Posted on: December 6, 2020

Start of Advent 2020

I noted in my homily on the first week of Advent that it is good to take a look behind us to see where we are going in the future. That simple task is part of our “Advent adventure.” As I did that, I reflected upon the memorial of the deceased we displayed in church, the Memorial Mass which I felt was very prayerful, and, especially, the Book of Remembrance in which you inscribed the names of parents, family, relatives, friends, and acquaintances. As the memorial was taken down for this year, I read each name you wrote. By name and inference, I could tell who wrote it. I prayed for each soul in the Book and for the one who remembered their friend or loved one. I was moved by the thoughtfulness you showed in taking the time to “remember.” My prayerful reflection was that no matter how young or old, recent or past, when that person died, he or she is still important to you, and you remembered. The Church teaches it is fitting and proper to pray for the dead. The community of faith remembers as we celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day, and we remember in our hearts those who were dear to us as we inscribe their names in the Book of Remembrance.

On a more temporal topic, today we have our Gold’n Harvest 50/50 Raffle Drawing. Due to the pandemic, we are not having our annual parish breakfast, and I am very disappointed in that. However, I am hopeful that our live-streamed drawing at noon today will be successful. I could tell parishioners tried very hard to make it a success by selling and buying as many tickets as they could.

Whatever the outcome, I want to say thank you for your efforts. This year has been very difficult and like so many others, we too are struggling financially. But with the grace of God and the cooperation of people we will get through this pandemic and life will return to normal.

Keep praying for a Bright and Happier New Year.
God bless all of you,
Father Duane

Posted on: October 26, 2020

Walk for Homeless

St. Matthew Parish
Was Well Represented

Posted on: September 5, 2020

Fair & Equal Michigan Petition

In 1976, the State of Michigan enacted the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act. In effect, the law prohibits discrimination based on a person’s religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, and familial or marital status. There’s a group now called, Fair and Equal Michigan, who is circulating a state-wide petition to re-define what “sex” in Elliott-Larson means. That is, to expand its meaning beyond gender to “sexual orientation and gender identity or expression” and would reduce the definition of religion to the “religious beliefs of an individual” thus reducing the current understanding under the law.

The Catholic Church teaches that all persons are made in the image of likeness of God and are to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their orientation or identity (ccc 2358). The Fair and Equal Michigan petition would go well beyond how we treat one another.

The Catholic bishops of Michigan have asked us not to sign the petition because the petition offers no protections for religious institutions, especially schools, charity agencies, and healthcare entities. It would impact athletic programs and community services. Also, to diminish the definition of religion would not allow us to exercise our deeply-held faith beliefs in the public square by providing no protections for faith-based actions or speech.

I share these thoughts from the bishops of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference for your information along with the Q and A insert in the Pulse today, so that you can make an informed decision if someone should approach you with the petition.

Again, the bishops of Michigan urge you not to sign the petition.

God bless all of you, Father Duane!

/files/docs/Michigan_Petition_MCC_Letter.pdf

Posted on: August 22, 2020

Mass Attendance - COVID19

    As the summer continues to wear on, our country and state is still dealing with the pandemic. We all are feeling a sense of frustration with the way our lives have been altered. As a priest and pastor, I too am saddened that we cannot be the community we once were. I can’t help but think of all we worked for as priests to help our communities grow in the understanding of the liturgy in these past decades which now seems to be wiped out overnight; for example, active participation in said and sung responses during the liturgy. Now we can only speak quietly into our masks. Forming ourselves to look like a community by sitting together. Now we have to be distanced from one another. Just when everyone not only enjoyed the Peace Greeting, but looked forward to it, we can only nod to each other from six feet away. Sharing in the common cup of the Blood of Christ ministered by Eucharistic Ministers seems so long ago.

     But what is now most disturbing is Mass attendance, keeping holy the Lord’s Day, the Third Commandment of the Decalogue. Just when we were building attendance and participation at St. Matthew’s, we are down to 30 / 35 participants at each Mass.

     I know that people are worried, and I know that we have had a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass given by our Archbishop to September 6. Now that the dispensation has been extended to November 23, through the Feast of Christ the King, my greatest fear is that people may get used to not attending and will choose not to come back. I ask you, please do not make that mistake. Attendance is important.

     Faith is sustained best in the company of others. A faith community is still what we are about. In fact, we are specifically a Eucharistic Community. To distance ourselves from the reception of Communion is a loss to us all. I know that many are viewing the Mass for Shut-ins, or “live-streaming”, but it is just not the same. The decision to extend the dispensation into November is a prudent and practical response to the crisis. However, it is dramatic and not to be taken lightly. We still have a responsibility to keep holy the Lord’s Day. Some for obvious reasons of underlying conditions; i.e., old age, terminal illness, breathing or mobility issues, may not be able to attend but to all others I do encourage you not to distance yourself too long from the liturgy.

     We are safe here. Masks are required,  hand sanitizer is available, social distancing is practiced; and we still have plenty of room. I do miss so many of you; but most of all, I’m concerned that with the extension of the dispensation we will not have seen each other or worshiped together for almost a year. This is not good for a Eucharistic Community. I would encourage you to come back as often or as soon as you can.

     But no matter what happens, please keep the day holy by refraining from activities that may be more risky than going to church. If you feel well enough to go to a restaurant, visit with friends, or attend small gatherings, you should seriously consider returning to Mass. Above all, keep the day holy by reading spiritual material, praying the Scriptures, or meditate on the mystery of the Lord’s life. Pray for a quick end to this pandemic and above all pray for the strength to follow the prescribed recommendations so that the pandemic can be brought under control.

     Know that I pray for you in weekday Masses and will continue to do so until we celebrate the Lord’s Day again in full community!

God bless all of you, 

Father Duane

Posted on: August 15, 2020

Petition to End Dismemberment Abortion

It was disheartening to receive word at the end of July from the Michigan Catholic Conference that our efforts here at St. Matthew’s and across the state, through the Michigan Values Life Petition Initiative, to end dismemberment abortion came to a disappointing conclusion. The petition gathered more than 400,000 signatures. After a thorough review, 379,419 signatures were presumed to be valid. The law required 340,047 valid signatures. When submitted for verification to the Secretary of State, an initial sample of 500 signatures was challenged by Planned Parenthood, with Right to Life counter-challenging thus triggering a second larger sample pulled by the Board of Canvassers.

This, too, was challenged, and too many signatures were deemed invalid. Dor example, some signers were unaware that they were not registered voters, some signed twice. As a result, the petition could not be certified, and the citizen-initiated legislation could not go before the legislature.

As difficult as it is to see our efforts dashed, it does indicate by the interest and dedication of workers and signers that there is a strong pro-life witness.

We prayerfully look forward to the day when we can be successful in the ongoing effort to protect human life.

I personally want to thank Mr. David Gross for taking up this task at St. Matthew and for the work he did in coordinating our portion of the signature campaign.

God bless all of you,
Father Duane

Posted on: August 8, 2020

Families of Parishes

On Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020, as our churches were beginning
to open after the pandemic shutdown, Archbishop Vigneron announced
that the Archdiocese of Detroit was going to be re-structured into groupings of parishes known as “Families of Parishes” (FoP). Due to dwindling resources both financially and the number of priests in the diocese, he feels this is necessary. The problem was to be addressed by the “Missionary Strategic Plan” each parish was to develop. However, due to the pandemic, the problems he stated were exacerbated, and he felt something must be done immediately. In this model, parishes will work toward sharing resources and priests. Priests would now be assigned to a Family of Parishes.

The creation of FoP is to be fully implemented within two years in two separate “waves.” The groupings of parishes are being talked about now among AoD leadership and parishes. Let me say at this time, no groups have been finalized. Pastors, in dialogue with other pastors, are making recommendations to the AoD through our vicars based on what would be a good and organic fit. The one- to two- year waves and full implementation are ambitious given the great change that will occur throughout the diocese. But, discussions are ongoing.

Some recommendations have been floated in our area, but they are not final; and, you should not take some of what you hear as the final word until the final word comes from me in conversation with the diocese.

I want to keep you informed as to what the leadership of St. Matthew’s is thinking, and what we have recommended to our vicar, Fr. Mario Amore, and the AoD. To that end, I am publishing the letter I sent to our vicar. I think it is clear as to what we are thinking, and what would be our best relationship for a Family of Parishes.

I will keep you informed as more develops. Please keep the church of Detroit in your prayers and especially our St. Matthew Parish.

My letter follows below
God bless all of you!

July 30, 2020
Reverend Mario Amore, Administrator
St. Aloysius Parish
1234 Washington Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48226

Dear Father Amore;
After much conversation with pastors and my Parish Leadership and Parish Pastoral Council, St. Matthew Parish would strongly recommend that we would create the Family of Parishes comprised of St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Matthew, and St. Ambrose.

I have been in discussion with Fathers Tim Pelc and Andrew Kowalczyk, and both are open and agree to such an arrangement. The rationale for this is simple and two-fold. One, we have an historical connection. For years, we were all part of the Detroit/Grosse Pointe Vicariate. With the “redrawing” of vicariate borders in 2009, St. Matthew, by virtue of its Detroit address, was separated from the parishes that were organically related to us. St. Matthew draws most of its parishioner base from the Grosse Pointes and other suburban communities, as do these other two parishes.

Secondly, St. Matthew still has an ongoing relationship with St. Clare as we share program resources with St. Clare; i.e., our RCIA candidates attend their program, and I teach several of these sessions at their request. St. Clare utilizes our gymnasium, we share the talent of an organist, we have shared a maintenance engineer, we partner with St. Clare on the community outreach work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. St. Clare draws many students for their school from the St. Matthew Parish territory. St. Matthew parishioners have attended and supported the St. Clare School. Parishioners from both parishes feel comfortable attending liturgy and programs at each parish.

St. Ambrose Parish has historically been supported by St. Matthew in that their events are always promoted at St. Matthew, and our parishioners respond and attend their events like the OysterFest, Friday Fish Fry, etc., and St. Ambrose supports our events as well, i.e., our Gold’n Harvest Raffle and Jazz Nite Dinner Dance. In short, we support
each other in our fundraising efforts.

These three parishes have similar liturgical styles, a similar vision of forming community, and being about the mission of Evangelization. 

Although St. Matthew would be crossing vicariate lines, we feel the border is artificial and has not really worked well for us. In fact, St. Matthew Parish has very little connection or organic relationship with Detroit parishes to the west and south. Point in fact, St. Matthew attempted a merge relationship with St. Jude Parish in 2012/2013. I must say it was an unmitigated disaster. The relationship never came to be.

In conclusion, we respectfully submit this summary and Family of Parishes Model to you for consideration. Having to adjust to the new reality, we keep clearly in mind that the transition and restructuring will be difficult in itself at various levels; we do not need to create an additional problem by placing St. Matthew with parishes we are unfamiliar with and with which we have no relationship.

If you have any questions or concerns with this proposal, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Reverend Duane R. Novelly
Pastor
DRN/mjl

cc: Rev. Timothy Pelc, Pastor
St. Ambrose Parish

Rev. Andrew Kowalczyk, CSMA, Pastor
St. Clare of Montefalco Parish

Posted on: July 13, 2020

Update from Fr. Duane

We have been back for seven weeks now since the Pandemic shutdown. Having started public Masses on Pentecost, we have seen parishioners return to celebrate the Eucharist, praying and worshiping our Lord, and breaking open the Scriptures through readings and homiletic reflections, albeit in a different atmosphere what with social distancing, hand sanitizing, and masks. But, it is working well, and there is still plenty of room even while maintaining our social distance. We have the capacity to accommodate approximately 100 people for Mass maintaining distance. However, we have only 30 to 35 attending at each Mass.

I write today to encourage those who can attend, to please return (with proper protocols). And I would encourage you to speak to others to let them know St. Matthew Parish is a safe environment to worship our God. I certainly know that the "official" dispensation from the obligation is extended through September 6th. But, if you have no underlying conditions, please come and join us again. I know when we first returned on Pentecost, it felt a little different. But we soon adjusted; and now with the exception of the protocols, it feels comfortable and good again to renew our spirituality in community. Virtual Masses, or Masses for Shut-ins are good, but nothing replaces the Real Thing! I do hope you pass the word we are open. We have room, and we are safe!

On another note, due to COVID-19, CSA in its usual format has been postponed until September. We will through the Archdiocese take up the pledge drive with communication beginning in August. I invite you to review our CSA figures from last year in the Pulse today. They were fantastic, you were great! I am so appreciative.

We would like to do that well again, and I will be sending each of you a letter indicating what we and the Parish Council would like to do this year. There will be a change due to COVID-19 in that the pledge drive will not happen at the local parish but will be conducted through the AoD. Therefore, there will be less paperwork and less contact for our personal protection. In advance, I ask everyone to participate as you did last year. It will mean so much to the parish.

Enjoy the summer. I hope and pray all stay healthy!

God bless all of you, Father Duane

Posted on: May 29, 2020

Welcome Back, Welcome Home!

 After 11 weeks of not gathering together, we are finally back. Albeit, under somewhat different circumstances. But praise be to God for this moment! In these past weeks, I have prayed for your safety and  I hope my prayer was answered. We still want to be safe in the midst of this unprecedented virus that can take our lives so quickly. For this reason, the recommended precautions have been put in place at St. Matthew's. It will be different and perhaps difficult as we move through this gradual re-opening. But it brings us closer to who we want to be, a community "Gathering" in the name of the Lord. 

     For all these weeks, I have been writing in The Pulse that has been published online on our website. I know many of you may not have been able to read The Pulse or my articles because of a lack of access to the internet or a computer. I tried in these articles to encourage us along the spiritual journey and not give up hope. I, too, made a point to raise you as a community in prayer each day for your protection, your health, and well-being, and in thanksgiving for your constant faithfulness. (We do have limited copies of these editions of The Pulse. If you would like any week, please let us know. Again, they are limited. Also, you may view archived issues of The Pulse on our website...back to November 2017!)

     With the re-opening of public Masses, we will not necessarily be open for regular activity yet. This is  still to be determined as to how we will conduct meetings, ministry, and so forth. Having said that, weekday Masses will once again be celebrated on June 2nd with our regular schedule on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Of course, all social distancing and masks will be required as well as protocols of Sunday. Again, I want to stress if you feel vulnerable or have an underlying condition, it might be prudent to re-think your attendance.

     Over these weeks, I have raised the question, not so much as to why this all happened to society, but rather what have we or will we learn from it. I think it is a good question that we all should ask ourselves. Personally, I reflected on how quickly the pace of our life changed. We were a society running from thing  to thing, event to event, need to need, and all of a sudden the only thing that seemed important was our own health. If I learn nothing else from this experience, it is that there are really only a few things that are important in life.

     First, how much we depend on God for our protection, health, and well-being. Didn't we all pray fervently for our safety, even as we walked into a grocery store? Secondly, how much we need each other and not to take each other for granted. Away from family and friends, we realized how closely tied we are. Thirdly, how important is our freedom to be able to come and go as we please. With the limits placed upon us, we cannot be fully human, fully alive. Lastly, how delicate life is! Maybe society will learn to be kinder, gentler, and more respectful of one another. Well, we can only hope. We can only pray the world learns from this experience as ongoing as it is.

God bless you!