The Life of St. Ephrem
In the winter of 372-373, a famine gripped the city of Edessa (now Urfa, Turkey). There was some food left in the city, but it was in the hands of a few wealthy individuals. The excuse they gave for not sharing the food was that no one could be found to distribute it fairly or honestly.
At this time, living in a cave outside Edessa, was a hermit deacon named Ephrem who had a widespread reputation for scholarship and holiness. Hearing of the suffering in Edessa, Ephrem came to the city from his cave and rebuked the rich for letting the poor starve. He also offered to supervise the distribution of the hoarded food, and his offer was accepted.
Along with ensuring that Edessa's poor received food, Ephrem organized a group to provide relief services to nearby towns. He also set up a litter corps to transport the sick to medical stations where they could be nursed back to health, and to transport the dead to proper burial places so that disease would not spread.
Ephrem expended all of his energy to save the people of Edessa. He returned to his cave after the famine ended and died just a month later.
Because Ephrem's preachings and writings were of such quality, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed Deacon Ephrem a saint and Doctor of the Church in 1920: the only deacon so honored. Moreover, his hymns were of such beauty and devotion they won for him the title of Harp of the Holy Spirit. Hence the title of our Sunday publication, the Harp.
The First Forty-Five Years: 1964-2009
Appointed pastor, John Gordon, of the newly named parish by then Archbishop of Detroit John F. Dearden, in June of 1964, St. Ephrem was "made not born!" from the 450 original members.
The original property, first acquired by Dearden's predecessor, Archbishop Edward Mooney on January 14, 1957, had been purchased for $28,282.80 from Regis Land Company.
Groundbreaking for the temporary church was Sunday, July 26, 1964 by the F.H. Martin Construction Company and finished in time to celebrate Christmas.
As they say, the rest was history! A year later, the rectory was finished, catechism classes were held in the basement, and by 1975 a door-to-door capital campaign was under way to begin construction of a permanent church.
In June 1979, Fr. Robert Blondell became the second pastor of our parish with many new challenges gleaned from his understanding of the Second Vatican Council. It was his leadership which helped us to connect the dots between Christ's Liturgy and Christian Service: the Blessed Sacrament chapel, the Order of Penitents, the food pantry, the digital computer organ, Stephen's Ministry, the MCREST program to house the homeless, refurbishing of the sanctuary in our church. What a rich parish we had become through the efforts of these two giants in the priesthood; 15 years with Msgr. John Gordon and 17 years with Fr. Bob Blondell.
Another chapter was added in July 1996, when Fr. Ron Milligan became our third pastor. His tasks were easier because of the groundwork laid by his predecessors. Through the leadership of the Parish Council and its Commissions, the generosity of the parishioners in a capital campaign, we renovated the social hall into our newly refurbished Activity Center, refurbished by, again, the F.H. Martin Construction Company.
Perhaps the jewel of these later years has been the addition in 2005 to our church of our permanent Baptismal Font, the constant reminder that "Christians are made, not born." Through the anonymous gift, given by one family in memory of their loved ones, countless generations are immersed into the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection.
This is not the end of the history. It is simply another chapter that is being written. Soon or very soon, an other pastor will take the mantle and the cope will be handed on to the next generation of St. Ephrem's Parishioners.
