St. Wenceslaus church began as a mission church in
1890. The original wooden structure was built
primarily by Bohemian settlers (for whom it was
named) in the small predominantly agricultural
village of Gills Pier, Michigan. The adjoining
cemetery was established in 1900. It contains a rich
heritage of gravesites strongly representative of
the area's Bohemian heritage as well as the graves
of an Austrian Archduke and his wife. Construction
of the present brick church began in February, 1914
and was essentially completed by the end of that
year. It was first blessed on August 1, 1915. The
church has accommodated an active, vibrant, and
culturally significant congregation since its
founding up until June 1st, 2026, when Bishop
Jeffrey Walsh unexpectedly issued decrees to merge
the church with St. Mary Parish of Lake Leelanau,
and also to change its status to a "limited use"
church. This came as a shock to the congregation
given that St. Wenceslaus Parish had never
experienced any financial problems since its
inception, was in excellent physical condition, and
continued to serve a stable body of parishioner
families as well as providing extensive outreach to
our local and numerous other communities (see:
https://www.stwenceslausgp.org for further details).
Both decrees were formally appealed, which currently
is our status (after 22 days within the 30-day
response window of the Bishop).
Moreover, in January 2026, our Deacon was
informed initially by the bishop that the
church would be closed and then sold.
A week later, he was notified that instead, it
would be retained as a "limited use" church, which
essentially is functionally closed unless parish
weddings or funerals are approved to be hosted
there. In addition, just two regular masses each
year are "permitted". Meetings and extensive
communications with the Bishop got nowhere, and
disclosed no substantive reason for our church to
be shuttered in this way. Even though several
practical solutions were presented, the Bishop
declined to give those any serious consideration.
Given the unusual adversarial demeanor of the
Bishop, the parishioners of St. Wenceslaus
realized that steps must be taken to prevent this
historical landmark (The church and cemetery are
registered Michigan historical landmarks) from
being sold by the Bishop, potentially to meet its
demise. This society was founded as a means of
generating support both financially and physically
in order to care for the church in perpetuity if
support from the Diocese is withdrawn.
Please visit our church website (address
above) to see what a wonderful parish St.
Wenceslaus had become over its 136 year
history. This organization will strive do
everything in its power to preserve that
legacy for as long as is humanly possible.
May God bless you if you help to support our
mission.
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