Bad news for Archdiocese & Washington Blvd
http://freep.com/article/20090903/NE...-make-big-cuts
Just got the word this morning in a meeting at St. Aloysius. The Archdiocese of Detroit is cutting 29% of its work force. We won't know until November who is getting the axe.:[[
Consequently, the Gabriel Richard Building @ 305 Michigan Ave. [[which they have spent a year and a half renovating) will be vacated and put up for sale. Employees who survive the cut will be relocated to the site of the old St. Martin DePorres High School near Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
Also the St. Aloysius warming center at 1209 Washington Blvd will be vacated and demolished.
The Archdiocese also owns a slew a vacant storefronts between St. Al's and Grand River.
Eh. I need a glass of wine.
St. Al Outreach Center Information
I'm the pastor of St. Al's Parish which sponsors the St. Al's Outreach Center [[we are not a "shelter" and we no longer call ourselves "the warming center").
We have been in dialog with the Archdiocese of Detroit for the past year regarding the Outreach Center [[our parish offices are located on the second floor of this building as well). Of course our preference would have been to stay where we are, but we have been preparing ourselves for a move should that become necessary. We haven't closed or been sold yet and nothing has been demolished nor are we aware of any imminent plans to sell or demolish the building.
We have expressed our need to be relocated near the Church [[which has NOT be demolished or closed!) so we can continue the close collaboration between the parish and the outreach ministries and so we can continue to be conveniently located for our clients and guests and parishioners.
We are not angry with the Archdiocese and we have no axe to grind with either the Archdiocese or the owners or developers of the Westin Book Cadillac. Everyone has been very helpful and supportive of our work here.
To be sure, it will be challenging to develop the plans for another facility while we are continuing the day-to-day operation of our outreach and parish work. However, the so-called "crisis" represents a genuine opportunity for us and we are facing it in that light. We are eager to continue and expand our ministry as an historic downtown church and look forward to the new ways God will guide us through this phase of the life of our little parish community.
We're grateful to all the generous people who support our work with donations of goods and money and for the wonderful array of volunteers who come from all over the Metro region and particularly the downtown businesses. Thanks too, to the interested bloggers who keep us in the news on this site.