METRO DETROIT— Summer is here, which means it’s time to get out the tools.

For parishes across the Archdiocese of Detroit, the warmer months are bringing a chance to tidy up around the parish grounds, patch some holes or even take part in dramatic expansion projects. Be it new bushes, a new roof or whole new gym, plenty of work is being done across the archdiocese.

For SS. Peter and Paul Parish on Detroit’s west side, the project was simple, but necessary, installing new shrubbery after vandals in February destroyed the bushes in front of the church.

“We had to take out what was left and planted new bushes,” said Fr. Jaroslaw Pilus, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul. “The old ones were 50 years old, so everything is brand new. When you have the front of the church looking terrible, you just have to fix it. We are

just keeping up everything; we just wanted everything to look nice.”

From shrubbery to shingles, St. Blase Parish in Sterling Heights has been hard at work replacing the cedar shank shingles on its roof as part of a $400,000 maintenance project,



according to Tim Doppel, parish business manager.

“We are probably about three-quarters of the way through the project,” Doppel said. “We had leaks; they weren’t that bad, but when we did an inspection of the roof, we realized it needed it to be done.”

St. Blase hired Rochester-based Butcher and Butcher Construction to replace the 25-year old roof, which Doppel said was paid entirely out of the parish’s savings.

“We’ve been very fortunate over the last many years, putting some money in savings,” Doppel said. “I think preventive maintenance is a better way to go if at all possible. Having the roof in good condition, installed correctly is one less concern we’ll have.”

In Waterford, St. Benedict Parish has been hard at work remodeling its front and rear entrances for easier access for parishioners and visitors.

The new rear porch is 24-by-24 square feet, featuring railing and a wheelchair ramp. The redesigned porch is intended to make the back entrance of the church more accessible, especially when it comes to getting caskets in and out of the church. The new porch is expected to cost $75,000.



“We started the project in May and are very close to finishing, just need the railing and the stone caps that go onto the concrete,” said Larry Edwards, St. Benedict business manager. “We had safety issues with the old porch and couldn’t get a casket up the ramp.

We also made it wider for wheelchairs.”

The parish is also working on the front entrance of the church, including a new walkway from the street. St. Benedict is also in the process of rebuilding its boilers, selecting Detroit-based Purvis and Foster, Inc., for the job.

On the other hand, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth might be tackling one of the more ambitious projects of the summer – a 30,000-square-foot expansion to the parish, including a new gymnasium.

The new gym will not only house Our Lady of Good Counsel’s CYO programs, but will feature an upper-level walking track and a new activities room that can seat 100 to 200 people.



“Everything we do here is driven by our vision, to give a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, and we view this construction as no different,” said David Elsey, Our Lady of Good Counsel facilities manager.

The new building will also house child care spaces for parish events, a new room of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program and other rooms to support the gym. The project is expected to be complete in the spring of 2017.

Currently the foundation has been dug and concrete has been poured for the projected that’s expected to cost $6.5 million, all through private donations.

“It really speaks to the generosity of the people, that they buy into what they are doing and they show that through this project,” Elsey said. “We look at our athletic program as a chance to build disciples among kids, a chance to build character through sports. We’re doing something with our CYO program to make it more mission-oriented.

“This also shows the community we’re going to be here for a long time, planning for the next phase when it might come.”