Rev. Richard L. Treml marked fifteen years in 2017 of ministering to the faithful as pastor of three parishes and a chapel in North Branch, a rural community in the Archdiocese of Detroit’s northern reaches in Lapeer County.

Currently he is also pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in nearby Brown City. “I know my parishioners and they know me,” said Father Treml of his growing flock. “They’re down to earth folks who support parish improvements when the needs are clear and there will be something to show for it.” That decade-long relationship between pastor and parishioners in the Catholic Churches of Northern Lapeer County helped the Changing Lives Togethercampaign to exceed archdiocesan expectations this year at SS. Peter & Paul and  St. Mary Burnside parishes in North Branch as well as the nearby St. Patrick Chapel.

Nearly 200 parish households have pledged more than $401,000 to build a larger gathering and meeting space at SS. Peter and Paul as well as to repave the parking lot at the 106 year-old church. “We got the parking lot repaved over the summer and added about 30 spaces in the process” said Father Treml. St. Patrick Chapel received some roof repairs, and sound system improvements will follow as parishioner pledges are fulfilled.

When Sacred Heart Parish was added to Father Treml’s pastoral duties, the Archdiocese of Detroit assigned an associate pastor to help manage our busy parish cluster. “We used some of our contributions from our Changing Lives Togethercampaign to make the rectory at St. Mary Burnside livable for our attending Associate Pastors.

Efforts continue through Changing Lives Together as a means of raising parishioner involvement and financial resources to meet the sacramental and ministerial needs of parishioners in the area. The local Knights of Columbus council continue to put together events that raise funds for future improvements at SS. Peter and Paul.

More than 60 families have made nearly $88,000 in pledges for several upgrades at St. Mary Burnside, which is approaching its 160-year anniversary. “We’re replenishing parish savings used last year to install new church furnaces and for ceiling insulation,” explained Father Treml. “We want to make running water available at the parish cemetery, do some electrical work in the church, improve the artwork above the altar, install new sidewalks around the church, and improve the sound system,” he added. “We’ll tackle that work as pledges come in. We’re kept up our facilities pretty well and we want them to stay in good shape,” said Father Treml.

Prayer and parishioner outreach were key parts of Changing Lives Together at the North Branch parishes. “People were willing to come forward and assist with all kinds of tasks,” observed a parish volunteer. “I was so humbled by the families I spoke with and their stories,” said another. “I loved being able to reach out to our parish and let our members know we are thinking of them and are here for them. What better place to know you are loved than at your own church?”

Clearly communicating the parish goals and progress in the context of continuing generations of parishioner commitment to their faith also made a difference. Father Treml included a stewardship prayer after every Sunday Mass to thank God for what he has given to parishioners and asking for them to discern how those gifts could bear fruit for the parish. “In my personal prayer, I lifted it up to God, put it all in the Lord’s hands, and said if you want this to happen, it will,” recalled Father Treml. “And it did.”

Changing Lives Together aodclt.org
November 2012

 
Hello Parishioners,
My name is Fr. Sama Muma. I am originally from Cameroon located between West and Central Africa. I have lived in this United States for the past 19 years. I am one of 9 siblings, 7 of whom reside here in the United States. Some of my family members, including my parents, migrated some few years before me in 1999.

I am celebrating my 10th anniversary of Ordination as priest, along with my classmate Fr. Mark Prill, your former Associate Pastor. We were ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit. I studied at Sacred Heart Major Seminary for seven years, then served as deacon at Divine Child Parish in Dearborn. My first assignment was Associate Pastor at St. Paul on the Lake in Grosse Pointe Farms for two years. I then served two years at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Temperance Michigan for two years, close to St. Joseph, Erie where Fr Mark is going to be the new pastor. In 2012, I was assigned Associate Pastor at St. Isidore in Macomb Township and served until 2015. I was then Associate Pastor at St. John Neumann in Canton and from 2015 to 2016 and will be finishing my assignment at St. Therese Lisieux June 30th. I will be taking up my new assignment at SS. Peter and Paul in North Branch with great enthusiasm.

 have heard very encouraging words about your pastor, your cluster of churches, and the people there. I am excited to come and serve you. I hear there will be plenty of good food, beef, and vegetables and I look forward to many good meals. Bamenda, where I came from originally and other English speaking parts of Cameroon, is in serious crisis and people are being tortured and killed every day.

lease my special request to you is to pray for the people back in my native land. Looking forward to see you all soon.
lessings, Fr. Muma

Fr. Delonnay, 67, was born in Grosse Pointe and attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth Township.

He was ordained Feb. 8, 1975, at St. Michael Church in Monroe, where he celebrated his first Mass.

Fr. Delonnay served as associate pastor at St. Malachy Parish, Sterling Heights (1975-78), St. Raymond Parish, Detroit (1978-81), and St. Hugo of the Hills Parish, Bloomfield Hills (1981-86). He served as auditor of the Metropolitan Tribunal from 1981-82.

He was pastor of St. Christopher Parish, Detroit (1986-88), before serving on the faculty of Sacred Heart Major Seminary and as director of priestly vocations for the archdiocese from 1988-91. Fr. Delonnay served as pastor of St. Linus Parish, Dearborn Heights (1991-94), and was appointed pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish, Waterford (1994,- 2017) .

Fr. Delonnay retired to North Branch, Michigan, and is currently serving as senior pastor for the cluster parish in July 2017, at SS. Peter & Paul, St. Mary's of Burnside, Sacred Heart in Brown City, and St. Patrick's Chapel in Clifford.

Fr. Delonnay has served as chaplain to the Boy Scouts, and on the archdiocesan Presbyteral Council (1995-97, 2013-15). He earned the John Farrell Award in 1999 and was clergy chairman of the Catholic Services Appeal in 1997.

Deacon Pete & Kathleen (Kathy) Lynch

My name is Deacon Pete Lynch and I was ordained to the permanent diaconate in the Archdiocese of Detroit on October 21, 2017 by Archbishop Allen Vigneron at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. My call to the permanent diaconate has been more of an evolution than a specific incident. God can speak to us in a wide variety of ways and he reached me through another person simply asking, "Have you ever thought of being a Deacon, you would be great at it." My journey officially began in 2010 and has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
In 2010, I began attending Sacred Heart Major Seminary (SHMS) in Detroit. As my Spiritual Director, Father John Martin Shimkus, always reminds me, "God gives you the strength to take the next step." I took the next step, and the next step, until finally, by God's grace, I was ordained. The Archbishop has assigned me to serve the people of God at SS Peter and Paul in North Branch along with the cluster parishes of St. Mary's in Burnside, St. Patrick's in Clifford and Sacred Heart in Brown City.
For those of you unfamiliar with the permanent diaconate, the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons states, "The diaconate is not an abridged form of the priesthood, but a full order in its own right" and for the good of the Church as a whole "the two ministries must be exercised in communion with one another." The practical application of that statement is that deacons participate in Sacred Orders and receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. As a result of this ordination, they are empowered to preach, baptize, assist at the Eucharist, and witness marriages. The permanent deacons should be understood not in terms of what they do but who they are - servants. I am looking forward to serving you and getting to know all of you.
I am married to a wonderful women Kathleen (Kathy) Lynch and we recently celebrated our 38^th year wedding anniversary on October 20, 2017-the day before my ordination. Kathy is originally from Dearborn Heights and I am a life-long resident of Lapeer. We met over 39 years ago while working at Oakdale Regional Center, a state institution for the developmentally disabled in Lapeer and have dedicated our lives to serving the intellectually disabled. Today my wife works as a para-pro in the Lapeer Community Schools. I work in the Human Resources Department for the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Inc. in Clinton Township and have been for over for over 38 years. We have enjoyed teaching second grade catechism for 23 years at the Immaculate Conception Parish. In addition, the Immaculate Conception Church is where we were married. One might wonder why I have been assigned to the North Branch Catholic Cluster and not to my own parish of Immaculate Conception. It's because the Archdiocese of Detroit has a policy of not assigning a newly ordained priest or deacon to the home parish.
Kathy and I have been blessed with two children, Maureen and Matthew. They are both married to wonderful individuals. Maureen has been married to Eric Vogel for over nine years and they live in Palatine Illinois. Matthew married Rebecca Viau in 2010 and live in Royal Oak. They had their first child Jude Michael last year.
Kathy and I feel that the formation process has brought us closer together through prayer. That the faith we were both born into, the Church founded by Christ, is incredibly rich, deep and exciting. It has lead us to placing Christ as the center of our lives. It is only through our relationship with Jesus that we have humbly submitted to the will of the Father and continue our journey to serve Christ and His Church with Father Treml and Fr. Mark at the Catholic Cluster of Northern Lapeer County.