BY ERIKA ANDERSON

Staff Writer

NORCROSS--After four years of celebrating Mass in an office complex, Mary Our Queen Mission has a church to call its own.

Members of the 520-family mission joined Archbishop John F. Donoghue on May 24 as he blessed and dedicated the new church on The Corners Parkway.

Mary Our Queen was established by 100 families and first priest-in-charge Father Jack Druding in November 1994 as a mission of All Saints Church, Dunwoody. Now under the care of Father David Dye, the mission has been meeting in a Peachtree Corners office complex.

The dedication rite began outside with the presentation of the church to Archbishop Donoghue, as parishioners fanned themselves to keep cool on the hot day. The doors were unlocked and, with the choir leading, the congregation processed inside behind the archbishop, Father Dye, Msgr. Donald Kiernan, pastor of All Saints, and Father Jim McGoldrick, SM, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Atlanta. Also in attendance was Father Druding, who is now serving at the Church of St. Andrew, Roswell. Assisting were Deacon Jim Stone from Mary Our Queen and Deacon Whitney Robichaux, who served as the archbishop’s master of ceremonies.

Once inside, the archbishop sprinkled holy water on the walls of the church and on the congregation as a symbol of new birth and repentance. Other elements used in the Mass were incense, the lighting of house lights and candles by Father Dye and Msgr. Kiernan, and holy oil, which Archbishop Donoghue used to anoint the altar and walls of the church before the celebration of the Eucharist.

In his homily, Archbishop Donoghue said the new church represents much more than the completion of construction.

“As many of you may already know, from your own memories, and as many of you have heard or will come to hear, today represents not just the accomplishment of a project, of a building, something that one way or the other has involved every person in this parish. Today also represents the coming to fullness of a miracle, a miracle that was designed and implemented by God the Father, on behalf of the people of this part of Gwinnett County, years ago, and in the face of all the difficulties which human trial and error must bring to any inspiration that God the Father gives,” the archbishop said.

The completion of the building is one phase in the life of the mission, he said, but the spiritual work continues.

“Let us also remember that the growth of the temple goes on,” the archbishop said. “For as St. Paul reminds us, ‘You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets...in Christ Jesus you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.’ The glorious light of Christ’s love dwells now in this sacred building and in this parish family.”

The 20,000-square-foot building provides seating for 400, but can be expanded to seat 600. Burgundy fabric chairs and kneelers provide the necessary room to expand as the mission continues to grow.

Throughout the church are many religious artifacts over 100 years old, including candlesticks and a crucifix on the white marble altar that come from a village church in France and date to 1840, the bronze sanctuary lamp hanging to the right of the tabernacle which is over 100 years old, and the lifesize, cast iron statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus, which is approximately 150 years old. Also hanging on the walls are Italian oil paintings of the Stations of the Cross, which date to the 1850s.

“We tried to combine the old and the new,” said Father Dye. “We have a new building that is pretty modern and we just added some traditional Catholic touches.”

John Worrall, one of the original families at the mission, said Father Dye was responsible for much of the character in the new building.

“Father Dye has been a real catalyst in this whole process with his firm but gentle leadership. He’s done a remarkable job,” he said. “If you feel comfortable in that church, it’s because it has his fingerprints all over it.”

“It’s a metal building, but when you go into it, it’s like going into a church in Europe,” Worrall said. “Maybe it’s because we’ve been in an office complex for so long, but it really does have a warm atmosphere for liturgy or praying or contemplation.”

A fleur-de-lis pattern is one motif in the church, with the three prongs representing the Trinity and the flower representing Mary and her role as the bearer of the Good News.

The building also includes administrative offices, classrooms, an activity hall, a multipurpose room and nursery. The adjacent 5,000-square-foot Trinity Building will provide additional classrooms for the Sunday school of religion.

The mission broke ground for the new church and Trinity Building Sept. 14, 1997, with contractor Dudley Barrett and architects Young and Goldstein leading the $2.4 million project. The building committee was headed by Jim Eyre and the campaign and fund-raising committee was led by John Crilly.

A May crowning held Mother’s Day weekend was the first event in the new church, a celebration fitting for a church named for the Mother of God.

Father Dye said that the construction turned out as they had planned, in part because of the “most fantastic building committee in the world.”

“I think this group of people, no matter if they’re in a big cathedral or an office complex, just work well together,” he said. “They get the job done and they don’t seem to want to do it except for God.”

Long range plans for the 15.5-acre site include construction of a permanent, traditional church with seating for more than 1,000, additional office and meeting space and classrooms. When that phase is completed, the newly-constructed building will be converted to a gymnasium, community outreach center, classroom and meeting area. Father Dye said that they hope to construct the permanent church within the next three to five years if the mission experiences steady growth.