Detroit — A group of Catholic seniors at Botsford Commons, in Farmington Hills, have been given a chance to experience Mass in a new way, thanks to a series of monthly pilgrimages to historical churches across Detroit.
The result of a joint effort of the Senior Helpers Care agency and the Botsford Commons housing staff, led by Colleen Kashawlic, Kevin Dzikowski and his wife, Cheryl Snyserski, the trips began when members of the senior community told Dzikowski of their memories growing up in and around the historical churches in Hamtramck, and Dzikowski thought it would be good to facilitate a visit the area. After the positive response the group received from its first trip, they decided to continue.
“It’s a chance for them to get to reconnect with their past,” Dzikowski said. “When someone is on hospice, and they say ‘I grew up there, I’d really love to go,’ we give them a chance.”
Their first trip was to Sweetest Heart of Mary Church in Detroit, and since then the group has taken pilgrimages to several other historic churches throughout the city. Although the trips give the seniors a chance to break routine, faith is at the core of each expedition.
“We have fun, but we try to keep it respectful. When we go to church, we’re in church,” Dzikowski said.
The group begins each trip with Mass at the church, followed by lunch at a restaurant in the area, or one that’s culturally linked to the church. For instance, the group’s June 7 outing to St. Hyacinth, which has a predominant Polish history, yielded a visit to Polonina, a Polish restaurant in Hamtramck.
As interest in the tours grew, the staff was able to secure a special bus that allows them to bring residents with handicaps or those in hospice.
Although some of the original members have passed, the group has doubled its size in the year since its beginning, with 11 current members and many more on a waiting list. The number of residents who can attend is limited by the size of the bus, and the dates they go are determined by openings in their schedule and days when the staff can accommodate them.
The destinations of the trips are prompted by suggestions from the members. Often the trips are to churches that have played a larger role in the residents’ lives, such as churches where they regularly attended school or Mass.
“My favorite one was going back to where we were married,” said Jim Smith, recollecting the group’s outing to Most Holy Redeemer on Junction Street in Detroit. It had been the first time he and his wife, Yvonne, had been there in more than 50 years.
“It was nice to see it. I didn’t remember it being so big. It was nice reminiscing,” Smith said.
Barbara Schneider, a resident of the Botsford Commons, has been instrumental in helping find destinations for the group.
“St. Agnes has been my favorite so far,” she said. “We’ve had a good time. The group has been so accommodating to all of us. We’re older people, and it’s hard to move around.”
According to Kashawlic, the trips have been fun for both the seniors and the staff members. The residents get to revisit sites from their past, and the members of the staff get a greater understanding of the location’s history, as the seniors recall what the different areas were like. As a result, Kashawlic and the rest of the staff are able to build stronger bonds with the residents.
“I would definitely say they are our friends,” Kashawlic said.
Nick Pizana is a freelance writer from Lathrup Village.
