BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

JACKSON--To better accommodate the needs of its growing congregation, St. Mary's Mission in Jackson is building a 9,250 square-foot church on a new site.

The congregation of 103 families has worshipped since 1960 at a chapel built by the Catholic Extension Society at Covington and Lyons Streets in Jackson. In 1996 the property was sold to help finance the new church.

"We simply outgrew our church building and after studying the demographic projections of our area, we, as a committee, determined the property on which we were located would not accommodate the growth we expect," explained Jerry McLaurin, building committee chairman.

The new site is located on Highway 16 east of Jackson. The committee began planning the project in December 1992. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of September and to last eight months. Currently the mission is gathering at a funeral home chapel in Jackson.

When the new church is completed, McLaurin said that planning will begin on a possible second stage of expansion which may include building a fellowship hall.

"When we go into the church we're gonna have it filled. When we get in there, we'll be looking to accommodate expected growth," he said.

Msgr. Henry Gracz, pastor of St. James Church in McDonough and the mission, said that once the new structure is built the community will consider program development, examining "what needs of the parish aren't being met and how can we meet them."

"It will be a facility that will be open to the whole community of Jackson," he added.

The congregation has grown by approximately 35 percent over the past seven to eight years and McLaurin noted that Butts County is one of the fastest growing counties in Georgia.

The complex, designed by Barker, Cunningham, Barrington architectural firm, will include a sanctuary, seven classrooms, a parish hall and two parish offices and will be accessible to persons with disabilities with ramps at all entrances.

There is a gathering space which Msgr. Gracz said will be used "for people to calm themselves and reconnect in a spirit of worship" when they arrive at the church.

The archdiocese has approved an expenditure of $950,000 for the project.

To finance the building program, the mission raised funds through a pledge drive in conjunction with the archdiocesan capital campaign, "Building the Church of Tomorrow," and utilized funds from savings and the sale of the former church site.

St. Mary's was in the group of 10 pilot churches to launch the capital campaign in 1997 and was the first among them to reach its goal of $190,000. Members of the mission have now pledged over $326,000 to the capital campaign with 50 percent of the surplus as well as a portion of the original goal going toward the cost of the new church.

"Because of the tremendous response by our parishioners, we were able to plan for classrooms which, prior to the completion of the campaign, we didn't think we were going to be able to afford," McLaurin noted.

"It was surprising to us how willingly people made pledges and so far they're keeping up with their pledges religiously...It just really astounded us. They were doing it gladly," he said.

Approximately 150 people attended the Sept. 8 groundbreaking ceremony presided over by Archbishop John F. Donoghue. Msgr. Gracz said it was particularly significant that ministers from Jackson's Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist churches attended the service in addition to the mayor and chief of police.

Priests of the Redemptorist religious order staffed the Jackson mission from 1942 until 1996 when pastoral care was transferred to the archdiocese. In addition to Msgr. Gracz, Father John Howren also serves in McDonough and Jackson as a parochial vicar.