By Bill Karabinos

Construction of St. John Neumann Church in Lilburn is progressing according to schedule. Indeed, not fast enough for the parishioners of that fast-growing Gwinnett County parish, but, they shall be in their new Church by Thanksgiving.

Just two years ago this month, Father Paul Reynolds met with over 200 enthusiastic area Catholics in the tiny Lilburn Municipal Building to announce the establishment of the new South Gwinnett parish. That parish family has not stopped growing since, and now has 575 families registered.

The new parish center will include an Education building and parish hall to complement the near completed stone and wood Church. The Church is located on Tom Smith Road (as yet unpaved), directly behind the Hanarry Estates Subdivision in Gwinnett County. A long-time resident of the area placed the site as “a pistol-shot, a barrel-roll, a hoot and a holler, a stone’s throw and a spit away” from the intersection of Killian Hill and Five-Forks-Trickum Roads.

St. John Neumann parish did not wait for an adequate facility from which to function. A complete parish was initiated from the start. A total Religious Education program was established immediately and has performed remarkably well for two complete school years. The total success of the program has been due to the excellent quality of the volunteer teachers and coordinators; but particularly to the indomitable organizational skills of Jim and Joan Cleary.

More than 150 children have been prepared for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist and well over 100 candidates have been presented to the archbishop for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Men’s Club, Cursillo, Bible study programs, women’s guild, prayer groups and numerous other parish organizations are in full-swing and extremely vibrant.

The Gwinnett people welcomed this new parish with open arms and warm hearts, Good Shepherd Presbyterian and Trinity Lutheran Churches provided the sanctuary for Saturday evening and Holy Day Masses. Parkview public high school has been the site for the parish’s Sunday Masses as well as the elementary and adult religious education programs. The Hanarry Estates Club House has been the haven for the high school CCD program and many of the parish social functions.

Gwinnett County is growing rapidly. Everywhere, new subdivisions are being carved out of acres that once rambled with kudzu and yellow pine. The future growth of the county is assured and so is the continued growth of St. John Neumann. Father Reynolds, speaking to new families moving into the Lilburn area, has been noted to quote Abraham Lincoln as he tells them, “We find ourselves in peaceful possession of the fairest portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil and salubrity of climate.”

He may be a bit carried away, but only because he, like the rest of the parish, is caught up in the exuberance of growth and the blessed anticipation of being once more able to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament in the real St. John Neumann Catholic Church.