Sterling Heights

Sterling's first Chaldean church opens its doors

By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer

STERLING HEIGHTS — For members of the sizeable local Middle Eastern community, the opening of Sterling Heights’ first Chaldean church has been a long time coming.

Holy Martyrs, located in a mostly industrial area on Merrill, near 19 1/2 Mile, opened to the public last month with a weekend of festivities that attracted an estimated 1,200 people.

The church was established under the auspices of Southfield-based St. Thomas the Apostle Chaldean Catholic Diocese, which also encompasses churches in Shelby Township, West Bloomfield Township, Oak Park, Southfield and Troy; as well as a mission, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, housed within St. Sylvester in Warren.

“The reason was just to serve the growing number of the Chaldean people in this area — not strictly in Sterling Heights, but also in the cities that are east of Sterling Heights,” said Father Manuel Boji, who transferred from a Southfield church to helm Holy Martyrs.

Boji said the church’s first trio of Sunday Masses, held Aug. 8, attracted a total of about 1,000 worshippers.

Though the first within Sterling Heights, Holy Martyrs is only a matter of miles from two other major Chaldean churches: St. Joseph, on Big Beaver, west of Dequindre, in Troy, and St. George, on Dequindre, north of M-59, in Shelby Township.

But Sterling Heights resident Sue Kattula said those churches’ resources are strained due to the flood of attendees. She estimated the congregations of each in the tens of thousands.

“For years, it’s been a need in the area,” said Kattula, an active member of the Chaldean community and the city’s Ethnic Community Committee, and longtime St. Joseph parishioner. “St. George opened up in 2005, and we thought that might relieve St. Joseph, and it didn’t. There’s just so many parishioners in the area that even these three churches can’t accommodate everybody in the community.”

In the past, many Middle Eastern families arriving as immigrants or refugees settled in Wayne County before eventually making their way northward, said Kattula. But these days, she said, many immigrant families come directly to Macomb County to settle near already established relatives, increasing the demand for services locally.

Topped with a simple cross, the red brick structure on Merrill that now houses Holy Martyrs has long been a facility for faith, albeit in different forms.

Prior to Holy Martyrs’ arrival, the building, established more than 60 years ago as Utica Evangelical Center, housed Cornerstone Christian Church and Pathway Community Church.

Cornerstone owned the building and put it up for sale more than three years ago, with intentions of finding space more conducive to its modern worship style. In the years leading up to the sale, Cornerstone’s leaders rented out portions of the building to help the church weather the financial times.

Pathway, a lessee, has since disbanded. Before Pathway, another church, Iglesia Apostolica de Gran Fe, a Hispanic church, rented several rooms before moving on.      

With the sale complete, Cornerstone has become Enigma Church, a non-denominational congregation temporarily meeting in Royal Oak and Warren.

“It was a long waiting process for us as we tried to sell the building,” said Enigma Pastor Jeremy Chambers. “We had a vision for having a whole new type of church, and we knew we would have to sell the building in order to do it. We also knew that the building needed a lot of work that we couldn’t afford to do.”

Cornerstone’s final service, he said, was “bittersweet.”

“We made it a celebration, and I baptized a new member at the end, the same baptismal tank in which I had been baptized as a young man years ago,” he said. “We let everyone walk through the building one last time, and we shared stories and memories. I have worshipped Jesus in that building my whole life, so it felt a little surreal when we finally handed the keys over.”

Nonetheless, Chambers said he couldn’t be happier about the new owners.

“We think very highly of the Holy Martyrs Chaldean Church,” he said. “Father Boji is a very humble and gracious man. We are also excited about the renovations they are doing to the property and buildings. The church is going to look better than it has in decades. It really seems a perfect fit for their community, and we are very pleased to see the building in good hands.”

Holy Martyrs closed on the more than $1 million sale in April and started renovations in mid-June, said Boji.

In the sanctuary, a traditional Chaldean cross hangs above the once-carpeted area, now clad in ceramic tile. Two smaller, candle-covered altars, honoring the Holy Mother and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, flank the main dais, along with copious flowers and a statue of Mary. Rooms that once housed audio-visual equipment have been transformed into confessionals.

Boji said the addition of the confessionals required the removal of a few pews, reducing the sanctuary’s capacity from 800 to around 720-740.

Sawdust is still settling in the office area, where workers are installing wood floors. There’s also a social hall and classrooms, and Boji said church officials are still debating how to utilize an existing gymnasium, which will either remain as a gym for catechism classes or become a second social hall.

Outside, the building bears new signage, and the parking lot has been repaved.

According to Kattula, Chaldeans technically differ little in practice from other Catholics, with the exception of performing the sacrament of confirmation simultaneously with baptism.

But the varied languages employed, along with cultural nuances, set Chaldean churches apart.

“The church is open to everybody, but because of the cultural distinction, being Chaldean, we are mainly using the Arabic and Chaldean languages, although we have a Mass in English,” said Boji.

Subsequently, though they’re welcome, it’s unlikely non-Chaldean Catholics would get a full appreciation for the service, he said.

On a Sunday at Holy Martyrs, the 9 a.m. Mass is in Arabic and Chaldean; the 10:30 a.m. Mass is mainly English, with portions in Chaldean; and the 12:30 p.m. high Mass, the most well-attended service, is entirely in Chaldean.

Holy Martyrs also holds daily Masses at 9 a.m., as well as Mass on Saturdays at 5 p.m.

The hope is that the addition of a Sterling Heights site will encourage more Chaldeans to celebrate their faith by alleviating the overcrowding at the other facilities, said Kattula. 

“I think this is a very positive step for the community,” she said. “Chaldeans are such spiritual and faithful people, and everything we do revolves around the church. We really need another (church), especially during the holidays. It just becomes very overwhelming to try to reach every person.

“Sometimes, if you have a place that’s too crowded, people shy away from that,” she added. “We were afraid that we would lose a lot of community members to not coming to church and not being able to be as faithful as their parents and grandparents were.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1046.