BY SUSAN STEVENOT SULLIVAN

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--With the June assignment of Father Stewart Wilber as pastor of Christ Our King Church in Greensboro and Christ Our Savior Church in Eatonton, a significant chapter in the service of the Glenmary Home Missioners comes to a close.

While Glenmarys still serve in the archdiocese and the order's Glenmary Research Center is here, these churches are the last two in the archdiocese staffed by the religious order.

In 1992 Glenmary Father Chet Artysiewicz and Brother Dennis Craig began the groundwork to found the missions in Greene and Putnam counties. The first Mass was celebrated in Greensboro, Nov. 1, 1992 and in Eatonton Jan 3, 1993.

Sunday Mass, religious education and social gatherings were the first events of the fledgling communities. According to Father Artysiewicz, the Greensboro community began with 30 households and now has more than 100; the Eatonton community began with 20 households and now has about 50.

The churches now have women's groups, finance and parish councils and outreach to the Hispanic community through a Sunday evening Mass at Harmony Volunteer Firefighter's Hall, midway between Eatonton and Greensboro.

"That is much faster than a typical Glenmary parish grows," he said. "For rural America that's big growth. This area is attracting new people."

Father Artysiewicz said the decision to return the churches to the archdiocese for pastoral care so quickly was primarily based on a manpower shortage within Glenmary. As a secondary factor, the number of vocations to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Atlanta is high.

"This crunch (was) manpower or we would have stayed longer to see the buildings completed," the Glenmary priest said, describing the move as part of a broader reconfiguring of Glenmary personnel.

"Glenmary is turning another parish back in Tennessee," he said. "We are consolidating our personnel. There will no longer be Glenmary parishes in the Archdiocese of Atlanta."

Father Artysiewicz, who had not started a church community from the ground up before arriving in Putnam and Greene counties, said he is pleased to have been part of the beginning of two faith communities.

"You could start a new parish every 10 years if you could find locations with the dynamics of this place," he commented.

"While I'm disappointed that I won't be able to see it through to the next phase, I'm still very optimistic because we have excellent lay leadership in both places."

"One of the things we try to do in missions," he added, "is instill the sense of ownership and leadership in the people. I see that here. I'm optimistic about the future. I'm honored to have been part of providing the initial spark."

Father Artysiewicz said there is also some sadness from Glenmary's perspective.

"We are disappointed to have to leave so soon," he said, "even though Glenmary does not take parishes forever. Our stated charism is to develop them until they are mature and stable and then return them to the diocese. Even in an ideal world a parish will not stay a Glenmary parish."