By Marie Mulvenna

For some 250 families in Austell, ecumenism isn’t merely something they read about or hear about as a new thrust of the modern Church. It is, rather, a down-to-earth reality that’s practiced every day of every week and very much a part of their parish community lifestyle.

The families are all members of St. John Vianney parish in Austell, a South Cobb County community of 3,000. The parish is without a church and while their new multi-purpose building is being constructed they are using the facilities of their fellow Christians.

On Saturday evenings, Mass is celebrated at the Episcopal Church. Sunday morning, two Masses are celebrated between services at the Baptist Church, a sort of back-to-back worship concept. The parish choir regularly practices at the Methodist Church, where special liturgies for Christmas and New Year are celebrated.

The parish rectory is actually the property of the Presbyterian Church, rented by the parish as a makeshift headquarters. The Presbyterian Church is also utilized for occasional services such as those on All Saints Day.

CCD classes for the parish family are held in the Lithia Heights Elementary School. Other offers for use of facilities have come from a nearby Lutheran church as well as another Baptist church.

Father Peter Ludden, pastor of St. John Vianney, takes little credit for the phenomenal display of help from other faiths.

“It’s really a great legacy to Father Bill Hoffman,” he says with a sparkling Irish brogue, noting, “Father Hoffman had done all the groundwork and had established an excellent relationship with all the churches in the area.”

Father Hoffman is now serving in Peru as a missionary of the St. James Society.

Father Ludden is counting the weeks until the parish’s new facility will be completed, adding he is always semi-prepared for inevitable delays. In the interim, he keeps a close eye on the construction of the long-awaited church and parish center, now rising steadily on Skyview Drive on a 10-acre parcel of land in Lithia Springs. The new edifice is simple in design, multi-purpose by intention, and inspiring in nature.

The building cost of the parish center-church is $194,000 and the parish is in the midst of an intensive tithing program to assist the project substantially.

Father Ludden heaves a little sigh when he relates that they had to cut down on certain features originally planned such as the steeple and some indoor furnishings he had in mind. The projected cost does not include furnishings, seating (which must be removable and convertible in function), carpeting, etc. But even without the steeple, the new building is clearly the apple of Father Ludden's eye.

“Busy” is an inadequate word for the young priests from Ireland. He grins when he rattles off the latest prices at the local markets and offers some timesaving tips on cooking. He shakes his head in dismay at housework and points with a smile to his “filing system,” a series of cards taped on the dining room door. The other half of the double door is his “wardrobe” of liturgical vestments and the small dining room table is both altar, desk and meeting place, adorned with a pair of simple candlesticks and a typewriter. Mention of the latter item brings a grimace as Father Ludden explains he does not have a secretary. Kind of a one man show. In fact, one might term it a road show since Saturday night finds him loading up the car for Mass at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, followed Sunday morning by the trip to the Lithia Heights Baptist Church. “It’s a horror if you ever forget anything,” he says with a smile.

St. John Vianney is in no way a new parish for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. It has a rich history dating back to the 1890’s when the Marist Fathers began administering to the needs of the few Catholics in the area, celebrating Mass in homes on a regular basis.

The mission began to grow as the years passed and in 1949 Coats & Clark Inc. offered the use of the Community House in Clarksdale for services. In 1952, the mission was transferred to St. Joseph’s in Marietta with Mass continuing to be celebrated in the community hall. The late Bishop Francis E. Hyland saw the growing need for a chapel and asked that property be acquired for one. Eight acres were acquired, a chapel built and completed in 1958.

As the parish grew, so did the need for space and in 1968 the parish purchased 30 acres of land for a new church facility, planning to use the then-existing church building for another five years after some renovating had been done. A mere two weeks before the renovating process was finished, Georgia Power Company made a surprise offer to purchase the old church property, an offer Father Bill Hoffman termed “too attractive to turn down.” Twenty acres were sold to Georgia Power and then came the rather unique process of selling the old church building since acreage sale was effective within a mere month. Father Ludden reports the edifice was sold for about $2,000 and “carted off somewhere by the buyer.”

The situation then was again unique – a parish without a church. There was little prospect for one in the immediate future, so scouting efforts were made to find a temporary place for worship.

“We even considered the use of the local cinema or the Masonic lodge,” Father Ludden reports, adding there were problems of size involved. The parish had had the property in Lithia Springs for quite some time and when offers began to pour in from the community’s other churches, the decision was made to build the multi-purpose building and graciously accept the offers received.

The First United Methodist Church is the gathering place for the choir and Rev. Charles T. Gray, pastor of the parish, commented that “it’s our privilege” to have them. Rev. Gray and Father Ludden are both members of the Community Action Mission Program (CAMP) which involves a number of churches seeking to coordinate programs to help the young, the elderly and the needy of the community. “We hope to set the stage for programs for some federal funding to help people, especially in the housing area,” Father Ludden remarked.

Rev. Fred Lindstrom, Jr. is pastor of the Church of the Advent (Episcopal) and is a member of the Atlanta Police Department. His facilities are used every Saturday night for Mass and, in Father Ludden’s words, “it’s mobbed every week.”

Sunday morning finds Father Ludden and his flock at the Lithia Heights Baptist Church where the Rev. Art Weaver is pastor. Father Ludden and Rev. Weaver chat like old friends as they wander into the sanctuary. Father explains that he does a “little bit of re-arranging” to the sanctuary, moving a lectern and moving up another table to serve as an altar. “Since I travel with my vestments etc.,” Father Ludden says, “I then remove everything to a small room at the rear of the church while the Baptist congregation holds their regular services.” Then it’s back on again for another liturgy at 12:30. “Oh yes,” he says, “I hear confessions before Mass at the Baptist church too.”

Adjacent to the current rectory is the Austell Presbyterian Church, headed by Rev. Joseph Conyers. Walking into the moss-covered red brick building, Rev. Conyers describes the church as the oldest existing building in the area. The sanctuary was built in 1891 and presently serves a congregation of 200 families (in addition to those of St. John Vianney parish on special occasions).

Obviously blessed with a sense of humor, Father Ludden relates how “very relieved we will all be when we have our new home” adding he cannot help but chuckle when a Catholic family passing through calls to find out the schedule of Masses.

“When I tell them our Sunday Masses are in the Baptist Church it really blows their minds.”

Father Ludden was ordained in 1967 and served at Holy Cross, Chamblee, St. Joseph’s High School, and three years in Decatur prior to his new post in Austell. “When I came to Atlanta I expected to find flat land white with cotton. Instead I found it was hilly, wooded and a really thriving city … I felt right at home immediately.”

The new parish center will encompass a sizable worship area, also designed to be multi-purpose in use. Father Ludden said the worship area would have a removable platform and some sort of convertible seating, which could be utilized for church suppers or other parish functions.

Conducting a guided tour of the new building, Father Ludden pointed out a media section where films, books and other educational materials will be stored. On either side of the building are small classrooms which will house the CCD program for the parish which is run by Sister Lynne Nault. The middle section at the rear of the building will remain “open space,” Father reports, saying there would be constant use of the area for all sorts of parish functions. The necessary restrooms, kitchen areas, small chapel and sacristy are included in the current construction which, at the moment, is surrounded by a sea of mud and building materials.

Currently, the parish building and grounds committee is hunting sources for furnishings for the new edifice.

“Being in the new building will certainly help us a great deal,” Father Ludden says, “You could also throw in a bookkeeper and housekeeper and I’d really be in great shape,” he adds wistfully.

Although somewhat jocular about his many faceted roles as priest-cook-secretary-building inspector, Father Ludden is quite serious about the “primary work,” as he terms it, that he feels he should be doing. “I really feel that the pastoral and sacramental ministry for which a priest is ordained should not be lost in so much administration.”

“We’re shooting for mid-March, or even April for the completion,” Father says. At that time we will welcome with open arms our many dear Protestant friends who were so very helpful to us for the many months. Our joy on that occasion is one that must be shared with them, for they truly are our friends in Christ.”

Ecumenism is alive and thriving in a small community called Austell.