BY KATHI STEARNS

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--When Father John Robert Anderson was 4 years old he spent his time convincing his younger brother and sister that they should play "Mass" instead of "school."

"Some of my fondest memories as a child were when we would go to the Saturday vigil as a family," said Father Anderson. "During the celebration of Mass I would spend my time watching the priest because I was so captivated by what he was doing. On Sunday morning I would awaken my brother and sister so we could play Mass. I was the oldest child so I got to be the priest. My brother would pass the collection basket, which was my piggy bank, and my sister would do everything else."

Even though Father Anderson, the son of Evelyn and Robert Anderson of Connecticut, believes the seeds of his vocation were planted early, he describes his call as a "gradual one" filled with years of prayer, discernment and spiritual direction.

"I always felt special in God's eyes and I always felt called to serve him," Father Anderson said. "But there are many ways people are called to serve the Lord. I needed to discern if I could be a priest and if I could, I wanted to have a deep sense that the joy of this vocation could shine through me. I wanted to be sure that I could be a prism for the Lord and add his color to the world."

Father Anderson, 32, began to clarify his vocation after entering Boston College in 1982. During a course on social justice the passage from Isaiah 58:7-10 was proclaimed stating, "Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard."

"It was a passage that touched my heart and soul," Father Anderson said. "It was really the social justice dimension of the Gospel that first led me to ponder my vocation to the priesthood more deeply in my heart. I can honestly say that it was this passage that changed my life."

While in college Father Anderson did missionary work in Appalachia, Belize and Haiti. He also volunteered at a homeless shelter and became increasingly aware of the political and economic situations in Central America and South Africa. In 1986 he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and theology with an emphasis in faith, peace and justice.

"I was basically your typical Birkenstock, tie-dyed kind of guy who was committed to saving the world between dates and social outings," Father Anderson said.

"As I began to mature I entered more fully into the ambiguity of the world where things became a lot less black and white and a lot more gray," he said. "I needed to do some exploration of other vocations before I committed to a vocation to the priesthood."

Father Anderson worked for two international transportation companies for the six years following graduation and continued to do volunteer AIDS ministry work.

In 1989 he moved to Atlanta and began to explore his calling to the priesthood with a local spiritual director.

"I really believe that God called me to be a priest for the Church in Atlanta," he said. "I never felt as called to be a priest as I did during that period of my life. A priest is called from within a community of people, for a community of people."

In 1992 he began his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. He earned his degree in sacred theology in 1994. This year he completed a specialized degree in ecumenism with honors.

"The archdiocese gave me an incredible gift when they sent me to study in Rome," Father Anderson said. "I received the opportunity to experience the Church in both an intimate and a universal way. It is this paradox that makes my experience in Rome so rich. As universal as we are, we also celebrate the fact that we are many members of the one body."

One of the highlights of this period was reading the prayers of the faithful during the Mass at which Archbishop John F. Donoghue received the pallium at St. Peter's Basilica, June 29, 1994, he said.

"I will be forever grateful to Msgr. (Don) Kenny and to the people of the archdiocese for giving me this experience, a gift I will treasure forever," Father Anderson said. "They could have sent me to school anywhere, and I would have been happy. But instead they made an incredible investment in me that I will share daily with the people to whom I minister."

Father Anderson was ordained a transitional deacon Oct. 5 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. "The joy that I felt in that one day literally carried me on clouds for the next five months."

As a seminarian Father Anderson completed summer pastoral internships at St. Gabriel's Church, Fayetteville, in 1994 and St. Lawrence Church, Lawrenceville, in 1995.

Father Anderson credits Father John B. Giuliana of Bridgeport, Conn., and archdiocesan priests Father Stephen Churchwell, Father Greg Benassu, Father Mark Lacey and Father Paul Berny with nurturing his call to the priesthood.

To be an effective priest Father Anderson believes "one must be rooted in the Eucharist...and continue to develop his prayer life."

Father Anderson celebrated his first Mass Sunday, June 30 at St. Gabriel's Church. "That church is very special to me because it was my first pastoral assignment," Father Anderson said. "I was very nervous about my first summer internship because it was one of the first steps in which I was being asked to implement what I had learned in school. Understanding the ministry and actually ministering to people are two different things. The parishioners and Father Berny welcomed me with open arms and helped me understand the real meaning of my vocation."

Father Anderson's parents, his brother, Eric, and sister, Susan Breiner, and their families attended his ordination and first Mass. Special guests included his godparents, Bob and Marge Pliska, his goddaughter Elizabeth Farkas and his best friend David Brennan. He has been assigned as a parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Alpharetta.