North Branch — When builders demolished a wall at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in North Branch to make way for a new gathering space, they stumbled upon a piece of history. A time capsule was tucked inside the cornerstone of the church that was built in 1979.

The parish broke ground on the space for parish events in June and discovered the capsule in July. The box was opened at a parish council meeting Sept. 11.

“There was a sense of anticipation when we were opening it because no one knew what might be inside,” said Fr. Richard Treml, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul in northern Lapeer County.

When the box was opened, parish members found a bulletin from 1979, a booklet from the church’s dedication and a letter from then-pastor Fr. Charles Zeeb explaining the meaning of the capsule’s contents. They also discovered coins from 1906, when the original church building was first purchased; from 1913, when the community officially became a parish with St. Patrick in Clifford as a mission; and from 1979, when the new church was built.

“Going over the history again, I realized this was truly a mission area at the time (1906). This was the wilderness and the priests came on horseback,” Fr. Treml said. “Sometimes I think of that and it reminds me of my responsibility to maintain the church they established, to help it grow.”

Doug Schlaud, 61, has been a parishioner his whole life. He remembers helping his uncle install a stone wall behind the altar in 1979 after his uncle taught Schlaud and his cousins the art of stone masonry.

“Some of the older parishioners remembered it being put there but no one knew what was in it,” said Schlaud, who was present when the time capsule was opened. “I thought the letter from Fr. Zeeb was really interesting, to see that typed up and signed like that.”

After parishioners have had a chance to see the items from the time capsule, the contents will be returned to the box, along with other items, and placed into a cornerstone of the new building project.  Fr. Treml is unsure what he’ll add, but he knows he’ll include a bulletin and Archbishop Vigneron’s pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel.”

“When they put the capsule together in ’79, they had no idea when it would be opened,” Fr. Treml said.  “Who knows when this one will be? But I know Unleash the Gospel will be timely whenever it’s opened.”

The new gathering space will be completed next spring. Schlaud, a farmer, is using the masonry skills his late uncle taught him to make a fieldstone wall in the new space. The stone was collected from the farms of parishioners.

“Farming is a big part of our community. This will add a personal touch to the project that won’t be in every church,” he said.

Fr. Treml says the new gathering space will be important for welcoming and evangelizing as a central meeting place for the parish’s four partner sites.

The time capsule serves as a good reminder of how far SS. Peter & Paul has come since 1906, Fr. Treml said, and where it should always be headed.

“The cornerstone of any church is Christ. He built the parish,” Fr. Treml said. “We are stewards of it.”