By Judy Tempka

For a church whose members have been congregating in a small house and retail shopping center space over the past 17 years, October 20 was a special day indeed.

That Sunday parishioners of Good Shepherd Church in Cumming gathered for the first time in their new church for a dedication Mass celebrated by Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM. In addition to dedicating the rectory and church, Archbishop Lyke also confirmed 36 parish young people.

In his homily to a packed church the archbishop said the church, first of all, “is a holy space – a place where we stage our life markers, all our important rites of passage.”

“Our church is a storehouse of health for our souls; in its walls are hope for the healing of the human condition,” he said.

When we experience emptiness of the soul, or “hunger for spiritual sustenance, the church is where we come.”

The Church of the Good Shepherd sits on 17 acres and serves all of Forsyth County. An adjoining 17 acres is being sold by the parish with sale proceeds going toward the $1.2 million cost of the new facility.

According to the pastor, Father John Ozarowski, the parish has already contributed $200,000 toward the cost. He called the new church, “Beautiful! It (planning and construction) worked beyond our wildest dreams.”

The architect of the project is Robin Millard, a Good Shepherd parishioner.

The dedication began at 11 a.m. with congregants gathered in a line near the rectory, behind the church. Standing amidst the long line of parishioners, Archbishop Lyke proclaimed it “a day of rejoicing.”

Leading the procession were the Confirmation candidates and their sponsors; following were members of the parish. The entire group paused at the front doors of the new church.

“Mr. Robin Millard has just presented me with these complex but very beautiful plans to this new church,” the archbishop said, adding that an architect “is imitating the creative mind of God when he created the plans of this church.”

Just before being presented with keys and unlocking the doors, the archbishop said, “If the architect is like the mind of God, then the contractor is perhaps like the angels of God who indeed put it all in place.”

The exterior of the church is grey and white stucco. Upon entering, one steps into a long vestibule, with one side leading to the church sanctuary and the other leading to the social hall and attached kitchen, educational wing and nursery. The building encompasses 14,500 square feet.

Four priests assisted Archbishop Lyke in the dedication Mass, Father Larry Schmuhl, SM, parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s Church in Marietta; Father James Cummings, SM, chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, Father Timothy Ryan of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Alpharetta; and Father Ozarowski, pastor since October, 1988. Good Shepherd became a parish in 1975.

The assisting deacons were William Keen of St. Andrew’s Church in Roswell, James O’Brien of St. John Neumann Church in Lilburn; and Daniel Bradach of St. Paul’s mission in Cleveland.

In dedicating the new North Georgia church, Archbishop Lyke began the ritual by sprinkling holy water on the priests, deacons, parishioners and, as he walked around the perimeter of the church, the walls, with a sheaf of palm leaves.

He anointed the altar with chrism by pouring it generously into the bare wood and spreading it with his hands. Two women from the congregation then toweled off the excess oil.

Two large flower bouquets and several more green garden arrangements were brought forth and placed near the altar and front window. Incense was burned and candles standing near the altar were lighted.

Near the end of Mass, Father Ozarowski thanked the architect, the building, fundraising, hospitality, and logistics committees, the choir, the contractors and construction workers and all the people of the church, adding “May the 20th day of October, 1991 ring in our hearts and in our ears for many years to come.”

Archbishop Lyke told the parish that this is the fourth church Father Ozarowski has built, noting there were two in Trenton, N.J., and two in the Atlanta archdiocese, St. Andrew’s in Roswell, and Good Shepherd. He added, to the priest, “and I promise you, you won’t have to build another one! Tomorrow you can have a day off.”

Parishioners were exuberant in their delight over their new church home.

“I love it, it’s beautiful,” said Pat Pitts, the mother of three who has been a member of the church since it began as a mission in a house on Old Atlanta Highway. “It’s been a long time,” she said, pausing for a moment during a reception in the social center after Mass.

“I think it’s great,” noted Jim Cheshire, who, with his wife, Loretto, has been a member since June 1990. “I think now this parish will come together.”

“I think you’ll see a lot of families who weren’t going to church, or going to other facilities, will now come back here. We’re looking forward to the chance to become more involved,” said Cheshire, who lives in south Forsyth County.

Archbishop Lyke noted the unique flavor of this new church. “Every parish community has its own identity,” he said. “The people here have longed to have their own house of prayer. They have, from the very beginning now, their own social hall and education building, and this shows great generosity and determination on the part of the people here.”

“I’d like to express my deep appreciation to the pastor and committees and lay leadership,” he added. “This kind of thing is very difficult to do. It takes a lot of commitment on the part of the people – they are to be congratulated.”

In his homily, the archbishop told those gathered that “the building may be finished, but the growth of the temple goes on” in the people who reflect the love of God.

Speaking to Confirmation candidates, he said, “You are the church – not this building. You are the light of the world. You are the altar of sacrifice. As Christ is the peace to us, so you are to be the peace of Christ to each other.

“You best exemplify why we have a church structure, a beautiful building, in the first place.”

When he came to the parish in 1988, Father Ozarowski said, there were 140 families. Serious planning for a permanent church structure began in 1988. A year later, the sale of six acres of property and the “temporary” church paved the way for the planning of the present facility, he said. There are now approximately 350 families in Good Shepherd parish.