Anyone from the Ann Arbor area here?

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I’m going to be moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan this fall for grad school. If you’re familiar with the Ann Arbor area, is there a good church community that I can be a part of? I’ve been to one church there when I visited a while back. Forget the name of the church, but it seemed nice, though it’s a ways off campus. I would also be interested in joining some kind of church group. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
2 suggestions:

St Thomas the Apostle; walking distance to campus, conservative/traditional, young adult group that is largely made up of grad students and young professionals, few undergrads. They also have a live-in house for men discerning the priesthood (forget what it’s called) and another live-in house for women (St. Catherine’s). Fantastic priests. Wonderful community.

Christ the King: 10- minute drive from central campus, a long (but do-able) walk from north campus. Vibrant charismatic community with a lot of young families but also some graduate students. Lots of Steubenville alums. Perpetual adoration chapel. Cannot say enough good things about the priest there. The parish currently has 22 men in the seminary (that is not a typo).

I’m not very familiar with St. Mary’s but it definitely has more of a “liberal” feel to it, with dissent from the magisterium in social matters tacitly condoned by some staff. But if you go there… you could be a light!
 
Not from Ann Arbor, but I grew up in Grosse Pointe MI. Welcome to my almost hood 🙂
 
I lived in Ann Arbor for a little while maybe eight years ago. I definitely second the suggestion to try out Christ the King. This was the best church community I’ve ever belonged to. Just a warning: it is a charismatic church, so if you’re not familar with the movement, you may have some adjusting to do. However, I recall it being very liturgically correct and in line with the magisterium, so even a person with traditional leanings would be impressed.

I loved living in Ann Arbor! Good luck!
 
I am familiar only with St. Thomas the Apostle. It skews toward the traditional in its liturgy(big on incense, to the point where they advertise an “incense-free” Mass), with a mixture of young people, families, and older adults. Seems to be a very “active” parish with a lot going on. And it is not too far from the UM campus and close to downtown.

I would suggest you check it out along with the other options and see which fits you the best.
 
Thank you for the recommendations. I’m leaning towards St. Thomas the Apostle. The charismatic movement isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I’m much more at home with traditional liturgies.
 
The charismatic movement isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I’m much more at home with traditional liturgies.
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I used to say the same thing- just go to one Mass there before you decide. You can’t go wrong either way.
 
Oh wow, I just googled St. Thomas the Apostle, and I recognized in the photo that it’s the church that I went to when I visited Ann Arbor! I’m a little excited. I think it’s God’s way of telling me that it’s the one for me. Thank you all for the info!
 
Hey, this is a somewhat old thread but I just came across it searching for information on the House of Discernment at St. Thomas. Just found out you have to be a student at U of MI. No problem though 🙂

But anyway, I wanted to add to this thread … the priests of Miles Christi are not too far from where you’ll be and I HIGHLY recommend any of their retreats/day of recollection, etc. I’ve been to a couple of the days of recollection in my area and two of their retreats, including the Holy Week one in Detroit for young women, and they were great!! 👍 I’m looking forward to going to another this Summer! So anyway, I just thought I’d let you know. God bless!

mileschristi.org/

facebook.com/group.php?gid=2394858919
 
LaudemGloriae said:
Hey, this is a somewhat old thread but I just came across it searching for information on the House of Discernment at St. Thomas. Just found out you have to be a student at U of MI. No problem though 🙂

But anyway, I wanted to add to this thread … the priests of Miles Christi are not too far from where you’ll be and I HIGHLY recommend any of their retreats/day of recollection, etc. I’ve been to a couple of the days of recollection in my area and two of their retreats, including the Holy Week one in Detroit for young women, and they were great!! 👍 I’m looking forward to going to another this Summer! So anyway, I just thought I’d let you know. God bless!

mileschristi.org/

facebook.com/group.php?gid=2394858919
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Thank you for the info. Do I need to be a U of M student in order to join St. Thomas? When I went there, I do remember seeing non-students. I’m going to be a grad student at U of M.
 
Hi! No, not to join the parish, but to live in the House of Discernment for women. From here …
ST. CATHERINE HOUSE
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Are you wondering what God’s plan is for your life?
Are you considering the possibility of religious life?
Are you desiring continued growth in holiness in your own life?
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If you are currently a student at University of Michigan (sophomore/junior/senior or graduate student) looking for an inspired alternative to dorm living, think about applying to live at St. Catherine House. The House is designed to help women grow in holiness, in their relationship with the Lord and in their desire to know God’s will for their life.
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Some benefits of life at St. Catherine House include:
*SHARING A HOME WITH OUR LORD IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT!
*Close proximity to campus, St. Thomas and Zingerman’s!
*Opportunity to experience life in community through House dinners, small groups
*Monthly Mass and dinners with speakers who will encourage growth in holiness
*Retreats in September and January
*Adoration in the St. Catherine House Chapel
*Annual “Nun Run” every Fall
*Monthly spiritual direction
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We are currently accepting applications and scheduling interviews for the SCH summer household (May/June/July) as well as the 2010/11 Academic year.
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Both single/double room options are available. Rents for summer household are a fraction of academic year rents … this is a wonderful option if you are considering staying in Ann Arbor to work through the summer.
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For more information or to receive an application and/or schedule an interview, contact Sr. Mary Ann Foggin, SGL at: mfoggin at dioceseoflansing dot org or call 517-342-2506.
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Personally, I’ve never been to St. Thomas, but I’ve been searching the internet trying to find any Houses of Discernment out there for women. They are extremely hard to find. So far I’ve come up with very little and I’ve been searching for a long time … like months. There was one in St. Paul, MN and they hope to open it again … but first it’s offered for women in the archdiocese, which makes sense … and last time they said they had more young women interested than they could take. Then there was one in Philadelphia, but I’m not sure if it’s still going. I almost feel like starting one where I’m at in Chicago … hmm.
 
hey, all, how did i miss this thread back in april…?

i’m on staff at st thomas the apostle. we have driven 25 miles for 7 years to go to mass there. it’s our parish, it’s our home, and it’s the best job i ever had.

answers:
you don’t need to be a student to be a parish member.

in the fall, the young adult group, Generation Christ will resume sunday evenings for eucharistic adoration and social time.

also in the fall, will resume the adult catechism we have called 5 guys and Catechism but will be renamed this fall, offering topics on monday and tuesday evenings.

the guys’ discernment house is Father McGivney House.
the women’s is St catherine House.

here’s the website repeated and the contact info on the website. call on tuesday. we’ve got the day off tomorrow!!
http://www.stthomasannarbor.catholicweb.com/
 
monicatholic said:
hey, all, how did i miss this thread back in april…?

i’m on staff at st thomas the apostle. we have driven 25 miles for 7 years to go to mass there. it’s our parish, it’s our home, and it’s the best job i ever had.

answers:
you don’t need to be a student to be a parish member.

in the fall, the young adult group, Generation Christ will resume sunday evenings for eucharistic adoration and social time.

also in the fall, will resume the adult catechism we have called 5 guys and Catechism but will be renamed this fall, offering topics on monday and tuesday evenings.

the guys’ discernment house is Father McGivney House.
the women’s is St catherine House.

here’s the website repeated and the contact info on the website. call on tuesday. we’ve got the day off tomorrow!!
http://www.stthomasannarbor.catholicweb.com/
Click to expand...
I’m actually in Ann Arbor right now. Was attending a school event and doing some apartment hunting. Went to St. Thomas this afternoon for the Vigil Mass. Still like the church. Hopefully I can meet you guys when I move to AA!
 
ditto suggest St. Thomas. Ann Arbor is a vast group of people and having the church within walking distance is a good thing! best of luck! twk
 
I visited St. Thomas when I was in Ann Arbor. It was one of the only times I’ve seen a line for Confession extend down the whole church…incredible!! 🙂 I’m hoping to do residency at Michigan, so I’ll be one of the young adults at St. Thomas next year!
 
I’m in Medical School at UofM, so I’m moderately familiar with at least some of the churches in the area.

My husband and I go to St. Thomas from time to time (when we can’t get to our home services). It’s a good church with a GREAT young adult group (I LOVE Generation Christ, although I don’t get to go very often). Not sure if you’re married, but they have a great Newlyweds group too (for people in their first 5 or so years of marriage, they also welcome engaged couples).

I’d reiterate the suggestion to give Christ the King a shot, at least once anyway. I really wasn’t all that familiar with (more uncomfortable with, really) the Charismatic movement, but I fell in love pretty quickly with the parish. The Priest (Fr. Ed) is AWESOME, and really in line with the Vatican. I’ve heard many in the area call CTK “that conservative church”, which always makes me laugh, because I never think of it that way (although we are super Orthodox). Aside from about a total of less than 5 minutes of charismatic worship (split between two times during the service) and the fact that some people raise their hands while singing, and the topic of the Holy Spirit coming up relatively frequently, I don’t know that you’d really notice that it’s charismatic during the Mass - at least not in the way that can make people uncomfortable sometimes. What you will find is a church that really worships God with everything we have (and man, we can belt out the songs!).

If you visit and it’s not for you, then no worries 🤷 It’s not for everyone, and St. Thomas is great. But at least give it a shot once (but make sure Father Ed is giving the homily. He’s the BEST).

Best of luck in Ann Arbor. I love it here. PM me if you have any questions!
 
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