St. Mark in Warren, renovates church, offices

Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 13, 2006

Warren – Fr. Robert Ruedisueli says St. Mark, the Warren parish he pastors, didn't downsize their building. It "right-sized."

A renovation brought the outer walls of the sanctuary inward, leaving room for offices, meeting rooms, gathering space and even a chapel in the newly created ring. This also allows the church to have all of its functions under one roof.

"The church building was big enough that we could move everything here without skimping on space," Fr. Ruedisueli says.


Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Fr. Robert Ruedisueli and Deacon George Posavetz stand on the renovated church’s altar, which features new flooring and a new processional cross.
The pews had recently been less full than in previous years, and less money was coming in – although the parish had never gone into debt. Over the years, St. Mark's rectory and convent were sold, and all of the church's auxiliary offices were moved into the school building, which had closed from classes in 1970. But even then, the school was too big for the amount of office space the church actually needed, although space was rented out for community groups from time to time.

When the school's boiler stopped working the fall of 2003 – which allowed volunteers to sort Thanksgiving turkeys without having to worry about them thawing – it was the impetus for Fr. Ruedisueli to start looking into selling the building. Eventually, it was sold to National Heritage Academies, a network of charter schools; renamed Great Oaks Academy; and opened after Labor Day for classes.

"They came in like gangbusters," Fr. Ruedisueli says, who adds that he is glad the building is being put to good use.

Although the parish doesn't have a final figure yet for the renovation, and likely won't for another week or so, it started off with an initial cost of $1.7 million. Although the costs have gone up slightly from that figure due to some last-minute costs and a plumbing problem, Fr. Ruedisueli emphasizes that the parish has not gone into debt for the renovation.


Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Mary Jane Bassil, the parish’s bookkeeper/office manager, framed saved stained glass from the old sanctuary. It now hangs on the new inside wall of the worship space.
In fact, the sale of the school building was enough to fund the renovation, with $150,000 left over for an endowment for Catholic education, religious life, lay ministry and other purposes; the parish hopes to increase that to $200,000.

For a while during the construction, the parish was able to celebrate Mass in its former social hall, until the school needed to work on that – then they celebrated Mass at DeCarlo's Banquet and Convention Center, in Warren. Most of the parish staff operated out of trailers, while the food pantry and clothes closet operated out of a storefront on Nine Mile Road, even helping to raise its visibility.

Fr. Ruedisueli, who's been pastor of the parish for about 15 years and assisted before that, said the parish took a chance by moving to DeCarlo's, but he kept asking that the parishioners remain patient. Several hundred people kept attending Masses through it all, and he gives them a lot of credit for doing so.

"We're very proud of what the parish came together to accomplish," he says.

The food pantry and clothes closet, for example, now has space for several freezers, a wall of shelves, and tables, for sorting and distributing food. Denise Amenta, St. Mark's worship and Christian service coordinator, said the ministry distributed eight tons of food last month, and serves at least 150 families each Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Even though the community is tied in closely to the automotive industry and can get hit hard by layoffs, when the church asks for donations, people always respond generously. "You pull together," Amenta says. "It's amazing, when you pull together, what you can do."

The clothes closet is mostly headed up by volunteer Helen Herzig, Amenta said, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday. That area of the facility can be reached by its own entrance, so as not to disturb other activities.

Inside the sanctuary, which went from a seating capacity of about 1,500 to seating for about 500, the tiled floor, pews and processional cross are new. The Stations of the Cross statues are the same, although refinished, and the altar and other wooden pieces are the same. A panel of stained glass was rescued and reframed by Mary Jane Bassil, the parish's bookkeeper/office manager, and is now hanging on a sanctuary wall.

Amenta says that bringing people into a closer space also brings them closer together, aware of each other, and willing to talk to each other. "You'd never come to eye-to-eye contact with each other," in the previous space, she says.

An addition to the parish is St. "Matthew" Chapel, named after a baby of the parish who died at a few days old. The chapel features a small altar, tabernacle stand and iconic wall hanging made with marble from the old worship space.

The other evangelists are remembered with the St. Luke entrance, for the outreach center, and the study rooms, dedicated to St. John. "We covered all the evangelists," Fr. Ruedisueli jokes.

The looping hallway connects to small meeting rooms, a warming kitchen, and the gathering space, the only place of the renovation where the outer wall was bumped out and square footage was added.

That space can be separated into three distinct areas, if necessary.

"All of our rooms were developed to be multi-purpose," Fr. Ruedisueli says.

The committee in charge of the renovation made it a point to honor the past, recognize the present, and move into the future, Fr. Ruedisueli explains.

Amenta says that in the early days of the renovation, some people suggested the church put together a time capsule. St. Mark decided not to, because it incorporates aspects from all its other buildings. A metal cross from the old school, for example, will be mounted on the wall of the new gathering space.

"The church is its own time capsule," Amenta says.