Shelby Township — Food bank, medical closet, clothing giveaways and a religious education program that educates around 800 children. St. Therese of Lisieux Parish has a lot going for it.

Not bad for a parish that started out in a strip mall on Hall Road 25 years ago.

On Sept. 25, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron joined pastor Fr. Lawrence Zurawski in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Shelby Township parish, with many of the founding families in attendance.

Archbishop Vigneron commended the parish for its active ministries, including a collection of food it recently sent to Mother of Divine Mercy Parish’s food bank in Detroit.

But during his homily about the Lazarus and the rich man, Archbishop Vigneron said the parish is more than a charitable community, but a place where parishioners encounter Jesus.

“Yes, it’s important to give good works, but it’s more important to treat a person with a human connection,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “That’s the difference between a church and a benevolent society. That’s what the Church offers, a heart-to-heart Christian relationship.”

In the Gospel message, Abraham told the rich man there was a great chasm between where he was and where Lazarus was, a chasm nobody could cross.

Archbishop Vigneron said the chasm between Lazarus and the rich man was there long before they died, and it’s adherence to the Word of God that bridges the gap between them.

“By God’s good will, there is a connection between all of us,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “The rich man, even after he died, was egotistical. We must love God and our brother. They go together, like peanut butter and jelly. For 25 years, this parish has been a place, a center, a source for breaking the boundaries that keep people apart.”

After Mass, parishioners gathered for a reception, where St. Therese of Lisieux communications coordinator Chris Piebiak said the parish has embraced the New Evangelization, going out to the area to tell the news of Jesus.

“During our ChristLife program, we sent out thousands of mailers to people in the area, and in the next two weeks, everybody was hyped up saying, ‘This is my church.’ It was a big boost in morale,” Piebiak said. “Externally, we gained a couple dozen new families from that program. We had dozens of homebound who were looking for community, looking for a place to receive Communion. We’re out there; we are going to the people. That what it means to be an evangelizing parish.”