Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin will dedicate the new mission chapel of St. Matthew’s, Whistleville, Sunday, July 10, at 4 p.m. Situated near Winder, the chapel will serve the Catholics of Barrow County. It will be the only church between Athens and Atlanta and a mission of St. Joseph’s Parish in Athens.

The choir of Holy Cross Parish, Chamblee, will sing at the dedication Mass. Also assisting in the dedication are Jacob Bollmer, Thomas Rogan, John Thomas and Dennis LaBonte, seminarians who have been conducting a summer Bible school at St. Matthew’s and taking a census in the area of the chapel.

The church building is located on a site of 4.6 acres fronting on Highway 29. It is a former country school which was closed because of consolidation. The former school was named after Dr. Matthews, well known in the Winder area. The new chapel’s name is such to keep alive the memory of this man for the people of the area.

The building contains an auditorium and four classrooms. The auditorium has been converted into the chapel. Two classrooms are used for religious instruction, a third for a nursery and the fourth as a kitchen for serving coffee after Mass.

The pews in the new chapel were formerly in Sacred Heart Church, Athens, a mission church since closed. The altar pulpit and confessional were donated by St. Jude’s Parish, Sandy Springs, from their former church.

When asked about the challenge of beginning and supporting a new chapel, Jim Taylor, a parishioner, expressed gratitude for the Georgia mission collection.

“None of us are really poor, but we sure are scarce. Just knowing that all the people of the archdiocese were working with us gave us the courage and the hope we needed. If it were not for the Georgia mission collections it would be years before we would have a church in our county. It is not just our efforts but the efforts and spirit of the entire archdiocese that has brought a Catholic Church to Whistleville,” Taylor said.