A New Aisle for New Beginnings

Someday, a bride will stand at the back of St. Michael (Poplar Springs), take a breath, and begin walking down the center aisle toward the person she is about to marry.

That center aisle does not exist today...but it likely will thanks to St. Michael's Come to the Table capital campaign.

A new center aisle is one of the many changes now taking shape as St. Michael undertakes a major renovation of its church, a project made possible by parishioners who have already pledged more than $2.3 million.

For Father Paul Sparklin, pastor, and the people of the St. Michael parish community, the renovation is about much more than updating a building. It is about creating a church that will serve Catholic families for generations.

The new center aisle may be one of the easiest ways to see that vision. Future brides will walk down it. Children will process through it for their First Communions. Families will gather for baptisms, confirmations and funerals. Week after week, parishioners will come together there to celebrate the Eucharist.

Those moments are what St. Michael’s parishioners are investing in.

Their generosity is transforming the church today, but the real impact of their gifts will be measured over decades, in sacraments celebrated, prayers offered, families formed and a Catholic community strengthened.

In a new video, Father Paul walks through St. Michael and shares the renovations now underway and the vision behind them.

As you watch, it is easy to see construction.

But it is even more powerful to imagine what comes next: a bride walking down a new center aisle, a family filling a pew, a child receiving a sacrament… and another generation finding a home in the Catholic Church.

More than $2.3 million has been pledged for St. Michael’s renovation, but parishioners are not simply renovating the church they inherited. They are preparing it for the people who will come after them.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COME TO THE TABLE CAMPAIGN HERE: https://www.smpschurch.org/come-to-the-table/

WATCH FATHER PAUL'S TOUR OF THE RENOVATIONS HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3KZnUE2-I0

Please join us in giving thanks and praying for Sulpician Father Shawn Gould, president of St. Mary’s Seminary & University. 🙏

During his installation Mass, Father Gould received the university’s symbols of office — a mace and chain representing the responsibility entrusted to him and the institution he serves.

“With your help, and especially the love of the Holy Spirit,” he said, “I hope that I will not fail to wear them.”

May the Holy Spirit continue to guide Father Gould as he leads St. Mary’s Seminary & University and helps form future priests for the Church. ✨

A moment of gratitude and celebration for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. ✨

Archbishop William E. Lori will bestow Papal Honors from Pope Leo XIV upon 21 members of the laity, clergy and religious in recognition of their faithful service to the Church and our community.

Join us for Solemn Lauds and the conferral of these special honors on Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Please join us in giving thanks for these dedicated servants of the Church! 🙏