City of Detroit to host 3 events

Conference in action | Stock photo by Crystal710/Pixabay

There are three events that will happen in Detroit in the coming days that I believe are of particular importance. These programs are intended to help residents take full advantage of all that is happening in our city and to prepare for the 2020 Census, which begins soon.

2nd Annual Construction Conference - March 7
There are a flurry of new construction projects happening at the moment with even more in the development pipeline. In order to ensure that Detroiters are able to take full advantage of this, the City of Detroit will convene its 2nd annual construction conference at the Voyageur Academy (4366 Military St.) tomorrow, March 7 from 8 a.m. until noon. This is approximately three miles east of the Warrendale neighborhood.

The construction conference is your chance to learn about the Detroit Business Opportunity Program, about how to get contracted to do business with the City, and about the certifications offered. It is also an excellent opportunity to network with general contractors.

FCA Job Readiness Event - March 11
Fiat Chrysler is hiring and the Deroit At Work program allows residents to get early access to some of these jobs. To help prepare for these new jobs, the City will host a job readiness event at the Straight Gate International Church (10100 Grand River) on Wednesday, March 11 from 6 - 8 p.m. This is approximation four miles northeast of the Warrendale neighborhood.

In order to particiapate in this event and get this priority access to jobs at Fiat Chrysler, residents must register ahead of time on the Detroit at Work website.

2020 Census Kickoff - March 14
In order to prepare for the census that will happen this year, the City of Detroit along with the United Way of Southeastern Michigan and 105.9 KISS-FM will host a kickoff event on Saturday, March 14 at Martin Luther King High School (3200 E. Laffayette Blvd.). Doors will open at 10 a.m. with the main event happening at 11 a.m.

During this kickoff event, Detroiters will be able to complete census forms onsite from 10 a.m. until 
3 p.m. There will be a raffle and other giveaways for those who complete their census form at the event.

Concert series comes to SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Warrendale

The Sacred and Spiritual Concert series will continue tomorrow with a concert of music for the organ and tenor. This event will happen at SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.) in Detroit’s Warrendale neighborhood on Saturday, October 19. The concert will begin at 6 p.m.

The organist for this concert will be Johnny Kash. He is the music director at SS. Peter and Paul Church in Detroit. He will be joined the accomplished tenor Matthew Moore.

This concert will be performed from the front of the church. A Viscount Digital Organ will be installed on the altar for this occasion.

There will also be a light reception prior to this concert, which is complimentary for all attendees. The evening will begin a celebration of Mass that will start at 4:30 p.m. The reception will last from the conclusion of Mass until the concert starts at 6 p.m.

I would like to add that even though this concert is happening in a Catholic Church and it is happening shortly after the celebration of a Catholic mass, one does not have to attend the religious service in order to attend either this concert or the reception that precedes it. The organizers understand that not everyone in Detroit is Roman Catholic.

There will not be an admission charged for this concert or for the light reception prior to it. All families and individuals in Detroit who enjoy classical and sacred music are invited to attend it.

This post is a part of the Warrendale Detroit Blog's semi-regular Friday Focus series. The series endeavors to highlight news, events, and opinions that, in the view of this blog's publisher, don't get as much attention from the news media as they deserve.

Please follow this blog on Facebook for more great content. I'm also on Twitter and Instagram as @fnemecek.

Thinking about Rimah Fakih

Rimah Fakih-Slaiby at Wrestlemania Fan Axxess - Photo by Simon Q/Flickr

I wrote a series of posts about Rimah Fakih back in 2010 after she became the first Muslim Miss USA as well as the first Miss USA from Michigan in almost 20 years. It seemed appropriate because she grew up only a couple of miles from the Warrendale neighborhood and was gaining national and international prominence.

If you're curious, you can see my five posts about her by clicking here to see them in the archives of this blog. I wrote four posts about her in 2010 and a fifth in December, 2015.

Even though I haven't written a word about Rimah Fakih in several years, Google Analytics tells me that a couple of people visit the Warrendale Detroit Blog every day after searching for her in one of the various internet search engines.

The same software package also tells me that the southern United States is the most common place for this traffic to come from. I don't know why southerners in particular are so fascinated by her. I find this part of the data to be mildly odd because I thought she would be more popular in the Midwest.

Anyway, since there are so many people who are coming to my blog looking for information about Rimah Fakih, I figure that I may as well give those individuals are few quick details. After all, I always aim to please by readers.

Since completing her time as Miss USA 2010, Rimah Fakih converted to Maronite Christianity in April of 2016. This, by the way, is a branch of the Eastern rite of the Catholic Church. Her conversion to Christianity happened shortly before her marriage to Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, who is a Lebanese-Canadian music producer and is also The Weeknd's manager.

The Weeknd even performed at their wedding. I imagine this to have been one of the coolest wedding performances of all time.

I mention Rimah Fakih's conversion to Christianity because Google Analytics again tells me that many of those searching for information about her include Muslim somewhere in their seach terms.

Rimah Fakih-Slaiby and her husband Sal currently have two children, a son and a daughter. The couple is also expecting their third child soon.

For those who are still interested in what's going on in her life, I recommend checking out Rimah Fakih-Slaiby's Instagram account.

Anyway, I wonder what weirdness I will discover as I continue to dig through the analytics data. To find that out, I suppose you will just have to subscribe to this blog by entering your email in the box at the top of this blog's righthand column or by adding it to your favorite RSS feed..

Fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral

Firefighter - Stock Illustration/ Creative Commons

The city of Detroit was founded in 1701 as a French colony. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, our community was known as the Paris of the Midwest because of its French heritage and influences. It is this context that I feel adds to my horror - and the horror that many of my neighbors feel - as we watch the news come in that Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is engulfed in flames.

I pray this afternoon that Saint Florian, the Patron Saint of Firefighters, watches over, guides, and protects the estimated 400 firefighters who are currently battling the blazes at the Notre Dame Cathedral.

I pray that the piece of the True Cross, the piece of the Crown of Thornes, the nails from the Crucifixion, and each of the other holy artifacts that are housed at the Cathedral are protected.

Finally, I pray that Our Lady of Paris brings comfort and peace to the people of Paris and to all of those souls who are affected by this tragedy.

Amen.

Update @ 9:34 p.m.
Since I published this post a few hours ago, two important developments have occurred. First, according to published news reports, all of the sacred relics that were stored inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris have been saved. In addition, President Emmanuel Macron of France announced in a televised address to the nation that the cathedral would be rebuilt.

While the fire itself is tragic, I feel that these two updates are important. Moreover, I also believe that the outpouring of support from around the world is both reassuring and inspiring.

Hundreds gathers to celebrate church's history

Luncheon at SS Peter & Paul lower event center - Photo by Frank Nemecek

Hundreds of current and former parishioners at SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.) attended special mass yesterday at the church. This service was celebrated by Bishop Donald F. Hanchon. It commemorated both the Solemnity of SS Peter & Paul, which is a special day set aside each year in the Catholic Church's calendar to remember the two apostles, as well as the 95th anniversary of this parish.

This special mass with the bishop was immediately followed by a celebratory luncheon in the lower level event center of the church. Those who have been familiar with the church building for some time may recall the days when the lower level facility housed a second worship area so that two services could be celebrated simultaneously.

The church now looks forward to celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023.

SS Peter & Paul celebrates its 95th anniversary

SS Peter and Paul Church - Photo by Frank Nemecek

One of the oldest establishments in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood, SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.), will celebrate its 95th anniversary this week. The church will have a special anniversary mass at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 1, which will be presided by Bishop Donald F. Hanchon.

To commemorate the Polish-American heritage of the parish, this special mass will be celebrated in both English and Polish. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially those who used to be a part of the SS. Peter and Paul community.

This mass will also celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, which is the special feast day for the patron saints of this parish. The actual feast day for the Apostles Peter and Paul will be on Friday, June 29 in accordance with the liturgical calendar. However, the parish will celebrate this feast day and their 95th anniversary on the following Sunday.

More information about this special event can be found on the Facebook page for SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church or their website.

A calling in its self

Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church (Westside) - Photo by Frank Nemecek

Mark Mroz has served as an altar server at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit for the past 28 years. He started doing it as an opportunity to volunteer and later discovered that being an adult altar server is a calling unto its self.

Mroz and other adult altar servers at churches in the Detroit area were featured in The Michigan Catholic this week. The full article is available online here.

I join other Catholics in the Warrendale neighborhood and across the metropolitan Detroit area in expressing my gratitude to Mroz for his 28 years of dedicated service. I'm also thankful to The Michigan Catholic for highlighting him in this fashion.

Detroit church to host free Memorial Day concert

Interior of SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church - Photo by Frank Nemecek

Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church (7685 Grandville) will present a free Memorial Day concert on Saturday, May 26 at 6 p.m. in the church. It will feature vocalists Gabriela Kash and Paula Steele, violinist and vocalist Stacy Mason, Frank Urbiel on the accordion as well as organists Johnny Kash and Dave Calendine.

There will be a reception and music by Dave Calendine that begin after the 4:30 p.m. Mass that day and continue until the concert starts. Everyone is invited to attend this free concert.

50 years ago today

Nancy and Frank Nemecek on their wedding day (May 3, 1968)

50 years ago today, a dashing young carpenter from the Corktown neighborhood in Detroit declared, "You know what this world needs? A loud mouth idiot who is crazy enough to try to make the world a better place."

"That sounds like a good idea," a beautiful young bookkeeper from the nearby suburb of Redford agreed. "But do you think one will be enough?"

"You're right! There should be four of them - each an improvement on the one who came before."

It was then that a wise priest overheard them and interrupted this couple by saying, "By the power vested in me by the State of Michigan and the Holy Roman Catholic Church, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. Go forth and create those four loud mouth idiots."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Happy 50th wedding anniversary to my Mom and Dad from the loudest of your four loud mouth idiots.

Mayor Duggan to meet with community

Mayor Mike Duggan - Press photo

Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit will hold a community meeting near the Warrendale neighborhood. This meeting will happen at Kadesh Baptist Church (20361 Plymouth Rd.), which is approximately a mile north of Warrendale. This meeting will happen on Tuesday, November 28 at 7 p.m. and is expected to adjourn at approximately 8:30 p.m.

This community meeting is an opportunity for residents and other community stakeholders to bring their concerns directly to the Mayor. These meetings happen once each year in each of the seven City Council districts and are mandated by Detroit's City Charter.

Free parking is available at the church. The venue is also conveniently along both the Evergreen and Plymouth Road bus routes.

Awesome shot of the solar eclipse

Father Jerry Pilus, pastor at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood, took this amazing shot of the solar eclipse. This photo was taken at 2:28 p.m. from the church grounds.

Father Jerry posted this photo of the solar eclipse as seen from Detroit to the church's Facebook page. I'm happy to be able to embed it here.

For anyone who missed it, the next time that a total solar eclipse will be visible in the Detroit area won't be until April 8, 2024.

Fish fries return to Ss Peter and Paul

Crowd at Ss Peter & Paul Church - Photo by Frank Nemecek

Lenten fish fries have returned to Ss. Peter and Paul's Activities Bldg. I'm pleased to report that they are as good as they have ever been. The food and comradeship are great as always.

Plus, it's nice to know that my dinner helps the church in some small way.

I hope to see lots of old and new friends there at future Fridays throughout Lent.

Mayor Duggan to meet with district residents

Mayor Mike Duggan

Mayor Mike Duggan will host a meeting with residents of Detroit's seventh district, which includes the Warrendale neighborhood. This meeting will happen on Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. in the Kadesh Missionary Baptist Church (20361 Plymouth Rd.), which is a mile north of Warrendale.

Parking is available in the parking lot adjacent to the church. Doors open at 6 PM and the meeting will adjourn promptly at 8:30 p.m.

All residents and stakeholders of the Warrendale and surrounding neighborhoods are encouraged to attend this meeting.

Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa visits Warrendale

The Icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa (more commonly referred to as "The Black Madonna") has been credited by Catholics with a multitude of miracles and healings – both of a spiritual and physical nature. Now, after traveling 40,000 miles from Vladivostok in Russia through 24 countries in Europe, she is in North America and will be visiting the Warrendale neighborhood

This visit will happen at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.). The church has released a schedule of events for this visit.

Wednesday, March 26

• 5 p.m. - Arrival of the Icon;
• 5:15 p.m. - Divine Mercy Chaplet;
• Confessions until 6:45 p.m.;
• Private Adoration until 7 p.m.;
• 7 p.m. - Holy Mass (English and Polish) - Father Peter West, Celebrant;
• Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament following Holy Mass
• Perpetual Help Devotion, Holy Rosary in Defense of Life (English and Polish), Litany of Loreto (Sung in Polish), Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
• 10 p.m. - Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Thursday, March 27

• 9 a.m. - Holy Mass. Father Peter West, Celebrant;
• Divine Mercy Chaplet following Holy Mass
• 10 a.m. - Departure of the Icon

For more information on SS. Peter and Paul Parish please visit www.ssppdetroit.com.

Fore more information on the Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, please visit www.fromoceantoocean.org.

Ss. Peter and Paul Church goes all out with Christmas decorations

Christmas decorations at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church
Photo by Frank Nemecek

This Christmas season, the folks at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.) here in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit have gone all out with their decorations. I think they did an awesome job. It's worth attending mass there just to see them.

Once upon a time, when I was growing up in the neighborhood and attending grade school there, their decorations were much simpler. There was a nativity scene and the altar was decorated. However, the rest of the church had few, if any decorations.

I particularly liked the decorated statues at the rear of the church - simple yet elegant, in my opinion. There are more photographs of the Christmas decorations at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, including two panoramic shots, available on my Google+ page here.

Pilgrim statue to visit the Warrendale neighborhood

An important Catholic statue, the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, will visit Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.) in the Warrendale neighborhood next month. This statue will be on display on Sunday, October 6, starting with a living rosary at 11:30 a.m.

The Statue of Our Lady of Fatima last visited SS. Peter and Paul Parish on November 27, 1968.

The Summer Break Praise and Prayer Fest

Soaring Eagle Ministries and the Chosen Generation Choir (Johnnie L. Moore, Pastor) are proud to present their Summer Break Praise and Prayer Fest on Sunday, June 30. This event will start immediately after Sunday morning service. The service starts at 11 a.m. and lasts approximately 95 minutes. The church is located at 18750 Sawyer St., which is near Brace St.

There will be good music, singing, prayers for the neighborhood, and free food right off the grill. Everyone in the Warrendale neighborhood is invited to come out and fellowship with others from this neighborhood in an exciting, spirit-filled atmosphere.

Kids, bring your parents. Parents, bring your kids. All are welcome. Come as you are. Jeans and gym shoes are welcome. The church is on Sawyer st. near Brace st.

Please call (313) 334-0069 at anytime, if you have any questions.

The Other Edgar Allen Poe

Did you know that Edgar Allen Poe is buried in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood?

Not the famous writer, of course. That Edgar Allen Poe is buried in Baltimore, Maryland.

However, there is another Edgar Allen Poe who lived from 1875 - 1954, who fought in the Spanish-American War, and who buried in the cemetery next to Ford Memorial United Methodist Church (16400 W. Warren Ave.).

Edgar Allen Poe's Gravestone - Photo by Frank Nemecek

While he isn't as famous as the other Edgar Allen Poe, I think it's kind of cool that we have someone with that name resting among us for eternity in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood.

New Pastor at Ss. Peter & Paul Church

Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church

Ss. Peter & Paul Church (7685 Grandville Ave.) announced on their Facebook page yesterday evening that their Administrator, Father Jerry Pilus, has been incardinated into the Archdiocese of Detroit. Effective immediately, Father Jerry is now the Pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul as well as St. Suzanne/Our Lady Gate Heaven. 

Congratulations, Father Jerry, and welcome to the Warrendale family.

71-Year-Old Warrendale Resident Goes Missing

71-Year-Old Detroit Woman Goes Missing: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Margaret Theut, who has lived on Patton Street in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood for decades, has been missing for almost a week and foul play is suspected. She was last seen leaving church services last weekend.

Anyone who has any information regarding the disappearance, or current location, of Ms. Theut is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department immediately.