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BY GRETCHEN KEISER
Staff Writer
JACKSON--The Catholic community of St. Mary’s in Jackson dedicated a
new church Aug. 1, replacing a chapel that was built 40 years ago for a small,
mission group with a church embodying the vibrant hopes of the present day
faith family.
Serving 116 families who have their roots in the Jackson and Lake Jackson
community, St. Mary’s new church was designed to bring the people close to
the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist. It also incorporates the work
of artisans and artists to make the details of the church unique and to
emphasize the sacraments celebrated there.
In addition to the new church, the facility provides a gathering area that
can also serve as a reception or social hall, a kitchen and classrooms.
Archbishop John F. Donoghue presided at the Mass of dedication and blessing,
where he was welcomed by the pastor, Msgr. Henry Gracz, and by members of the
community, represented by Jerry McLaurin, chairman of the building committee
and the pastoral council.
Proceeding inside the church, followed by the congregation, the archbishop
blessed the water and baptismal font, and Deacons Robert Readdy and Robert Rich
then sprinkled the people with holy water before they entered the church.
The Gospel reading spoke of the need for Christians who approach the altar
to first be reconciled with anyone who has something against them.
The church is where families come for Mass, but also for special sacramental
moments--to celebrate baptisms, weddings and eventually the passing of
relatives, of friends and parents and the celebration of their funeral Masses,
the archbishop said.
“The old saying is that home is where our hearts are,” he
observed. “The home our hearts seek time and time again is right here in
this church.”
Reflecting on the Gospel, he added, “Let us pray especially today that
the people of St. Mary’s Mission may remain ever charitable towards one
another.”
Following the profession of faith, the unadorned and unlit church was
gradually transformed as the archbishop, the pastoral staff and members of the
congregation took part in the liturgy of dedication. Archbishop Donoghue
anointed the altar with chrism, as a symbol of Christ, while Msgr.Gracz and
Father Austin Fogarty anointed the four corners of the church, a tradition
which reflects the worldwide nature of the church, reaching all four corners of
the world, and the four evangelists who proclaimed the Gospel.
The archbishop also placed incense in a bowl carried to the altar and as the
curls rose in the church like prayers, women from the congregation wiped the
altar with white cloths and brought in candles decorated with greenery and
white ribbons. While a deacon lit candles around the altar and church, children
carried forward baskets of white chrysanthemums and greens.
A banner was unfurled behind the altar depicting Mary holding the church in
her hands beside a stand of Georgia pine trees. The lights in the church went
on and two longtime members of the parish, Marcella Glidewell and Connie
Bagnetto, dressed the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist.
The brick church has cream colored walls, a ceiling made of light wood and
clear windows. Colors are green tweed in the pew fabric and beige, rose and
teal in the carpet.
Two stained glass windows near the entrance to the church were designed by
Father Methodius, OCSO, at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. Under a
window depicting the Holy Spirit, the oils used in the sacraments of
initiation, confirmation and the anointing of the sick will be placed. The
other window, above a stand where the Word of God is opened and next to the
reconciliation room, shows the brambles of sin, but the triumphant banner of
the resurrection and Easter.
A large processional cross was commissioned for the church with a risen
Christ figure and a crucified Christ figure, each approximately seven feet in
height. The resurrection Christ will be “used in the seasons of the year
in which we celebrate joy and the crucified Christ is put in place for
Lent,” Msgr. Gracz said. The same sculptor, Wiktor Szostalo, has been
commissioned to make Stations of the Cross and a Marian statue.
The altar is set in moveable platforms so it can be in the center of the
community for Mass, but can be repositioned, for example, for a wedding.
The banner of St. Mary was designed by Father Fogarty, parochial vicar at
St. James Church, McDonough, and the mission at Jackson, and painted by Mike
Manning. The wall behind the altar is plain and banners appropriate to the
liturgical seasons will be mounted there, Msgr. Gracz said.
A seven-member building committee, chaired by McLaurin, worked on the
project for more than 10 years. Long a mission served by priests of the
Redemptorist order, the committee began its study in March 1989 and then
received new impetus when the mission was returned to the pastoral care of the
archdiocese and Msgr. Gracz was assigned as pastor, McLaurin said.
The original church was dedicated in April 1960. At the dedication of the
new church, Father James McGonagle, CSsR, represented the Redemptorist order
which had served the mission since 1942.
“This is a great day. It is sweet,” McLaurin said in remarks at
the closing of the Mass. “We literally have been working for years for
this day.”
Citing the contributions of each member of the committee, and of many more
in the parish and in the community, he also said that the scope of the building
project could not have been accomplished without the experience and assistance
of the pastor. “Without Msgr. Gracz, we would not have anything near what
we are celebrating today,” he said. “Initially we had planned an
all-purpose building. As things progressed, we realized we could have a real
sanctuary and a parish hall and eight classrooms.”
The other members of the committee were Charley Brown, who is also the mayor
of Jackson, Larry Deraney, Pat Ryan, the office manager and religious education
director, Angela Escalera, John Lueken and Mike Patterson. A subcommittee of
Theresa Burge and Ann Malone also worked extensively on the project.
The architect was Gene Barrington of Barker, Cunningham, Barrington. The
general contractor was Group Six.
After noting individuals who served in particular ways, however, McLaurin
asked everyone in the congregation to stand and look around at those in the
church.
It is “a living, vital, growing community” that reflects the
church and that is pleasing in God’s eyes, he said. “In a newly
dedicated house, we strive to grow more into a living community and to be more
pleasing to God.”
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