Old is new again in Michigan church made from parts of other churches

Published: 2004-01-16

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CNS) -- One might say the church building of St. Therese of Lisieux in Shelby Township embodies the Scripture verse "All of you are Christ's body and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Cor 12:27). Many parts of St. Therese of Lisieux Church and its chapel come from other churches and places across the Archdiocese of Detroit and the nation, said Father Thomas Sutherland, founding pastor. The basis for acquiring the items had to do more with saving money than it did with recycling, he said, but he's happy his church was able to help the environment in some way. In 1991, once word was out he was building a new church, calls came in from fellow priests and several others to offer some items to him. While sitting in a pew from St. Anastasia in Troy or a chair from St. Thomas a Becket in Canton Township, a parishioner can see the St. Therese statue, from the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, S.D., or watch Father Sutherland celebrate Mass at the altar, which came from a chapel for Xavier Mission Sisters that used to be in Clinton Township.

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