Dedicated service defines Saint Peter’s Holiness Church of Jesus Christ. It has been an active Episcopal congregation for 165 years. Saint Peter’s was founded in 1858. The congregation has a rich history of involvement in the Corktown neighborhood. It also supports the wider Detroit community.
Saint Peter’s Parish Hall has served social service and social justice organizations. Most members of Saint Peter’s came from County Cork Ireland. Their second church had a carpenter Gothic design. By 1925 the old church had fallen into disrepair. The city condemned the building.
An unwanted building campaign was forced on the congregation. This congregation was across from Tiger Stadium, then called Navin Field. The congregation began construction of the Parish House and Chapel without sufficient funds. The Sanctuary came second four years later in 1929. This was on the eve of the Stock Market Crash.
They planned a third section a commercial building of stores facing Michigan Avenue. This would be where the old church stood. The third building was never built. The plan was to erect a three-story building. The top floor would be the Rectory. The second floor would have classrooms, a kitchen and showers. The first floor allowed for a choir locker-room. It also contained a grand Rector’s office and a small secretary’s office.
The Great Depression delayed the Sanctuary’s completion by ten years. The Parish House and its tiny Chapel served beyond their planned use. The parish reverted to mission status in the thirties. It became a dependency of St. John’s Church. It is said that the men of Saint Peter’s played cards in the boiler room. They defied the troubling winds outside.
After World War Two, Saint Peter’s regained parish status. An enterprising young Rector led the congregation. He reinvented the Parish House. It became a residence for teenage youth in minor trouble with the law. This was Saint Peter’s Home for Boys from roughly 1948 to 1962. The boys served the daily masses in the Chapel. They sang in the choir on Sunday. They interacted with the few girls in the congregation.
After the Boys Home moved out, another Rector led the congregation. He had a day job as a parole officer. The Parish House became a halfway house for Federal prisoners from 1962 to 1982. They used the whole Parish House. Saint Peter’s retained only the vesting room. Saint Peter’s negotiated the rent with the Department of Justice each year. The rent was always paid a couple months after the fact. It ended suddenly in 1982 with President Reagan’s arrival.
In 1981 WARM was begun in a portion of the building. It has grown and now has its own place on Michigan Avenue. Then came COTS in 1982. Saint Peter’s kept many people in the Parish House. Even the chapel became an office. Saint Peter’s collected no rent for this. COTS paid for all the utilities and maintenance. They outgrew Saint Peter’s within a few years.
After a couple years of vacancy, Saint Peter’s undertook the sheltering of Central American refugees. This lasted ten months. It was 1987. The government tightened its laws regarding refugees. Saint Peter’s provided hospitality for them in their Parish House. Saint Peter’s called themselves the Detroit/Windsor Refugee Coalition.
The refugee hospitality ministry moved out of Saint Peter’s. The congregation decided to support a ministry for teenage girls. These girls were on the street or in danger of ending up there. Saint Peter’s called this Alternatives for Girls. AFG remained at Saint Peter’s from 1988 to 2003.
Another program occupied the Parish House Young Detroit Builders for about six years. Since the 1970s, Saint Peter’s Manna Meal has been feeding and clothing hungry people. More recently the Corner Shower and Laundry has helped the homeless.
To date the Saint Peter’s church has not been completed. The rose brick walls have not been plastered. The wood sheathing for the ceiling has not been installed. By contemporary standards exposed internal supports have value. The chancel treatment is English. It has a square sanctuary with a vertically traceried window. In 1929, the stained glass window was ordered from James Hogan. The Te Deum Window is one of the finest stained glass windows in Detroit.
Two windows were installed in Saint Peter’s in 1947. The remaining three windows had been sitting in the factory in England since 1929. Saint Peter’s finally got the funds. Today Saint Peter’s is a welcoming inclusive congregation. The congregation intentionally offers space to community-based organizations. They fight racism. Saint Peter’s understands this to be a critical part of their work as a church. They believe involving themselves in the fight for justice is spiritual work. They are called to speak truth to power. They strive to build beloved community. Saint Peter’s Holiness Church of Jesus Christ stands as a beacon. Its long history shows dedication. It embodies service, adaptation and a commitment to justice.