By Priscilla Greear

Staff Writer

ROSWELL--Archbishop John F. Donoghue described building parishes as a manifestation of God's plan for salvation during his homily at a Mass May 23.

The service preceded the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new religious education building and parish hall at St. Andrew's Church.

At the evening Mass Archbishop Donoghue retold the biblical story of the early martyr St. Stephen who asked God to forgive his murderers as he was stoned to death because of his faith.

"The very commitment and vision that led Stephen to his glorious martyrdom is the same commitment and vision that now leads us to consider the future of our community here at St. Andrew's as we break ground and prepare for our own spiritual future."

"For why do we build this church?...Because, dear friends, we have raised our eyes in prayer and we have seen in the sky a vision of the Lord and the glory of God His Father...We will do everything...to make this vision of our salvation proceed, go forward and be in place so that those who need our church will find its doors open and its spaces so convivial as to draw all its people together as one family of the Lord," he continued.

"Our motives for this ground-breaking today and for all our future planning are grounded in the faith of those who died for Christ like St. Stephen, and those who lived to see visions of Christ's church."

The construction beginning at St. Andrew's is led by the architectural firm of Leo A. Daly Company and implemented by Brasfield and Gorrie General Contractor, Inc.

The first year of the project will entail the construction of a 30,000-square-foot parish hall with a stage, space for a commercial kitchen and a new parking lot. A 30,000-square-foot, two-story religious education building will also be built. It will have 14 classrooms and an elevator.

In the second phase of construction, the existing religious education building will be renovated and used for administrative offices. A cry room will be added to the vestibule and a courtyard will be designed outside the church's front entrance.

The parish building committee led by Chuck Gaziano, and the finance committee, led by Mike Kane, began planning the $ 4.7 million project in early 1997. Funds were raised through the parish's participation in the archdiocesan "Building the Church of Tomorrow" Capital Campaign.

Gaziano said St. Andrew's is expanding its facilities because of the growing size of the congregation. "The religious education building was much too small...We will double our number of room spaces (from 7 to 14) in the new facility," Gaziano said. "We've got a church that was built for 780 families. At present we're either at or knocking on the door of 3,000 families" due to the increasing population of Catholics in Roswell and Alpharetta, Gaziano said.

Because of limited space, St. Andrew's currently holds "10 different CCD sessions each week. Those (education) facilities are just totally overused. They hardly cool down before the next group is in there...There are so many families using the church," said Gaziano.

Archbishop Donoghue blessed and broke ground at the construction site following Mass concelebrated by Father Paul Reynolds, pastor and representatives of the architectural firm and general contractor and approximately 200 project supporters.