|
TYRONE—Zeal for their first permanent house of worship
consumed parishioners of St. Matthew’s Church Oct. 22 as the dedication
Mass was celebrated for the newly constructed facility of the 22-year-old
community.
The celebration began as about 700 people filled the gym of Our
Lady of Victory School, which opened last year and is next to the church. The
pastor, Father Leo Holleran, MS, reminded the congregation of their journey to
this moment. “We have labored, given and prayed to God the Father for his
blessing and direction. Now we are gathered here to offer the Rite of
Dedication of this, our first church ... where all are welcome.”
The principal celebrant, Archbishop John F. Donoghue, was joined
by the pastor; two of the former pastors, Father James Caffery, MS, and Father
Frederick Flaherty, MS; the provincial of the Missionaries of LaSalette, Father
James Kuczynski, MS; and other archdiocesan priests. Led by the priests, the
community processed from the school to the entrance of the new church.
Building committee chairman Hugh Weaver presented the keys to the
archbishop, who presented them to Father Holleran. Archbishop Donoghue then
blessed the church with holy water. Upon entering, parishioners were greeted by
an oil painting of St. Matthew conversing with an angel, painted by LaSalette
Brother Donald Wininski, a teacher from Connecticut. He modeled it after
Renaissance artist Guido Reni’s painting.
The new church, which seats 700 people, and the adjacent school
are located on 30 acres at 215 Kirkley Road. The new facility includes the
church, a gathering area and an administrative wing. Next to the gathering area
of the red brick church is the LaSalette Chapel. A statue depicting the Blessed
Mother’s apparition in LaSalette, France, will be placed there to honor
the LaSalette order which has staffed St. Matthew’s since it was founded
as a mission of Blessed Sacrament Church in 1978.
For some parishioners the dedication Mass was their first glimpse
of the church interior. Eyes were drawn from the hunter green carpet to three
Gothic windows showing the autumn leaves on the surrounding trees, suggesting
changing times at the parish and the beauty without boundaries of God’s
house. The worship began as the choir, directed by Dr. Kevin and Celeste
Johnson, led the multicultural congregation, which included African-Americans,
Asians and Hispanics, in “Let the River Run.”
In his homily the archbishop spoke of the lessons to be gleaned by
the parish from the Gospel account of Christ’s indignation over the
meretricious money-changers in the temple whom he drove out.
The archbishop spoke of how the disciples, upon watching
Christ’s outburst, recalled King David’s prophetic Psalm where he
wrote, “Zeal for thy house will consume me,” and saw Jesus in a new
light.
“At this moment, for His followers ... the truth begins to
take hold of their minds and their spirits—the Lord’s actions,
yes—but also the fulfillment of the prophecy they knew so well—and
this holy zeal of the Lord, for His Father’s house, opens their eyes,
clears their ears, and they begin to see and to hear the reality of this Man
who has called them ... whose zeal for the honor of His Father’s house
knows no limits, and whose determination to restore the holiness of God’s
Covenant is not to be impeded.”
They too, at the new church, have zealous hearts, he said.
“... After the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the young and new Church,
the zeal of our Lord for His Father’s house became the zeal of the Church
for her own temples, her own holy spaces,” he said. “Now, even two
thousand years after these events, we bear the fruit of this zeal in our own
hearts—and because of our Baptism, we can say with the Lord, ‘Zeal
for our Father’s house’—and that zeal exists, it is real, it is
here among us, in the desires, the hopes, the convictions, the determinations,
and all the sacrifices that have been made and given in order to bring into
being this new Church ... from where He can invite and welcome, all
people...”
Just as Jesus cleaned the temple and eventually made his final
sacrifice, Archbishop Donoghue told parishioners to be satisfied with the work
they’ve completed, but the work goes on.
“... We must now bring to this church all our good will, and
all our good talent, and all our good wealth, bringing before God our own
offerings, so that from this holy church, His grace may pour forth in the
future—upon our families, upon our children, upon all who will come here
in the future, to find meaning, to find strength, to find comfort, and find
peace.”
After the homily he spoke a prayer of dedication and anointed the
limestone altar with holy oil and wafted incense over it, and the present and
former pastors anointed church walls. Founding members dressed the altar with a
cloth, candles and other items. Deacons lit candles on the altar and throughout
the church while all lights came on and the choir sang “Holy Ground.”
Following the Eucharist the archbishop led a procession with
Father Holleran and deacons carrying the Blessed Sacrament down the church
aisles before returning it to the tabernacle, which he blessed. Deacon Jim
Weeks lit the sanctuary lamp above it.
Closing the Mass, Father Holleran said that if he ever makes a
career change it won’t be to construction or architecture.
“Over the past three years I have learned a great deal—
more than I have cared to learn, but none the less it has been very
enjoyable,” he said. He thanked all participants in the church planning,
design and construction, throwing in a few lines in Spanish to express
gratitude for the Hispanic subcontractors who drove from Dalton. “As I
have so often mentioned on this, our exodus journey, no matter what facility we
build, it is the people who are the church.”
The people who built the church were from general contractors
Dudley Barrett Construction Co. of Alpharetta and the architect was Passantino
& Bavier, Inc. of Smyrna. The church cost over $2 million and the money was
raised in conjunction with the “Building the Church of Tomorrow”
campaign.
After becoming a mission in 1978 with the late Father James
Noonan, MS, as pastor, the parish’s first home was a former funeral home
in Fairburn, with its chapel being used for worship space and other space
converted to classrooms, offices and a rectory. It was formally established as
a parish in 1979 and Father Thomas Reilly, MS, became the first permanent
pastor. The parish grew by 1988 from 180 to over 300 parishioners. Outgrowing
its facilities, in 1991 a multipurpose building was completed.
In 1995 the archdiocese decided to relocate the parish to the
current Tyrone site to strengthen it and better serve the growing Catholic
population south of Atlanta, particularly in Peachtree City, Newnan and
Fayetteville. In 1996 the Kirkley Road property was purchased and parishioners
began planning to build a multipurpose building there for worship and social
functions. When the archdiocese later decided to build a regional school there,
plans changed to build a church instead and use the school for social and
educational needs. The parish began leasing space for Mass at the Abundant Life
Church of God near the new facility in 1998 and after the school opened in
1999, Mass was celebrated there beginning in January 2000.
Following the Mass the community had a celebratory supper outside
the church under a tent.
“I’m very happy with the entire facility. It’s
turned out well and as you can see everybody is happy with it,” said
Weaver, a retired pilot who also was a chairman of the first building project.
“I think the parish will grow like crazy from here on.”
His wife, Suzanne, chairwoman of the liturgy committee, said
planning began in 1995 on construction and design.
“It’s been a five-year process in development and just
educating ourselves to what was liturgically correct and what we wanted to see
in the church itself,” she said. “Our (liturgical) focus from the
very beginning was nature ... to have the beauty of nature just surround us
from the color scheme and the windows.”
Mrs. Weaver added that parishioners prepared for the dedication in
preceding weeks through a novena to Mary, a penance service, full-page bulletin
inserts explaining the purpose of religious objects in the church and talks by
deacons explaining the rite.
Founding parishioner Sharon Arthur is grateful to have the new
church and school, which her two children attend. She had always wanted to send
her children to a Catholic school, but the closest one before OLV was too far.
“It’s kind of exciting because we’ve always
worshiped in this little, tiny building and to have something this big,
it’s like—all this for us,” she said. “When they said they
were building a school here our prayers were answered and having the church
right across the street, the children can really feel comfortable at both
places.”
Head of the parish council when the mission formed, Deacon Jean
Moenk, who is retired, said that the church, now with about 250 families, lost
some parishioners who opposed worshiping in a Protestant church. But it’s
already attracting new families from the school community and new housing
developments that are springing up.
“Because their children are here (parents have) been very
keen about joining the parish especially when they see the facility.”
Father Holleran, who also was an associate pastor at the parish in
its early mission days, said the building was a long time coming.
“I think people were getting very tired of worshiping in an
all-purpose building. It didn’t feel like a church. Some of our
parishioners, it’s been like 20-25 years since they’ve worshiped in a
real church,” he said. “It’s like a brand new start for the
parish because the face of the parish is going to change drastically as far as
what it looks like and the people’s needs. There’s going to be
greater ministerial need. If you increase families there will be more spiritual
needs, more weddings, baptisms, funerals.”
Maria Pagsisihan, business manager at OLV, is one who now hopes to
get more involved in the church.
“It will be very convenient to get involved now. They always
need volunteers for kids ... I’d love to get involved in a prayer group in
the church.”
Having joined the church after moving from the Philippines, she
has always felt at home in the small, diverse congregation.
“I work at OLV and since then I’ve felt like I’ve
gotten closer to (God) with all the turmoil that happened in my personal life
as well as my career,” she said. “... We finally have our home here
so it’s a great day for us.” |
