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By Susan S. Sullivan
ATLANTA—A homemade quilt hangs on the front wall of the new
narthex at Most Blessed Sacrament Church in the Ben Hill area of southwest
Atlanta. Each colorful square was donated by a parish family. Unrolled and hung
on the feast of the Holy Family, the quilt was the opening project of the
parish 40th anniversary celebration this year.
One fabric square is decked out with a pair of toddler-size pants,
another has the outline of a state, others have names embroidered and pictures
drawn, some are simply a beautiful piece of cloth, but they are all sewn
together, literally, by the families of the parish. Each piece is anchored to
the layers around and below it by thick ties, which appear to be sturdy yarn,
but which are the strands of sorrow and joy of a pilgrim people.
The people of Most Blessed Sacrament are a pilgrim people. Worship
has been held in numerous locations in the 40 years of journeying. The
community was founded as a diocesan parish in November 1960, from Ben Hill
Mission, a mission of St. Anthony in the West End. Most Blessed Sacrament was
turned over to the Missionaries of LaSalette in June 1975. It was transferred
back to the diocese in June 1992. It has seen the founding and closing of the
parish school (1965-76) and the coming and going of the Sisters of St. Joseph
of Carondelet during the same period. The last move of the worship space, in
October 1989, was to the chapel on the property that once housed the Village of
St. Joseph on Butner Road.
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There have been population shifts, the redrawing of parish
boundaries and the establishment of a mission, St. Matthew, now a parish.
Twelve priests and two deacons have served and moved on. The parish started
with 200 families; it currently has 180. The constant factor has been change,
but the ties in the quilt held. They still hold.
“We are few in number compared to some parishes,” said
Robert Warren, a parishioner since 1973. “But we are strong in commitment
and faith. This is a strong, spiritual community.”
“I think this parish is unique,” said Charles Prejean, a
lector, eucharistic minister and two-time parish council member, with nearly
two decades in the parish. Prejean was recently appointed director of the
archdiocesan Office for Black Catholic Ministry. “It’s stayed here
under some difficulty. The ‘man upstairs’ wants us to remain a
parish. We minister to each other. Part of our purpose is to be Matthew 25.
Folks respond—that’s the uniqueness.”
“When I come to church on Sunday I literally feel like
I’m coming into the Lord’s house,” said Clara Jones, a member
for almost four years. “I’m glad I’m here. I’ve been to all
the so-called black Catholic churches in the community. I was here one week and
called and wrote a letter and became a member.”
Everyone in the church embraces a visitor before the 9 a.m.
weekday Mass. The former chapel, now the parish church, is rounded in shape
with two sections of pews angled toward the large sanctuary area. Stone and
wood frame the open, light space, which is brightened by rectangles of stained
glass, reportedly made by the Trappist monks at Conyers. A skylight above the
altar relieves the horizontal roof.
Father Bruce Wilkinson, the pastor, greets each parishioner before
weekday Mass. He cajoles them into an entrance song, which he leads, a
cappella. Behind the altar is a large crucifix, believed to be the only
surviving fixture of the original parish church on Stone Road. The small
tabernacle to the left of the altar is antiqued copper with raised decorations.
It and the ambry inset into the right wall behind the altar may be original
fixtures from the convent chapel of the now-gutted Village administration
building.
The Stations of the Cross are believed to be original to the
building. The new entrance space, restrooms and parking area are unique to the
current parish and were added last summer. Parts of the building are new, but
the parish has deep roots.
  When I come to church on Sunday I literally feel
like I’m coming into the Lord’s house.
Clara
Jones |
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Father Walter Donovan, founding pastor, now at Sacred Heart
Church, hasn’t been to visit the parish in its current location. Still, he
remembers his 11 years in the parish well. He still holds the record for
longest tenure as pastor at Most Blessed Sacrament.
“That first Sunday I looked out and saw no gray hairs,”
he recalled. “I had a few when I arrived, but the parishioners still had
no gray hairs when I left. It was a new development in southwest Atlanta, with
young people, just married, starting families. It was a young parish and I was
the oldest person.”
“They were young, enthusiastic people who worked hard and
accomplished a lot with the building and the school,” Father Donovan said.
“They had a good time in the process.”
Many came to Fort McPherson as young families for three-year
assignments at that time, Father Donovan said. It was not a stable population.
Many if not most of the parishioners were white and as they moved on to other
assignments, their homes were purchased by African-Americans, he said.
One of those early parishioners was Jim Callison, who spent more
than 10 years in the parish. Callison was chairman of the Lay Congress called
in the archdiocese by Archbishop Paul Hallinan after Vatican II.
“He convened the Lay Congress with representatives from each
parish,” Callison said. “It took a lot of time. There were lots of
committees. The congress came up with a series of recommendations about how
parishes could implement the intentions of Vatican II. Some of those
recommendations included parish councils and school boards in each parish, to
get the laity more involved.”
“Whether we were the first parish in the archdiocese to have
a parish council and school board, I can’t be sure,” he said.
“I’m sure we were one of the first. We had extensive lay involvement
even before the Lay Congress, more than most parishes had. Father Donovan
always had a lot of faith in lay people.”
The parish continues to be characterized by a pioneering, pilgrim
spirit and very active parishioners. The atmosphere is one of a close-knit
family, according to many.
“Every parish has its own character,” Father Wilkinson
said. “I’ve not been in many that have had as close-knit a feeling as
this parish.”
“Part of it is the journey the parish has been on,” he
explained. “When the Jews were wandering in the desert, they had to
believe that their God would bring them out, would lead them to new life. When
I arrived there were a lot of challenges. People didn’t know who to trust,
who to believe. I was asked if I was ‘here to close us down.’”
“The move (to the Village chapel in 1989) was a difficult
moment for the parish, as was the closing of the school,” Father Wilkinson
said. “There was a racial transition in the neighborhood, the creation of
a new parish, the loss of a treasured building. There was a lot of uncertainty.
It was a testing of faith in the parish’s life.”
Still, when he arrived nine years ago, Father Wilkinson found
himself immersed in the family-style commitment and spirituality.
“I am always amazed at the response of the people here,”
he said. “When something needs to be done, there is a huge percentage of
the people who respond. It’s amazing, gratifying and speaks to the
people’s faith. When we have visitors, they share with me how welcome they
felt. That is unusual in the Catholic Church. People respond to that.”
Father Wilkinson knows about the response to welcoming. He became
a Catholic because of the invitation he felt at a college parish when he was a
student. He commented that a small parish has limitations in its resources and
programs, yet people come from as far away as Coweta, Cobb and north Fulton
counties to worship here. The resources that are available must speak for
themselves. Friendliness must surely be counted among them. The current
atmosphere of the parish owes much to the leadership of Father Wilkinson,
according to parishioners.
“The environment of the church has benefited from the current
leadership,” said Warren. “There is good planning and a strategy to
create harmony and to engage participatory involvement by all the members of
the church. Father Bruce delivers through his leadership an expectation that
all members will achieve success. He allows for the individual in the church to
come as an individual in a comfortable manner. He provides an opportunity for
the personality of the individual to evolve and develop.”
“Father Bruce has a unique talent for harmonizing the strong,
medium and weaker personalities,” Warren continued. “His teaching
style is upbeat. Even when he’s not having a good day, the smile is still
there. The end result of his leadership is that each person has an opportunity
to be an achiever, living the message outlined in the Bible through the
leadership of Jesus Christ.”
“My opinion, is that (the message of Father Bruce) is
probably the water that draws people here and keeps them here,” Warren
concluded.
“He’s here for us,” Prejean said. “I hope
we’re here for him.”
“Being there” is a commitment that includes and goes
beyond Sunday Mass. The fellowship that follows the 9 a.m. liturgy is so
important that 11:30 a.m. Mass attendees come early to catch this sharing time.
It is there that parish staff and volunteers find out what is happening in
parishioners’ lives and who needs follow-up.
Even though the parish is small, there are a number of very active
ministries. The Sunshine Club sends birthday cards and get-well greetings,
mostly to the large number of elderly parishioners and to family members.
Visits from eucharistic ministers are part of their work. Other ministries
include organizations for youths, teens, young adults, altar servers,
sacristans, lectors and eucharistic ministers, music ministers, ushers and
those who welcome new members.
Father Wilkinson heads up the parish AIDS Task Force. The four
core members participate in fund raising during the AIDS Walk. They help with
prayer services and offer literature and information. Father Wilkinson is a
member of the National Minority Task Force, which uses Centers for Disease
Control material to increase awareness of the rising incidence of AIDS in
minority populations.
A parish health ministry, headed by Joan Lemon, recently surveyed
the parish community on health topics. The top topics included diabetes,
AIDS/HIV, and breast cancer, with prostate cancer topping the charts as the
number one interest. Workshops are being planned as a result. Other outreach
ministries are the “Assistance to the Needy Committee” as well as the
Knights of Columbus.
The school of religion, in addition to classes and ministries for
young people and children, includes an Adult Spiritual Enrichment program.
Parish organizations include men’s club, social committee, gift shop,
altar guild, Sunday coffee kitchen and parish web site. There is a pastoral
council as well as a finance council. Parish finances are tallied weekly in the
parish bulletin, indicating that the small parish is solidly solvent.
Special committees exist for the parish anniversary celebration.
The quilt group has finished its work. The anniversary pictorial directory is
also completed. Planning for the June 4 concert celebration is underway, as is
planning for the June 11 anniversary barbecue which will follow the single
Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m. for that special day. A parish pilgrimage is also
planned.
Anniversary mugs are already available, sporting the Jubilee 2000
logo on one side and the parish name and years on the other. A souvenir booklet
is in process, as are projects by most parish groups, all of which were asked
by Father Wilkinson to come up with a special plan for the anniversary. The
faces that flesh out these organizations are on the “front lines” of
the journey and of the welcome so many people cherish. Many wear several
“hats.”
Pat Bowman has been a member of the parish for about 20 years. You
need to take a deep breath before outlining her involvement. She is a pastoral
minister whose duties include: sacristan, lector, eucharistic minister, office
worker, choir member, Sunshine Club coordinator, gift shop coordinator and
director of the OCIA. She has been deeply involved in these ministries for
about five years.
“I just love doing stuff for the Lord,” Bowman said.
“I knew Father needed assistance. I found that the more you do, the more
you want to do. This is a very close parish. It’s like you’re part of
a family. Here you don’t have to dress a certain way. Here you come to
worship God. You can be yourself.”
Youth minister Gretchen Eugere helps recruit choir members when
she’s not working with the dozen students in the high school youth group.
A middle school youth group was started recently with the help of Carol Phelps
and Rosemary Cherry. Maureen Alexander coordinates the school of religion,
which includes preschoolers. Walter Boone, choir director, is one of the few
paid staff people. According to fellow staffers his pianist talents embrace
everything from Mozart to gospel and the parish is very proud of its choir.
“His playing,” said one fan, “will make you crazy.”
Lorraine Mencer, a pastoral minister, coordinates parish revivals, including
the successful revival in March which featured Sister Pat Haley.
Valerie Prophet-Howard has been a member of the parish for nearly
20 years. She is a lector and eucharistic minister, who coordinates both those
ministries, trains lectors and serves as a sacristan.
“I like the closeness here,” she said. “We have the
greatest pastor in the world and the people are great. The smallness allows you
to feel like part of a family and the spirituality of the church allows you to
feel the closeness. The spirituality comes from the family feeling and the
family feeling from the spirituality.”
This is Janice Royals’ third term on the pastoral council,
her second as president. She echoed many parishioners in her assessment of the
“ties” that connect the pilgrims of Most Blessed Sacrament.
“We are very friendly, very warm,” she said. “We
get to know each other. We know each other by name. We care about others in the
community as well as in the parish. We see that our elderly members need our
help and support.”
The Mission Statement for the group states: “Most Blessed
Sacrament Church is a prayer-centered parish community. We are guided by the
way of Christ and energized by the Holy Spirit. We witness our faith in Christ
through our ministries and outreach. In cooperation with our pastoral
leadership, we seek to manifest our Christian beliefs in our lives.”
Rev. Mr. Jean Moenk, historian and permanent deacon of Most
Blessed Sacrament, now serving at St. Matthew Parish in Tyrone, wrote a
detailed summary of the complex history of the pilgrim people of this parish.
Robert Schorr, a member of the parish from its mission days,
remembers all these changes. He was the site committee chairman and the
building committee chairman when the property at Stone Road and Camp Creek was
purchased for the eventual combination church and school. The site selected was
large enough to accommodate other buildings which were never constructed, such
as a convent, athletic stadium and a hoped-for diocesan high school. Schorr
still laments the loss of the parish school. The reputation of the school was
such that the Schorr children were not required to take an entrance exam when
they continued their education at Woodward Academy after the closing of the
parish school.
Schorr is pleased with the Village location and welcomes all new
neighbors on the property, whatever the details. Such change is just another
part of the parish journey.
Father Wilkinson is not certain about all the specifics of
diocesan plans for the rest of the former Village of St. Joseph property. Two
years ago one of the cottages became the parish center, with offices,
classrooms, meeting space and a gift shop. Nazareth House, a residence for
Father David Talley, vocations director, and several seminarians, will join the
parish on the site. Whatever other organizations end up sharing the grounds, he
is sure they will benefit from the proximity of the parish.
“The change will be good for us,” Father Wilkinson said
of the plans for the property. “There will be a need for volunteers to
help with some of the ministries. There’s a lot of undeveloped land, a lot
of possibilities.”
Even with more change ahead, Father Wilkinson expects the ties
will hold for this pilgrim people. He is not alone in his expectation.
“We are sort of a nomad parish,” Schorr said. “Even
with the priests, it got to be kind of a joke. After the first 10 years or so,
we had new priests every couple of years—it was said we had a swinging
door for priests, in and out. That was the way it was supposed to be. We hope
we have benefited from it.”
“We would like to grow,” Schorr said of the parish,
after mentioning development in the area. “We are hoping to grow and are
planning on growing. Blessed Sacrament is still very viable. We’ve held
the course. We’re proud we’re still in existence.” |
