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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — St. Stephen Parish in Allen Park, Michigan, has been blessed with a new administrator to fill the void the community had experienced since their previous pastor of 30 years, Father Cyril Attak, retired in 2017. Father Attak died in April this year.
Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma assigned Father John Russell to be the new administrator, effective July 1.
July was an eventful month for Father Russell, his wife, Katie, and their four children. In addition to coordinating their move from Indiana to Michigan, Father Russell had to resolve some structural issues in the rectory that included replacing water-damaged floors and working with a civil engineer to prevent future flooding.
While Father Russell’s mother was born in the Detroit area, Father Russell and his wife were born and raised in Indiana. As a result, their move to Metro Detroit brought with it some new discoveries, such as Michigan’s 10-cent deposit on beverage cans and bottles. Father Russell also recalled that his mother had a liking for Vernor’s Ginger Ale — a Detroit-original pop since the late 1800s — and he was surprised to find it everywhere in the area.
Father Russell has been an artist since childhood. It was his love of painting and study of art in college that led him to the Byzantine Catholic Church, to his calling as an iconographer, and to his priestly vocation. His love of art also led him to his wife, Katie, whom he met in art class when they were 12.
After seminary, he served for three years as a deacon at his home parish, St. Athanasius, in Indianapolis. Bishop Lach ordained him to the priesthood Oct. 8, 2017. Father Russell continued to serve at St. Athanasius Parish after his ordination as a priest and until his assignment to St. Stephen’s.
Father Russell said parishioners at St. Stephen’s have been generous, kind, and welcoming, giving his four children toys and clothing, for which they are grateful. He said his family and the parish community are still getting to know each other and are prayerfully hopeful of growing closer in Christ. To that end, Father Russell expanded the parish liturgical schedule and the celebration of different prayer services.
Deacon Lawrence Hendricks, who has been active in the Detroit-area parishes his entire life, was also assigned to the parish, effective July 1. He grew up at St. Nicholas Parish in Detroit and St. Basil the Great Parish in Sterling Heights. He then attended Sacred Heart Parish in Livonia, from the 1970s to the 1990s, where he raised his family. Once ordained a deacon in 1995, he continued to serve at Sacred Heart Parish. He was later assigned to St. Stephen Parish. He returned to Sacred Heart to serve for some time, before his most recent re-appointment to St. Stephen’s.
Caption: Father John Russell, his wife, Katie, and their four children pose on the lawn of St. Stephen Parish in Allen Park, Michigan. Father Russell began at the parish July 1. (Photo courtesy of the Russell Family)
As published in Horizons, Oct. 21, 2018.
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