By Gretchen Keiser

Old and new, side by side grace St. Thomas More parish now as a modern parish center is joined to the 41-year-old church on Ponce de Leon Avenue by a piazza.

Celebrating completion of the bulk of the work, parishioners took part in a dedication Mass November 3 and 800 had a buffet lunch indoors and on tables set outdoors on the plaza and grounds.

Ann Dugan, pastoral assistant who chaired the renovations committee, said the three-year project, launched somewhat innocently in 1988 as a limited improvements effort, has as its theme, “Gather us in, all people together.”

The ball began rolling at a parish assembly facilitated by Catholic Social Services several years ago that asked people to dream and plan for the future of St. Thomas More in Decatur.

Recently appointed pastor Father Patrick Mulhern reconvened a parish council at the time that, in his words, “examined our (parish) community, its strengths and its weaknesses.”

Among strengths the pastor noted St. Thomas More’s “excellent, award-winning school,” which was chosen a 1988 National School of Excellence. Another parish strength, he said, “is the extraordinary repository of faith in its older members. On this firm foundation our new parishioners are enthusiastically continuing a tradition.”

Weaknesses found by the council were the renovations needed in the parish buildings, which were constructed in the early 1950s, and the need to provide more activity space for both the school and the parish community. Space originally used for priests and sisters, who teach in the school, also needed to be reexamined to see how it could be made appropriate for the new needs of the community.

A parish group, named to study possible renovations, ended up initiating parish fund-raising, and sponsoring meetings and workshops to solicit opinions from a cross-section of the parish.

“We could not do everything with the money we had,” Mrs. Dugan said, but the top priorities identified by the parish led to the eventual master plan, which included building the new parish hall, renovating the school, installing a lift so that the handicapped could enter the church from a parking lot below, creating a nursery, and carrying out asbestos removal or abatement as needed.

Parishioners pledged to give $800,000 through a three-year drive which is half complete and the remainder of the cost is borrowed from the archdiocese.

A cross-section of new residents and old-timers, St. Thomas More is the parish which birthed Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sts. Peter and Paul. Founded in 1941, the parish has had a school staffed by sisters of Notre Dame de Namur since 1950 and until recently was the home parish for the Korean Catholic community. Sister Margaret Mary McKeon, SND, is school principal.

At the dedication Mass, 35 people sat in front pews who have been a part of St. Thomas More from its creation. More and more young families have been joining the parish in the 1980s, pushing parish registration now over 1,000 households.

Creating the new brick parish center adjacent to the church/school freed up space in the original building for four new classrooms and new principal’s office. “We moved the little ones downstairs,” Mrs. Dugan said, indicating that the new space is housing two kindergartens and two first-grades, as well as a large storage area.

The original primary classroom space upstairs has been turned into counselor’s office and schools’ development office. Improvements were made throughout the old school, as classrooms were air-conditioned and new windows and doors installed.

The new parish center provides cafeteria space for the children during the week and a meeting area or parish hall as needed, with seating for 600 or dining for 400, Mrs. Dugan said. Other rooms include a new kitchen, music room, stage, teachers’ lounge, and a new home for the volunteer-staffed Immaculata Shop, selling Catholic religious gifts, a longtime parish tradition.

Yet to come is the creation of a nursery on the first floor of the convent, and a bride’s room. A former classroom in the convent has been turned into a youth gathering area.

Linking all is the brick piazza which invites gathering and outdoor festivities of all types.

Architect Richard Rothman “had the vision” to see that an original design concept by the parish needed to be reworked to bring the area together, Mrs. Dugan said.

In addition to changing old structures and building a new one, the design impacted parking and entrances to the church, set back from weaving Ponce de Leon Avenue under shady trees. The new design has entrances and exits both on Ponce de Leon and on Trinity Street, behind the church.

Construction was done by Bon Builders of Lithonia a Terry Minor was construction architect.

The renovation committee, made up of George Davis, Bill and Peg Donnelly, John Lewis, Jane McNabb, John Podhorez and Tim Shoemaker, in addition to Mrs. Dugan and Father Mulhern, met weekly for several years in carrying out the wishes of the parish.

“We were all neophytes,” which led to hours of “suffering and decision-making” as the group tried to represent the whole parish and elicit parish decisions, Mrs. Dugan said, calling it “the best committee I’ve ever served on in my life.”

“It has been very difficult because of the decision and the money involved, but the harmony and the support of the parish has been unbelievable,” she said.

Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, celebrated the dedication Mass, mingled for several hours with parishioners afterward at the reception, and granted a spontaneous request from school staff to give a school holiday November 8 in honor of his visit and the occasion. The announcement drew cheers from the children.

In his homily, the archbishop said the new parish center is “a physical sign of our faith” and “a gift which will be enjoyed by all, the old, the young, those seeking education and counseling, and those who wish to enjoy the hospitality of this Christian family.”

“The work of the renovation committee, the priests and the nuns, has joined with the generosity of the entire parish community to make this new facility possible, and in that generosity, the love of God shows itself in our love of each other,” he said.