BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

MARIETTA--After attending religious education classes and social events for 12 years in a building known as the "tin tent," parishioners of Transfiguration Church rejoiced in the dedication of their new parish center June 22.

After five years of planning, the former 9,000-square-foot metal building without air conditioning was torn down last June. Religious education classes were held in private homes as construction of the new facility to serve the church's 9,400 parishioners began in August.

"We increased the footage by almost four times. It's a beautiful facility and it's going to be a wonderful facility and very conducive to programs and classes and social events," said Randall Bailey, fund-raising co-chairman.

"We obviously had outgrown that building, the parish had grown beyond that," said Father Patrick Bishop, the pastor. After months of supporting fund raising, reviewing plans and negotiating between committees, he joyfully wonders, "Could this be possible...Could this be true?"

"The archdiocesan officials have been very supportive and I think people are pleased," he said. Archbishop John F. Donoghue dedicated the center at a Mass of celebration and was "elated," Father Bishop said.

The two-story, reddish-brown brick facility is 42,000 square feet and features 14 religious education classrooms, a library, music room, nursery with divider, adult education room, three preschool rooms with dividers, a large social hall, a day chapel, a youth meeting room and administrative offices for the pastor and pastoral staff.

Jack Shriver, building committee chairman, describes the congregation as "ecstatic beyond belief" and says that archdiocese views the parish center as a model for other parishes within the archdiocese. Father Bishop estimates that 500 volunteers assisted in the project.

Notable features include cable in all rooms, a centralized administration area with easy office equipment accessibility, accessibility for persons with disabilities by an elevator and two ramps from the parking lot to the lower level, a kitchen with commercial grade appliances and a St. Vincent de Paul Society office for interviewing and assisting the needy.

The social hall and the new, permanent day chapel have pine ceilings which match the sanctuary ceiling. The chapel also features stained glass windows with images of Jesus at the shore of the Sea of Galilee and of mountains in the Holy Land, and holds a tabernacle set in glass which opens both into the chapel and the sanctuary.

Father Bishop says the chapel will provide an area for parishioners to gather for prayer and for perpetual adoration.

The parking lot has been expanded by 80 spaces to hold 500 vehicles and the church is currently building a composite wood and plastic, 5000-square-foot playground on an eight-inch bed of cypress mulch.

The addition is directly connected to the sanctuary by a foyer with Italian light tan and white tile with green accents which matches the recently re-tiled sanctuary.

Religious education classes, vacation Bible school, social activities, meals, meetings and other events will be held in the building.

The church has 60 ministries and organizations and Father Bishop said that "this building will provide the opportunity for them to meet" and will serve as a "family room" for the activities of the church family.

"We've instituted a day care center and we have a preschool, so there will be kids all over the place and I'm looking forward to that," he said.

Twelve parishioners formed a feasibility committee which met twice monthly and presented a building plan to the pastoral council and the congregation. Final approval for the project was granted by the archdiocese in February 1995. The committee was divided into two smaller groups, the building committee which discussed and chose a contractor, Amore Construction Co., and the architecture committee which discussed and chose the architects, Hiscutt & Bell.

For the $4 million project, $1.6 million was raised by a committee led by chairpersons Carla and Randall Bailey. The committee utilized a fund-raising consultant, McCarthy and Associates, and began the pledge drive in the spring of 1994, assisted by nearly 200 volunteers.

Members of 10 teams, each composed of a leader and 10 to 15 people, visited homes to encourage pledging, and letters and bulletins were sent and flyers were distributed.

Before visiting homes, Randall Bailey said, "We tried to inundate them with information so that no one was surprised. We had asked them to consider and pray about it over time."

While Bailey said that the most challenging aspect was "the convincing of all the parish of the need to participate," the committee received pledges from over 50 percent of the congregation with an average gift of $1,000 and he hopes to collect 80 percent of the total amount pledged. The church borrowed $2.4 million from the archdiocese, to be repaid over 10 years, for the remaining amount.

At the Mass and dedication ceremony attended by approximately 1,000 people, Archbishop Donoghue received the keys and gave concluding remarks on the value of the building in fostering spiritual growth in children and as a gift of love to God.

In his homily, Father Bishop emphasized that parishioners must work to make the building holy by living the Gospel and through Mass. He said that a "Christian doesn't have holy things. We make things holy by trying to live Christ's life."

To cut the honorary ribbon, 28 children gathered and the Blessed Sacrament was placed in the tabernacle for the first time.

Following the service, "Happy Days Are Here Again" and other New Orleans style jazz tunes were played by a Dixie Land band, hot dogs and beer were served at stands and hors d'oeuvres were served in the social hall.

The parish at 1815 Blackwell Road was founded in 1977 and prior to the construction of the current sanctuary the "tin tent" served as a worship space from 1980 to 1984.

Father Bishop has served as pastor since 1989 and after five years he gladly retires from his role as building planner.

"The hard work of putting a building up is over," he said. "I'm looking forward as a pastor to getting back to the work of being a pastor."