The Flint Experience 

I have a passion for giving back to the community, especially for feeding the community. If the community had not been there for me when I was growing up, I would not have survived. 

When Father Tim MacDonald’s parents moved to Flint in 1966, the city was a welcome destination for families.

“My parents came to Michigan in 1966. They recall it being a beautiful and exciting place,” says Father Tim. “My father is still there now, 49 years later.  I remember it as a place with good schools and lots of opportunities.”

The family lived in St. Michael Parish, and was very active in everything the church had to offer, including the school for as long as it remained open. Father Tim’s memories of Flint are fond ones, and his history with St. Michael’s is a source of strength.

“St. Michael’s in Flint has always been a special parish,” Father Tim says. “What the parish hasn’t lost is its character and sense of family and unity. I think my life in Flint made me who I am today. I miss living there.”

Although he was young when life in Flint got harder, Father Tim remembers when the city began to change. Neighborhood blight began to appear, and those who could often left the city for suburbia. 

“It was a perfect storm,” says Father Tim. “In the past 50 years the people in Flint have opened their eyes to a new reality.”

Father Tim sees a renaissance beginning in Flint, and positive change on the way for the city’s parishes. 

“I know there are big things afoot for Flint parishes and that they will come together like never before,” he says. “The churches have a strong will to survive. I believe that will be the source of their unity.”