About Holy Family · Sebewaing, Michigan
Holy Family Church is a Catholic worship site in Sebewaing, Michigan, now part of the clustered Our Lady Consolata Parish of Cass City within the Diocese of Saginaw. The parish serves Sebewaing, Unionville, and the surrounding Thumb-area townships, and today shares its pastoral team with sister churches St. Pancratius in Cass City and St. Agatha in Gagetown. Holy Family continues to host a Sunday Mass and Sacramental Penance schedule even though, since the Diocese of Saginaw's 2013 restructuring, it has been classified as an "Additional Use Church" rather than the parish's primary worship site.
- Established
- 1974
- Patron
- The Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph)
- Rector
- Rev. Christian F. Tabares (Parochial Administrator, per public parish listings)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Saginaw
Why belong here
Holy Family offers a small, community-sized Catholic home in the rural Thumb of Michigan, with a Sunday Mass in English, easy Sunday-morning Confession, and an active cemetery ministry — and it is backed by the wider resources of Our Lady Consolata Parish (faith formation, daily livestreamed Mass, sacramental preparation). The parish is also currently in its "Year of Sacraments of Initiation" and its Next Generation Parish implementation, meaning newcomers will find open invitations into faith formation, engagement, and welcoming ministries. For Catholics in Sebewaing, Unionville, and the surrounding townships, it is a place where they can both belong locally and stay connected across a multi-site parish family.
Mass times at Holy Family
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. (Holy Family Church, Sebewaing)
- Saturday: 3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. (St. Pancratius Church, Cass City — parish-cluster option)
- Or by appointment, Sunday through Friday
Adoration times
- Holy Hour (per parish announcements — held at the parish, including during diocesan visits such as the August 2013 holy hour with Bishop Cistone)
History of Holy Family Parish
Holy Family was created in 1974 by merging Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sebewaing with St. Joseph in Unionville, and built its present church about 1.5 miles south of Sebewaing on M-25. In the early 2010s the Diocese of Saginaw's priest-shortage restructuring reclassified Holy Family as an Additional Use Church, prompting a 2013 rally outside its doors; it now belongs to the clustered Our Lady Consolata Parish of Cass City.
- 1974: Parish formed by merger of Nativity of the BVM (Sebewaing) and St. Joseph (Unionville)
- 1997: Cemetery booklet compiled by Robert B. LaBelle, transcribed by Judith Grigg in 2008
- August 8, 2013: "Save Our Rural Catholic Churches" rally held on the grounds
- 2014: Reclassified as Additional Use Church under diocesan restructuring
- Today: Clustered within Our Lady Consolata Parish of Cass City
Our Lady Consolata Parish Today
Holy Family is one of three worship sites in Our Lady Consolata Parish of Cass City. The parish website identifies three church locations: St. Pancratius Church in Cass City (parish church), Holy Family Church in Sebewaing (additional use), and St. Agatha Church in Gagetown (occasional use). A single pastoral team ministers across all three, and a daily livestreamed Mass keeps the cluster connected.
- St. Pancratius Church, Cass City — Parish Church
- Holy Family Church, Sebewaing — Additional Use Church
- St. Agatha Church, Gagetown — Occasional Use Church
- Daily Livestreamed Mass offered by the parish
Next Generation Parish — Implementation Phase
Our Lady Consolata Parish is moving into the implementation phase of becoming a Next Generation Parish, a diocesan process to expand lay leadership around an envisioning plan. Three priorities have been named, each with a lay leader and two measurable goals, and the parish is recruiting additional goal leaders to help carry them out.
- Engagement — led by Val Peters-Somerville
- Welcoming — led by Paula Lounsbury
- Faith Formation — led by Rob Piaskowski
- Year of Sacraments of Initiation (current parish-wide emphasis)
Parish Staff & Leadership
Pastoral leadership across Our Lady Consolata Parish is shared by clergy, deacons, and lay staff, supported by a Pastoral Council and Finance Council.
- Rev. Christian F. Tabares — Parochial Administrator
- Rev. Robert J. Paré — Sacramental Minister ([email protected])
- Deacon David Gillespie — Director of Parish Life ([email protected])
- Amy Gruehn — Bookkeeper / Cemetery Administrator / Secretary ([email protected])
- Jill Susalla — Faith Formation ([email protected])
- Val Somerville — Pastoral Council Chair
- Matt Boucher — Finance Council Chair
Faith Formation & Sacramental Preparation
Faith Formation is coordinated across the clustered parish under Jill Susalla, and the parish is currently marking a Year of Sacraments of Initiation, with extra attention to bringing members into full sacramental life.
- Parish-wide Faith Formation program (Jill Susalla)
- Year of Sacraments of Initiation initiative
- Faith Formation priority team led by Rob Piaskowski
Holy Family Catholic Cemetery
The parish operates the Holy Family Catholic Cemetery, located on Mill Street off East Bay Street in Section 8 of Sebewaing Township, just north of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery. Cemetery administration is handled through the parish office by Amy Gruehn, the parish's Bookkeeper / Cemetery Administrator / Secretary.
- Location: Mill Street off East Bay Street, Sebewaing Township, Huron County
- One of two active Roman Catholic cemeteries serving Sebewaing
- Records booklet compiled by Robert B. LaBelle, 1997
Contact & Visiting Information
Parish office correspondence and sacramental requests are handled through the Our Lady Consolata Parish office in Gagetown, while Holy Family's physical address remains on Unionville Road in Sebewaing. Both phone numbers below reach the same parish family.
- Church address: 8370 Unionville Rd., Sebewaing, MI 48759
- Parish office (mailing): 4618 South St., PO Box 139, Gagetown, MI 48735-0139
- Phone: 989-665-1027 (office) / 989-883-2746 (Holy Family)
- Office hours: Tue–Wed 9 a.m.–4 p.m. (closed 12:30–1:30); Fri 9 a.m.–12 noon
- Email: [email protected] · [email protected] · [email protected]
- Website: http://www.olconsolata.org/