April 20, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
As the COVID pandemic continues to bring our country to a standstill, along with the extension of the stay-at-home executive order, it is with great sadness that I am writing you. Since St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy has had to temporary suspense the celebration of the Mass, it has caused a dramatic reduction in offertory resources. This reduction is being felt in parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit.
At this time, St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy is no longer able to maintain our current operations. Therefore, like parishes around the Archdiocese of Detroit, St. Mary will begin implementing temporarily layoffs, and reduction in hours for our staff. This is a very difficult decision, and was made after a lot of prayer, and time spent trying to balance the needs of our staff with the needs of being good stewards of our Parish’s resources. Our staff will be eligible for many of the government assistance programs, that are helping workers throughout our nation.
It is my prayer that the measures taken today will see the parish through this crisis and to a time when we are able to explore how we can resume normal operations. Please join with me and the Archbishop as we turn to Our Lady of Lourdes to intercede for the healing of all impacted by this pandemic.
Sincerely,
Fr. Shafique Masih
Pastor
St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Catholic Church 