Continuing Our Journey – to a Worship Home

During Masses on the weekend of August 17/18 or 2007, a presentation ‘Continuing Our Journey’ was made to the assembled Community. In summary:

Two (2) Focus Groups are being established to move forward with the next steps on our journey toward building a Divine Mercy Worship Home in Davisburg.

Property Development Group Tasks

• Obtain necessary land surveys
• Evaluate design and construction approaches.
• Identify Design / Construction major Steps
• Investigate potential Design Professionals. Work closely with the Liturgical Exploratory Group (LEG) during investigation
• Jointly with LEG hire Design Professionals

Liturgical Exploration Group

• Select Liturgical Consultant
• Review Liturgical Documents on Worship Space (e.g. Built of Living Stone, GIRM Chapter 5, and earlier similar Church documents).
• Visit existing Worship Spaces
• Educate Community
• Establish Design Criteria and jointly with the Property Development Group hire Design Professionals

These groups are being asked to work on their tasks, beginning after Labor Day and completing by the end of the year.

We are asking you to pray and reflect on joining one of these groups. If you missed sign-ups after Mass please contact the Rectory at 248-634-7015 or email thomsearl@comcast.net. It is not too late to join either group anytime.

The intent of the master plan is to set the framework for building placement, site development, and overall land use. It provides the parish with the opportunity to move forward by taking the next step in the process, hiring a design consultant and developing a more detailed programmatic and site development plan. Included with the master plan are preliminary programs detailed in phases of construction with corresponding opinions of probable cost.

Highlights of master planning effort are as follows:

• The first priority of the parish is to construct a worship area and necessary support space.

• The second highest priority is to conduct a project that is environmental sensitive.

• The demographic analysis, based on historical use patterns and best practices for priests, indicates the parish will ultimately require a sanctuary seating of 1,400. Initial size of the sanctuary should be 800 persons along with the required support space.

• An educational facility servicing both the Divine Mercy and the greater Catholic Community is recommended by the Archdiocese of Detroit. The facility is master planned at two classrooms per grade, accommodating a student population of 530. A first phase of the school would provide facilities for 240 students and use the church parish hall and kitchen facilities for eating and athletics.

The findings in this report have established the starting point for future development and advancement of the Divine Mercy Parish over the next years and decades.

Please click on the link for the complete Divine Master Plan and Land Use Study.

We are inviting EVERYONE in the Divine Mercy Parish to participate in exploring and preparing us for building a worship space. Many of you heard Dr. DeSanctis’ talk on March 3rd or 4th, and it is time to move forward in the direction he suggested.

What are we going to do? We will start by individually reading and reflecting on excerpts from the relevant Church documents (access to the full text of all documents will be made available). Small group discussions will be invaluable. We will encourage individuals and groups to share their thoughts, ideas and questions with all involved. Most of all we need to let the Holy Spirit guide us.

Who: We hope EVERYONE will participate to the extent they can. This means: all ages (from our youngest teens up); visiting; new and occasional members of our community; regulars; and even those who feel like this is the only home they can remember.

How: Even though our community isn’t very large yet, big meetings don’t seem to always work out. For now we will try some other approaches.

• We hope many of you will share your email address with us, so that we can send out a few pages of relevant information at a time for you to read, reflect, discuss and comment back on.
• For those that don’t have email or it just isn’t the best way of communication, we would have some kind of mailbox or pick up/drop off point at weekend Masses.
• Small discussion groups could get together for fellowship and discussion. Please share thoughts, ideas and questions generated in these groups with all involved.
• Postings on our web site www.divinemercyparish.net.
• We don’t have all the answers, other suggestions and ideas would be most welcome.

We are asking you to either:

• send your email address (we would like email addresses for each family member so we can include everyone) to dccexplore@comcast.net

or

• sign up in the gathering area and provide us your preferred method of contact.

The name suggested for this undertaking is

the Liturgical Exploratory Group.

[No acronyms please.]

Thank you from the Stewardship Commission