St. Paul of Tarsus Church - Est. 1984
Our History
In the late 18th century, Moravian missionaries arrived to the area after having been forced to flee their Ohio settlement during the American Revolution. Their new settlement, situated on what is now Moravian Drive, was called New Gnaden Hutten (New Tents of Grace). The Moravians set right to work on the infrastructure for the area, building a twenty-three mile route from Gnaden Hutten to Tremble’s Grist Mill on Conner Creek, the first inland road built in Michigan. For the next two hundred years, the Christian faith continued to grow in this area.
In the spring of 1984, one hundred and fifty local Catholic families submitted a petition to the Archdiocese of Detroit, asking for the establishment of a new church in Clinton Township. Three months later, the Archdiocese responded by designating the area a “parish in formation” and appointing Rev. Francis A. Zielinski as its pastor. Father Zielinski was asked to determine the viability of a new parish and organized a number of exploratory meetings with local pastors and leadership. It became apparent very quickly that the area was ready and eager for a new parish and the Archdiocese dedicated eleven acres of land on the corner of Romeo Plank and Canal Roads for a new parish.
The first Mass of St. Paul of Tarsus was celebrated in July 1984 at Chippewa Valley High School. Sixty people were in attendance on that day. Within two years the parish expanded to over nine hundred families, and a groundbreaking was held for a new church on September 27, 1987.
The new church was dedicated on March 5, 1989. Father Zielinski remained pastor until 1990. In 1990, Father Lou Grandpre was appointed and served admirably until his retirement in 2003, when Father Ron Essman was appointed.
Renovation planning began in 2006 under Father Ron Essman. The Church was turned sideways and pews replaced the chairs. The Church can seat up to 1000 people today. After his retirement in 2017, Father Ron remained at St. Paul of Tarsus as the weekend assistant. He was appointed to that role by then Pastor, Father Jerry Slowinski, who was selected to shepherd St. Paul of Tarsus and appointed on November13, 2017. Father Jerry's installation Mass took place on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
In the summer of 2019 we began another major construction project. Adding classrooms for our Faith Formation Program, an expanded Food Pantry, and an extended canopy at the main entrance. Completion is projected for spring 2020.
In June of 2022, Fr. Jerry Slowinski retired and July 1, 2022, Fr. John Kiselica became the new shepherd of St. Paul of Tarsus Parish.
We continue to grow in faith and as a parish and look forward to serving future generations for many years to come!
