By Rita McInerney

The vigor of Catholicism among Koreans in the archdiocese of Atlanta was shown Sunday, Sept. 20, as they dedicated their new pastoral center at 6003 Buford Highway, NE, in Doraville.

Monsignor R. Donald Kiernan, pastor of All Saints Church, Dunwoody, dedicated the church and was principal celebrant of the Mass. Bishop Vincent B. Lee, of Chun Ju diocese in South Korea, participated in the dedication and gave the homily in Korean.

Three priests identified with the Korean apostolate in Atlanta were concelebrants. Father Benedict Y. Hyon, administrator of the Korean Pastoral Center, and two predecessors, Father John S. So and Father Simon B. Han, both now assigned to Chun Ju diocese. Deacon Ray Egan, of All Saints Church, was master of ceremonies.

Celebrated at the same time was the 15th anniversary of the congregation which first worshiped together at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Atlanta.

In his homily Bishop Lee said he was not disappointed to see that some renovations remain unfinished in the church and the adjacent religious education building. It is better, the bishop told the congregation, for them to help finish the work, rather than contract it out. That way, he added, the debt will not be as great.

Then Bishop Lee spoke of the need of the individual to gain interior peace and to live at peace with friends and neighbors before offering prayers and good works to God. He gave as an example, Somalia, the tragic African country where countless inhabitants are starving to death because greed, power and lust have motivated rival clans and gangs to rule with killing weapons.

Before coming to Atlanta, Bishop Lee also made pastoral visits to Korean Catholics in Houston and Los Angeles. He returned to South Korea Sept. 22.

In presenting the keys of the church to Monsignor Kiernan, the parish council president, Chil Young Son, said, "It has been a long, difficult road to this point today. For over 10 years the members in our church have sacrificed and dedicated themselves to the dream of owning our own church building ... We dedicate this building and ourselves to the 103 Catholics who sacrifices themselves against those who did not want Catholicism to take root in Korea. We honor their memory and cherish their sacrifice."

Music for the liturgy was performed by the church choir under the direction of Peter Ahm, a member of the congregation. During a presentation ceremony after the liturgy, Monsignor Kiernan accepted a portrait of Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, for presentation to the archbishop. The portrait and the huge oil painting filling the wall opposite the church entrance are the work of Pius Chung, of Roswell, a church member. The gilt-framed oil on canvas, 100 feet high by 198 feet long, depicts the 103 Korean martyrs and missionaries killed during periods of persecution over the 200 years the church has existed in Korea. The martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II when he visited Seoul in 1984 to celebrate the bicentennial.

Central figure in the painting is Father Andrew Kim. He was murdered by government forces while he was the only priest ministering to the underground church in 1846.

The church was filled to overflowing for the 11 o'clock liturgy. Some men, women and teenage girls wore the traditional (hanbok) costumes of Korea. A few young children also wore colorful native costumes.

Children are without a doubt the proudest asset of the growing congregation. Many accompanied their parents to the Mass, while other first graders through junior high students, attended English language religious education in the building behind the church. Father Don Kenny, archdiocesan vocations director, has for several years been celebrating Mass with this group. In his absence, on Sept. 20, Greg Goolsby, a third-year seminarian for the archdiocese, held a communion service.

In the large auditorium and fellowship hall alongside the sanctuary, women of the congregation presided at the colorful buffet of Korean and American foods they had prepared for the reception. Sushi, made of rice and vegetables but no raw fish, and rice cakes, were among Korean delicacies offered. The women also prepared food at the festive celebration held the previous night in the same place.

Sister Magdalena Yang, SND, pastoral assistant, translated the English ritual of the dedication liturgy into Korean for the souvenir program distributed at the rite, Although it took her almost three days, with all the other details of the dedication she was responsible for, she wanted the people to know and appreciate the beauty of the rite.

The church seats between 450 and 500 people. Sister Yang said new pews have been added in both the body of the church and in the choir loft. Pews are upholstered in deep rose. Like the altar, tabernacle, Stations of the Cross and statues, they are the donations of parishioners.

The apostolate purchased the church building in June 1991, and Mass was first celebrated there Aug. 13, 1991. The archdiocese provided a loan of $645,000. The congregation, over four and a half years, raised $230,000 which is being used for the renovating.

Fundraising was instituted by Father So and $100,000 was raised while he served the apostolate.

There are about 300 families registered, Father Hyon said. The pastoral center is located amid a growing population of Korean businesses, shops and restaurants, and offers a "nice opportunity" for evangelizing by Korean Catholics. Father Hyon is eager to have the facilities used by "everyone, especially the Koreans," for worship, education, seminars and days of recollection.

Sister Yang said there are about 30 people taking part in the RCIA program this year. Last year, 20 people came into the church at the Easter Vigil.

After several years at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Atlanta, the Korean Catholics worshiped for over 10 years at St. Thomas More Church in Decatur. More recently, a Saturday Vigil Mass was celebrated at the Korean Center in Clarkston.

Now the brick bell tower, newly rebuilt as an addition to the church, will serve as a beacon and a reminder of home to Korean Catholics in Atlanta.