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Detroit With its eighty feet high structure and two hundred feet tower
and spire, Saint Joseph's Church soars over the once German neighborhood on
Gratiot Avenue near I-75 in the city of Detroit. The parish was founded in
1855 and a wooden church was constructed the following year. In order to
accommodate the vastly growing German community, a new church was begun in
1870 and completed in 1873. Throughout several more construction phases, the
church, as we know it today, was completed in 1911. Although the
German-Americans have long since migrated to the suburbs, several members of
the German community are still committed to this historical place of
worship.
This can be exemplified by the great success of the first annual Oktober
Choral Fest, which took place at St. Joseph's Church on Sunday, October 22,
2006. An overwhelmingly enthusiastic group attended this celebration to
support St. Joseph's 150th Anniversary. The event brought out
German-Americans of all ages, as well as supporters of the German culture.
All of the net proceeds of the event were donated to the Operating Fund of
St. Joseph for continued restoration projects.
Planned and organized by Wilfried Mozer, the celebration began with a
morning mass. Rainy weather did not deter the many participants who enjoyed
the holy service, which was given in the German language by Father Paul
Ward. Being fluent in several languages, Father Ward also performs mass in
German on the fourth Sunday of each month at the St. Joseph's Church. The
mass was followed by an authentic German-style lunch, which included,
bratwurst, knackwurst, sauer-kraut and, of course, German potato salad.
German beer and wine were also on hand, to add to the festivities.
The main event was the Choral Fest performance, which included many local
performers from the Metropolitan Detroit and Windsor area. Classical
selections from; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian
Bach and Ludwig von Beethoven were performed by the Carpathia Chorus, GBU
Saxonia/Rheingold Chorus, Schwäbischer Männerchor, Die Minnesänger and the
Teutonia-Windsor Chorus respectively. The program also included solo
performances by Dr. David Wagner and Dr. David Carle on the church's pipe
organ, Monique Bates, Wilfried Mozer, and Annette Koerner with piano
accompaniment by Jacklyn Cole.
All selections were beautifully executed in the German language and were
well received by the audience. The church's superior acoustical environment
amplified the performances by the different choirs and soloists and filled
the cathedral with angelic song. The grand church setting with its
traditional stained glass windows, marble mosaic floors and neo-gothic
architecture attributed to making this a very enjoyable music event. It was
a pleasure to experience German culture in a German setting in the City of
Detroit.
Following the main event, the guests filled into the church activity hall
where they enjoyed homemade cakes, tortes, and pastries. People joined in
with the singing of German songs, as they were accompanied by Herbert
Langegger on the accordion and Herbert Gruber on the clarinet. Many great
prizes were won, as the program concluded with the final raffle drawing and
the closing of the silent auction.
As
the evening came to an end, it was clear that everyone had had a fun time.
It was nice to see the great support for St. Joseph's Church, a beautiful
historic place that we can all be very proud of. But most importantly, we
can all be proud of the German-American community, which makes events like
this possible and keeps the rich German culture and traditions alive for
everyone to enjoy.
(For more information on St. Joseph's Church, please visit
www.saint-joseph-detroit.org)
Andrew Griesser |
