The doors were open walking into Michigan’s oldest Episcopal church Thursday morning.
Two staff members, Marshall and Brandon, were hanging up a Christmas wreath on one of the entrances when they noticed a Michigan Chronicle reporter walking up to greet them.
Instead of probing a stranger as to their purpose inside the Cathedral Church of St. Paul on Woodward and East Hancock St., the men opened the doors with smiles.
“This Cathedral, it needs to be a welcoming place,” the Rev. Joseph C. Alsay, the first Black dean in the church’s history, told Michigan Chronicle on Thursday.
Alsay sat in a chair in his office recounting staff member’s reactions to their first look inside his newly decorated office.
He’s the first Black dean at the Midtown church that is over 100 years old.
“We talk about the Cathedral is made up of part of our logo, our motto: diverse people, daily relevance and inspiring space. It’s fine to have an inspiring space, but what good is it if it doesn’t do anything for you?” Alsay said.
The friendly greeting from staff members outside of the church is also part of Alsay’s vision to create a more inviting space for residents looking for a place of worship.
The church has around 130 members, but Alsay says his goal is to increase the number of people who the church can benefit.
He’s got experience doing just that as the priest who transformed his former church, St. Augustine of Canterbury in Oklahoma.
St. Augustine is in an area of Oklahoma City home to large churches popular with prominent politicians.
Alsay’s members at the church — local Republican and Democratic officials — were the subject of a feature from the Oklahoman that highlights Alsay’s efforts to bring people of different backgrounds together.
But he has offered his opinions on hot-button issues affecting his community.
In 2017, Alsay wrote an opinion editorial arguing politicians of all stripes have a moral obligation to protect children brought to the United States as undocumented from deportation.
“I believe Republicans and Democrats alike must come together to provide these young people the certainty that they need and deserve,” Alsay wrote.
Alsay takes over as the eleventh dean for the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, succeeding Dean Scott Hunter, who retired from the position last year after 17 years in the position.
Formed in 1824, the congregation was the first Episcopal and first Protestant church in Michigan. Members have held service inside the cathedral, located at 4800 Woodward Ave in Midtown Detroit, since 1911.
The funeral service for Henry Ford, was held there in 1947. The demonstration was as reported as one of the highest attended events in the city’s history at the time.
Today, the church has an active community of about 130 members.
Alsay’s official start at the Detroit cathedral was Sunday, Nov. 30, the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year.
Episcopal Diocese of Michigan Bishop Bonnie A. Perry in a statement praised the church’s selection of Alsay.
“Electing Joseph Alsay to lead the Cathedral Church of St. Paul is a bold, historic choice, and the perfect next step for this community of faith to become the soul of the city and heartbeat of our diocese,” Perry said in a statement. “I could not be more delighted.”
Perry, like Alsay, has not shied away from sharing her political opinions. Earlier this year, she called on Michigan lawmakers to enact stricter gun laws after a mass shooting at a Ladder Day Saints Church in Grand Blanc.
“We look forward to welcoming Dean Elect Alsay into our cathedral family and to the ways his gifts and vision will help guide us in this new season to come,” said John LaDuke, senior warden, Cathedral Church of St. Paul.
Alsay received his Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Oklahoma Baptist University and his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
In Oklahoma, Alsay was known for his passion, positive energy and leadership. During his time at St. Augustine of Canterbury, he developed new programs, increased membership and moved the congregation from mission to parish status.
Alsay says he wants to do the same thing for his new church in Midtown.
“A new dean represents a new chapter in the life of this congregation. People can pick up on a person’s energy in a space.” Alsay said. “People can feel it’s different.”
It wasn’t an easy decision leaving his old congregation he had grown.
“I needed time to say goodbye to the folks in Oklahoma — I had been there for 15 years, before that I was at Trinity Episcopal Church Downtown Tulsa, which was my first call.”
Alsay was also the first African American leader at Trinity. He says there are similarities between Detroit and Tulsa, two cities with rich Black American history.
“In Tulsa, of course there were race riots somewhat like in Detroit in the 1960s, and of course urban renewal also,” Alsay said. “My barber in Tulsa was in the historic Greenwood area and so I would take my kids there and show them the plaques that are on the sidewalk and would say, ‘Understand that it wasn’t just Chicago or New York that had these bustling, vibrant African American communities.’”
Alsay’s children, Zoe, Zipporah and Caleb were all born in Tulsa, he said.
Alsay, who is from Chicago, received his Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Oklahoma Baptist University and his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
He said his mother-in-law who graduated from Wayne State University decades ago.
“If you would’ve been able to whisper into my mother-in-law’s ear, ‘Turn right there look towards that Cathedral — one day your daughter, your little girl will end up marrying a priest who will be the dean,” Alsay said of his wife’s late mother.
His wife’s family is from Philadelphia but moved to Detroit when she was one, returning back to Pennsylvania when she was six.
“Either God has a great sense of humor, or there is truly a plan,” Alsay said.
You can attend the church’s Christmas Eve service at 4800 Woodward Ave. at 4pm and a candlelight service at 10:30pm, Wednesday, Dec. 24.
You can reach Sam at srobinson@michronicle.com
