By Larry Melear, (Archdiocesan Evangelization Committee)

Rapid growth has marked the five years since Cobb County’s Holy Family Church held its first Mass on a high school basketball court, so growth is expected, but not even the most imaginative parishioner could have anticipated the spectacular gains which were experienced during last week’s parish renewal campaign.

“We took a giant leap forward toward being a real community,” said one parishioner in evaluating the weeklong renewal effort. “It made me proud to be a Catholic,” added a visitor.

“We averaged 750 at our nightly services,” reports Holy Family pastor, John Mulroy. With the morning services and youth programs, the estimated daily attendance exceeded 1,000, which sets an unofficial record as the largest parish renewal in the history of the Atlanta archdiocese.

The spiritual results are evidenced as the ranks of parish educational and renewal activities begin to swell, and two new parish action groups were formed out of the week of renewal.

The renewal format was simple morning and evening services, Monday through Friday, offered a basic review of Christianity and the Catholic faith. The teachings were presented by guest speaker, Father Richard Kieran, assisted by the parish staff.

Behind the scenes, a staff of 50 volunteers handled the logistics of the renewal week, which was 10-months in planning. It was a highly-organized effort that covered a thousand details from ice-water for the speaker to a massive pre-renewal invitation effort that reached more than 70 per cent of the parish’s 1,700 families by telephone or personal visit.

“We’ve perfected a renewal model that we can use again,” says Father Mulroy who is already busying planning a renewal week for September 1980.

The Holy Family model was based on the renewal program designed by Father Kieran and is described in detail in his booklet, “Parish Evangelization.” This is the seventh time Father Kieran has presented the program. Five of the previous offerings were in the Archdiocese of Atlanta; one was in a Miami parish.

“The Holy Family week of renewal was the most successful to date, both in attendance and in the quality of response,” comments Father Kieran, who promises an update of his manual based on the Holy Family experience. He adds that the key to Holy Family’s accomplishment was the “...intense involvement of the renewal team in personal invitation and publicity.”

“It was a bountiful harvest; we just thank God,” says Joanne Melear, renewal team co-chairperson, and her words seem to echo the spirit of the day at Holy Family.