BY PAT D'ENTREMONT

CLARKESVILLE--On a beautiful spring afternoon the parishioners of St. Mark Church in Clarkesville gathered with their friends to commemorate 35 years as an active Northeast Georgia parish.

Father Peter Rau led parishioners in honoring the three remaining founding families during the weekend liturgies May 4 and 5. At Sunday morning Mass he dedicated a statue of the Virgin Mary, sculpted from a block of cherrywood by a member of the Cherokee nation. The statue was made possible through a donation from founding member Mrs. Helen Whitten, whose estate still supports the parish.

Afterward the church community met on the newly landscaped grounds for the celebration, which began with a festive performance by members of the Hispanic community, directed by pastoral associate Sister Marta Herrera, RFR. There were games for the children, a cake walk, music and dancing, and people getting to know one another--"the best part of the day," commented Mrs. Russell Jones, head of the Founders Day committee.

Deacon John and Ruth Thompson, Peter and Rose Tartaglia and Mrs. Helen Fennell were among the 31 resident Catholics and friends who gathered at the Lions Club Community House on Palm Sunday, March 26, 1961, for the first Mass celebrated in Clarkesville by Father Gino Doniney, then pastor of St. Mary Church in Toccoa.

The parish continued as a mission church for three years. On May 28, 1964, Archbishop Paul Hallinan announced the establishment of St. Mark Church as a parish serving Habersham, Banks and Rabun counties.

Father Bernard Quinn of the Glenmary Home Missioners was appointed administrator. The first permanent pastor, Father William Ashdown, arrived in June 1965, followed by a series of Glenmary pastors: Fathers Mert McMahon, Robert Valenza, Gerald Conroy, Gerald Peterson and Alexander Keenan. In June 1993 Father Frank Giusta was the first pastor appointed from the archdiocese. He was succeeded in February 1994 by Father Rau.

During 15 formative years the parish was served by Sisters Mary Bean, Mary Burke, Rita Wonders and Catherine Concannon of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Then, after a short tenure by Dominican Sister Joan Murphy, members of the 150-family parish took the initiative in religious education and liturgy, developing a lively program of instruction for the children and teens, adult enrichment classes, and a strong liturgy team.

The Thompsons oversaw the day-to-day parish work, from keeping the sanctuary furnishings in good order to stocking the parish hall and kitchen. For nine years Deacon Thompson was also a Catholic presence among the prisoners at the Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute. Both Thompsons were active in local outreach efforts, visiting weekly at Habersham Home for the elderly and disabled, taking leadership roles in the Sharing and Caring emergency aid program for the needy, and acting consistently as Catholic representatives at Habersham County ecumenical affairs.

Although St. Mark's parish boundaries have shrunk to include only Habersham County (St. Helena Church is now in Rabun County and St. Catherine Laboure in Banks), the parish continues to grow. Its English-speaking membership is now approaching 200 families and the Spanish-speaking membership is almost as large.

In June St. Mark's received a new pastor, Father Luis Zarama, a native of Colombia, South America, whose fluency in both Spanish and English will enable him to move comfortably in both sectors of the parish, ably assisted among the Spanish-speaking community by Sister Herrera, a native of Mexico.

Pat D'Entremont is a member of St. Mark Church.