creating a kaleidoscope of textures and complex patterns of water and ice. How blessed we are to have this simple grandeur in front of us. The gift of the parish, the property and the scenery is a catalyst to be a grateful disciple bringing ourselves and others to Jesus through our prayer, nature, scripture, Mass, and the sacraments. With all of this going on, the work is never done.
 
There is also the physical aspect of our property that is never done. Over the last two years I, along with our Director of Operations and the Building Committee, have been assessing the deterioration of the church terrace (porch). Over the past year we have had architects who deal with historic buildings, various engineers and masonry experts assess the terrace and what needs to be done. The terrace deck blue stone is crumbling and is a trip hazard. The steps are deteriorating creating uneven pitches that make it unstable and precarious for people to safely enter and exit the church. There is also damage to the church façade from years of salting which will be restored. We will be installing an ice-melt (heated) system to protect and preserve the new terrace and the historic stone on the church. These are just the visible signs that you and I can view with the eye. There are infrastructure aspects that need to be addressed as well. Consequently, after many meetings and proper consultation we have signed contracts to reconstruct/restore the church terrace. The Finance Council has approved the recommendations of the Building Committee. The Archdiocese of Detroit has also given us the approval to move forward as all the legal aspects of contracts and the necessary permits and insurance papers have been signed. 
 
As was announced last week at the Masses, the 
Lake Shore entrance of the church will be closed for approximately four months. I realize this will be a major inconvenience for many of us who use the Lake Shore entrance. Personally, I don’t look forward to looking at fencing, dumpsters, and a mess for an extended period of time. With over 100-year-old buildings, our work is never done. I will periodically give up-dates in the bulletin. 
 
With gratitude,
 
Fr. Jim