Northern Michigan is in great need of the Church. For those already Orthodox, the closest churches regularly holding services are either near Marquette (St. Jacob of Alaska) or Traverse City (Archangel Gabriel and St Sebastian), which could mean having to drive as long as 3 hours one way to get there. This is a great struggle, especially for those with families. For those who may be interested in Orthodoxy, this means that the Church primarily remains a curiosity for them, as taking that first step into being integrated into the community is simply too far removed.
Founded in July 2023 with the blessing of Archbishop Peter of Chicago and Mid-America and the help of Fr. Micah Chisholm (rector of St. Sebastian Orthodox Christian Mission Church) and Fr Gregory Joyce (rector of St Vladimir Orthodox Church), St Ambrose Orthodox Mission aims to bring the Church to these communities living near the Straits area of the Northern mitten and Eastern Upper Peninsula.
Fr Dmitri felt called to serve this community as he grew up in a small family that lived hours away from the nearest church and remembers how spiritually taxing it can be to feel so isolated. He began attending St Vladimir Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor regularly while a student at the University of Michigan. In 2018, he began a PhD in Applied Physics at University of Michigan, but soon also felt called to the clergy. He was tonsured in 2021 and ordained to the priesthood in August 2023. Graduate school is a time typically marked with tight schedules and tighter budgets, and it’s common for PhD students to isolate themselves from activities not related to their work. Fr Dmitri was already an oddity by marrying, but having kids was even more unusual.
The reality is, a graduate student salary wasn’t meant to be the primary source of a family’s income, especially near Ann Arbor, one of the most expensive areas to live in Michigan. Add to that a new mission that needs a variety of basic items, supplies, and importantly, clergy and choir. The priest and choir director (Fr Dmitri and Matushka Katherine) need to travel to the Straits Area (a 4 hour drive each way) to serve the Liturgy monthly at minimum.
Despite these challenges, St Ambrose Mission typically has 15-20 communicants at Liturgy. On Sundays when a priest is not present, Typika is served to provide spiritual consistency for the families living in the area. Services are held primarily in English, but Church Slavonic, Greek, and Latin are used both to reflect the attendees and as a point of outreach to the Roman Catholic population in the area. Many inquirers have visited, and the first catechumen was made at the beginning of Great Lent 2024. For more information about St Ambrose Mission, please see our website here or Facebook page here.
Website link: stambroseorthodox.org
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/people/St-Ambrose-Orthodox-Mission/61554490736696/
