Marie Muldoon comes to Dahlonega this month as the first member of "Group Seven."

"Group Seven" is the catchy name chosen by the Glenmary Home Missioners for the cooperating organization of lay people who are interested in promoting the Gospel through their life-style in the home mission areas of the United States.

Miss Muldoon joined Group Seven this month and is volunteering her services to work in the Dahlonega area under the direction of the pastor of St. Luke's Church, Rev. Gerald Peterson.

Three other church workers who came to Dahlonega this month are Mrs. Claudia Sokany, Brother Gino Vertassich of Glenmary and Patrick Flom, a student of theology who is interested in joining Glenmary.

For these and the two Sisters of Notre Dame working in Clarksville, an orientation program will be conducted this week.

During the week's program, Father Norman Choate, a research sociologist in the Town and Country Department of CARA in Washington, will stress the necessity and technique of setting goals and priorities in work.

The history of the South and the theology of lay ministry in the Church are the topics Father John McNearney will present.

Father McNearney is the Glenmary priest designated by the Society in Oct. 1970 to promote and implement Group Seven.

Father Peterson, with the ready assistance of a local Baptist pastor, Rev. Dean Bryant and Rev. Jesse Warwick, pastor of Dahlonega's United Methodist Church, will acquaint the group with the religion, culture and needs of the area.

Vatican Council II stressed the active role of the laity in the Church: "The whole Church is missionary, and the work of evangelization is a basic duty of the People of God."

The Glenmary Home Missioners see Group Seven as a way to endorse the efforts of the Council to make the laity aware of their missionary responsibility. They believe there is a real need to get more people involved in the Home Mission effort in the U.S.A. They are sponsoring Group Seven in an attempt to partially answer this need.

Doctors, lawyers, teachers, church workers, deacons, nurses, secretaries, priests, Brothers, Sisters, skilled and unskilled, Christian men and women are needed to serve in the rural area where the Catholic Church is virtually unknown.

The purpose of Group Seven is to be a Christian Community of faith, hope and love. As an interpersonal community, it has a service to perform toward all men. The community is driven to this by Christ's love, which brought it into being and sustains it. Thus members of the community are united first by their love for one another and secondly, but their missionary work of love.

Application for membership is open to anyone who is Catholic, at least 21 years of age, and willing to commit themselves for a minimum of two years to work in the home mission areas of the U.S.

Financially, it is hoped that the members will be able to support themselves, either from the salary they receive from the work in the community or from the room and board and allowance they receive from the local church.