Seven area churches worked together for the past year to build a Habitat for Humanity house for a Pontiac family. The house was dedicated on Dec. 7.
The participating churches; Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Mary’s-of-the-Hills Episcopal Church, Lake Orion United Methodist Church, Oxford United Methodist Church, Immanuel Congregational United Methodist Church and King of Kings Lutheran Church; worked with the Oakland County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. They began about a year ago and first raised $60,000 to fund the home.
Many of you may have attended their spaghetti dinner and silent/jar auction held last March at the Gingellville Community Center. They raised over $10,000 at that event, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held in mid-April so the building could begin.
The process took seven months as the churches worked only on Saturdays at the house, located at 278 W. Cass. The recipient of the home is Ayonna Samuel and her two children. The dedication ceremony had about 50 people in attendance from all the churches, the Habitat organization and members of Ayonna’s family.
Each church was given a plaque in honor of their participation. A special plaque was given to Karen Swietlik, Christian Service Coordinator at Christ the Redeemer, for her commitment to getting this project started and completed.
The project was made possible by numerous donors who donated money, services, and/or items for the silent auction and raffle.