BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

LITHIA SPRINGS--Having worshipped everywhere from Protestant churches to a multipurpose building in its 41-year history in Cobb and Douglas counties, the congregation of St. John Vianney Parish rejoiced Aug. 29 at the dedication of a new permanent house of worship.

Charter member Joan Brown said parishioners had been waiting for a more permanent facility since outgrowing previous buildings in Austell in south Cobb County, dedicated in 1958, and at the Lithia Springs site in northern Douglas County, where the parish relocated and dedicated a new church in 1974.

She recalled how in 1973 the community celebrated Masses in Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist churches and public schools before the Lithia Springs church was opened. Continued growth prompted establishment of a new parish, St. Theresa’s in Douglasville in 1985, which absorbed some of the Lithia Springs congregation.

“We’ve been struggling all these years. The whole time when we sold the old building and moved over here was a big experience for us,” Brown said. “We feel like we have really accomplished something now and we look forward to many, many years of worship here. I love the church. I love the way the altar is shaped with the cross above it.”

Before moving into the new church building, the congregation had been worshipping in what has become the new gathering area. Construction of the new church, which holds 480 people and more than doubles the old seating capacity, began last December and was completed in May.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue was the main celebrant for the Mass of dedication. Concelebrants included the current pastor, Father Daniel Fink, OFM Conv., Father David Stachurski, OFM Conv., of Statesboro, who was pastor for a decade, the first pastor Father William Hoffman, and Father Mark Curesky, OFM Conv., minister provincial of the Conventual Franciscans from Baltimore. Deacon Whitney Robichaux was master of ceremonies assisted by Deacon Bill Lyday, a building committee member and newly retired representative of Catholic Construction Services that oversaw the project.

Approximately 700 members of the parish’s 650 families, diverse in culture, opened the celebration by crowding into the gathering area. Worshippers included Henrietta Calhoun Clay, mother of the late Father William Calhoun, who once was pastor, and Father Fink’s three sisters from New York. Building committee co-chairpersons Claudia DiRosario and David Messer presented the building plans and keys to the archbishop who in turn gave them to Father Fink to open the church doors. All then processed into the new church.

The archbishop sprinkled holy water along the aisles and on the altar as he blessed the new building, which has wood ceilings and a stained-glass rose window behind the altar.

In his homily Archbishop Donoghue said that, while parishioners may beam with pride over their accomplishment, they must remember that the church is the Lord’s house.

“We are here because God has called us here--this is His home, He is the Father, He calls us to Himself, He enters us through Christ, and He lives in us by the Spirit with which He has filled us.”

He spoke of how, despite the many terrible ills that plague society, God continues to pour out his love for people to accept so that they may be filled in heart and mind with faith and hope. The mystery of God’s love and salvation is made manifest through public worship.

“Today, we are summoned by the truth, and drawn together in one Church by the Spirit. We give God praise for His blessing of this new church--because the gift is wonderful, and because thanksgiving is such a pleasing duty to perform, a duty that returns to us in feelings of happiness and contentment.”

The archbishop continued, “We pray now, that God may make of our parish, a living sign of authentic worship, a sign that may draw out of the hopeless and barren wastes of popular culture, the souls of many, in whose hearts linger yet, even the smallest of desires to know God, and to know the love of His family.”

Archbishop Donoghue also prayed for those “who have made possible the centerpiece of our joy today, our new church.”

The archbishop referred to the unity of St. John Vianney with the universal church, which gives it visible, living meaning.

“It is as one living body that we now turn to the most sacred of rites given us to perform--the purpose for which we have built, and for which we have gathered, the celebration of our Lord’s sacrifice.”

The archbishop stood beneath a Franciscan San Damiano Cross suspended above the walnut altar on which was an image of the Lamb of God. He and 29-year parishioner Fred Leo, who hand-carved the Lord’s table, placed a relic of St. John Vianney from Rome in a small opening in its granite top to honor the saint to whom the church is dedicated.

The archbishop then anointed the altar with oil and wafted incense around it. As members of the Knights of Columbus fourth degree honor guard knelt before him, Archbishop Donoghue spoke a prayer of dedication before continuing with the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Following the Mass, parishioners such as DiRosario, the project’s interior designer, gathered for the reception.

She said the congregation had been concerned about losing its warm spirit through growth. But because of the expansion, she said, parishioners have been welcoming visitors into the church with open arms in such ways as asking them to sing in the choir, usher or carry the gifts of bread and wine.

DiRosario said that the project was a true community effort. Parishioner Gene Stansbury did the tile work for the baptismal font and floor, Leo carved the walnut tabernacle pillar, ambo, triptych and altar chair, as well as the altar, and the congregation helped make design decisions throughout the process.

“I feel very blessed,” she said. “I feel like God has given everybody the gifts and talents to really make it happen.”

Carving away in his basement, Leo completed most of his woodworking projects in four months.

“Since I had done all the other woodwork in this church over the past 30 years it’s just sort of a natural finishing up to my hobby,” he said. “I wanted some things to be here that would always be visible as permanent things to be part of our parish. And the altar is always one of the most visible things in the church … I just hope that it adds to the total beauty of our new church, that it would be harmonious to the look of this new sanctuary and it would add to the beauty that was already there.”

Leo added that he’s waited for the church construction for 15 years. “Now that it’s come to fruition it’s just marvelous. I believe it’s really enhanced our whole parish a lot.”

Howell Pope Architects of Dunwoody designed the $950,000 project and the contractor was JHD Construction. The 7,600-square-foot project was accomplished partially through parish fund-raising for the archdiocesan capital campaign. It completes phase two of the education building construction project completed in 1990. The project included the remodeling of choir and vesting rooms, bathrooms and the kitchen and the construction of a reconciliation room. The building is completely handicapped-accessible with a new sound system.

The younger crowd also appreciates the new worship space. James Robson, 17, an altar server, eucharistic minister and lector, who read during the dedication Mass, said he is inspired when serving in the new church.

“It makes me think a lot more about my relationship with God, hearing Mass said in it ... It inspires me to do a better job with my (Scripture) reading and religion,” said Robson, who is also a member of the parish Life Teen program. “It’s neat to see the church has grown so much and the people grow with it,” he said, adding that more youth are now coming to the Life Teen Mass.

Father Fink expressed both relief and elation for the new building and said the whole congregation loves its comfort and space.

“They’ve taken it to their hearts. They’re very proud of the church,” he said, and parishioners are telling their friends about it. “People who’ve been away for a long time, who moved out of the area, are coming back to see it.”

New people are coming to Mass weekly to see the church, he said, and, while it doesn’t change the celebration of Mass, Father Fink can view the congregation more easily with the sloped floor in the new church. Before the new church was built, couples often went to more formal churches to get married, Father Fink said. But so far, four weddings have been held there.

He hopes the church will grow in love as well as size. “Hopefully it will expand the ministries and the social outreach programs we have already.”

EUCHARISTIC TABLE -- The San Damiano Cross, a link with the Franciscan spirituality of priests serving in the parish, hangs above the altar as Archbishop Donoghue celebrates the Eucharist in the new church.
Photos by Michael Alexander

EXTERIOR -- The grounds of St. John Vianney Parish at 1920 Skyview Drive, Lithia Springs, showcase the new church on the far left.

AT THE ENTRANCE -- Assisted by altar server Thelma Weatherly, Archbishop John F. Donoghue prays a blessing of the doors at the dedication of St. John Vianney Church, Lithia Springs, Aug. 29. Looking on are Claudia DiRosario, building committee chair, left, and pastor Father Daniel Fink, OFM Conv. (

PASTORAL LEADER -- Father Daniel Fink, OFM Conv., became pastor in September 1997. Father Fink and parochial vicar, Father Carl Zdancewicz, OFM Conv., are members of the Conventual Franciscan order.