By Susan Stevenot Sullivan

The ingredients include religious education, Sunday Mass, potluck suppers and endless amounts of time, but there is no simple recipe for starting a Catholic community from scratch. Yet, that’s just what two Glenmary Home Missioner are trying to do approximately 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Father Chet Artysiewicz and Brother Dennis Craig have been given responsibility for founding Catholic communities in three Georgia counties, Greene, Putnam and Hancock. After nine months newborn congregations are making their presence felt in Greensboro and in Eatonton, about 30 miles apart, where congregations meet in rented churches for Sunday Mass.

“We do a lot of packing and unpacking,” Father Artysiewicz said. “We bring the altar cloths, missalettes – everything. This has been an opportunity for a lot of people to get re-oriented, remembered to the Church.”

One of the early strategies late in the summer of 1992 was to identify Catholics in the targeted areas. Announcements were made in both print and electronic media, as well as in parish bulletins.

Mildred and George Stiffler of Greensboro read the announcement in The Georgia Bulletin with amazement. They had been receiving literature from the Glenmarys for years so Mrs. Stiffler called their national headquarters near Cincinnati, Ohio, for information.

Brother Craig returned her call. Weeks later both Brother Craig and Father Artysiewicz stayed with the Stifflers to become acquainted with the area and look for a house to rent.

“I had been driving 27 miles each way to go to church in Madison,” Mrs. Stiffler said. “I tried to be active in the church there, but it’s not the same as having a Catholic community in your own area. This is so important to us and the other people here.

“The team (Father Artysiewicz and Brother Craig) are trying so hard to meet all the needs of people in the area. We have religious education classes for the children now. We have the second reading at Sunday Mass in Spanish to make the Mexicans in the community feel welcome.”

Mrs. Stiffler said the dream of the 100-member Greensboro congregation is to have a church building of their own someday.

“The important thing, though, is not how far people have to drive or whether we have a church,” Mrs. Stiffler emphasized. “The important thing is that we have a church community to be a part of, a Catholic presence in the area for the Catholics and for the unchurched. I’d like to see it grow.”

Father Artysiewicz, who has worked in parishes before but never started from the ground up until now, said that choosing the locations of the seedling parishes involved many considerations and was based on the Glenmary philosophy.

Picking locations in two county seats, (Greensboro – Green County, Eatonton – Putnam County) provided visibility in established centers of local communities. The team’s ministry in Hancock County currently consists of visits to the correctional facility there.

“Glenmary looks at the overall mission of the Church,” he said. “We are missionaries. We spread the Word, share the news, invite people to the Church. From a missionary perspective we wanted the churches to be accessible and identifiable to everyone, so we chose the county seats rather than the most central location.

“The missionary thrust is not only to address the sacramental and other needs of Catholics, but to reach out to those who are unchurched as well. We also want to reach out to other churches and learn and understand and cooperate with them to meet community needs while maintaining our unique perspective,” Father Artysiewicz explained. “This is the Glenmary approach. It has many priorities.”

As the parishioners get to know one another, parish structures are slowly taking shape with religious education for adults and children and social events to strengthen developing bonds. Stewardship sheets encourage responsibility for specific community roles. The team recently purchased the house they had been renting in Greensboro and made it a center of operations as well as a residence.

Some important characteristics of the communities have yet to be experienced, such as what Father Artysiewics refers to as the “lake effect,” a huge increase in population for months in the summer due to recreation areas in the region.

“There are a tremendous numbers of visitors because of the lake,” he said. “In the summer we may have to change our schedules.”

With 100 parishioners in Greensboro and 60 in Eatonton, the missionary effort is already beyond the typical response found in seedling parishes, Father Artysiewicz said.

“It’s nothing we’ve done,” he said. “They were already here. Generally speaking there’s an enthusiasm and signs of a good spirit developing. We are making steps of progress, but we have to be patient. We’re planning a parish picnic for Greensboro in a couple of weeks – and we won’t have to rent the Georgia Dome.”

Zelma Smith doesn’t mind that the Eatonton congregation would be lost in a stadium. She knows she’s found a community and lost a feeling of isolation.

“They can get anybody to go to church,” she said of the Glenmary team. “Now we are building up the congregation. It’s turned out great for everyone.

“Just having coffee and doughnuts after Mass means a lot, because it’s hard to get to know people down here. It’s nice to know that there are people who could help or come to see you at the hospital,” Mrs. Smith said.

“It’s like a family.”

Mass is celebrated at 8:30 a.m. in Eatonton at the Eatonton Presbyterian Church on Madison Avenue and at 10:45 a.m. in Greensboro at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer on Main Street. For information call (706) 453-7292. Mass schedules may change seasonally.