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By Erika Anderson
LILBURN—From humble beginnings in a high school cafeteria,
St. Stephen the Martyr Church has become a thriving, Christ-centered community
that now has a place to call home.
The parish, which has 500 families, is located on the corner of
Rockbridge and Wydella roads. A $2.4 million project, the new building includes
a church, with seating for 500 people, five classrooms, parish offices, a
nursery and a fellowship hall, which adds four additional classrooms with
dividers. Architects CDH Partners and contractors JTV worked to design and
construct the L-shaped building, which was dedicated by Archbishop John F.
Donoghue on Dec. 26, 2000, the feast of St. Stephen.
Originally a mission of St. John Neumann Church in Lilburn, St.
Stephen’s was named a parish last May.
Principal concelebrants at the Mass of dedication included Father
Patrick Donaghey, pastor, Father James Fennessy, pastor of St. John Neumann,
and Father Austin Fogarty, parochial vicar at St. James the Apostle Church in
McDonough.
During his homily, the archbishop told the story of St. Stephen,
who became the first martyr, stoned in the presence of Saul because of his
Christian faith. Each Christian is called to live his faith with the same
conviction as Stephen, he said.
“We may never be brought to this test, but I believe that in
the depths of our souls, some quiet voice of the Spirit is always there,
telling us that it could be so—telling us that each one of us has the
makings of the saint, of the martyr—and I also believe, that it is from
the immense, even if quiet strength, that this conviction gives us, that we are
able to do so much good in the world which surrounds us,” he said.
“We know that the Faith of our Church to do good is an undying
ember—we know that the power of the Sacraments to refresh our souls and
strengthen our lives is inexhaustible—and though we may not be given to
what is often called proselytizing, we make no apologies for the open doors of
our Church, and the emphatic clarity of our Church’s holy teaching.”
The archbishop then compared the church dedication to St.
Stephen’s dedication to his faith, remarking that “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. Stephen’s as we dedicate our new church, and prepare for our
own spiritual future.”
“We may not have to die under the stones of our persecutors,
but this does not mean that we cannot take the first martyr’s words as a
measure of our own faith,” he said. “For why do we build and dedicate
this Church—why do we raise shelters for our children to be educated, and
pavilions for our families to meet, to share, and take part as one family, in
the joy of the Lord? 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, and we are so inspired, that nothing negative anyone says makes a jot
of difference—we will do everything, even die, 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.”
The archbishop ended his homily with a prayer.
“Our motives and our hopes for this dedication today, and for
all our future plans, are grounded in the same Faith of those who died for
Christ, like St. Stephen, and those who saw visions of Christ’s Church,
like St. John,” he said. “May our own efforts, thus allied to the
vision and sacrifices of our fathers in Faith, be sanctified by the Holy
Spirit, and all our works fulfill the prayer of the Lord, who said, at His end,
but as our beginning: ‘Father . . . I have given them the glory you gave
me, that they may be one, as we are one . . . so that your love for me may live
in them, and I may live in them.’”
Today, three months after the dedication, parishioners are
enjoying their own church, after celebrating many years in a high school.
On Sept. 17, 1995, St. Stephen’s first Mass was celebrated at
Parkview High School on Cole Drive by Father Fennessy. Approximately 300
parishioners and guests attended. It was after the first Mass that the name of
St. Stephen the Martyr was selected by those present and later approved by the
archbishop. Three days later, 15.7 acres were purchased by the archdiocese for
the new church.
For the first four months of St. Stephen’s existence, only
one Sunday Mass was celebrated each week. In January 1996, a second Mass was
added to allow for the needs of the growing community.
Father Donaghey was assigned as a parochial vicar to St. John
Neumann in June 1996. He immediately became the priest in residence at St.
Stephen.
A building committee for St. Stephen’s had already been
established by this time, organized by Father Fennessy, and had begun gathering
designs from other churches plus building requirements from the various
ministries for a new multipurpose facility.
The parish broke ground for the new church on June 24, 1999. The
roof blessing ceremony was held on Palm Sunday 2000, and the first Mass in the
new church was celebrated on Aug. 5, 2000.
Parishioners have participated in the design of the new church,
which features several pieces from Canadian sculptor Timothy Shmalz and
includes a statue of a kneeling Mary in a pro-life memorial garden. Parishioner
Mark Palmquist built both the altar and ambo, while parishioner Steve Drzik
built the stands for the statues and the base for the baptismal font. John
Nelson, who is also a parishioner, built the cross that holds the corpus, which
hangs on the teal wall behind the altar.
Father Donaghey, known affectionately to parishioners as
“Father Paddy,” said that the parishioners were eager to help. Even
now, about 45 parishioners often dedicate their Saturdays to gardening and
landscaping around the church.
“This is the spirit of St. Stephen’s,” he said.
“The people are very giving of themselves in all aspects, not just
financially, but giving of their time and talent.”
Father Donaghey said that with the additional space, the parish
has been able to establish an outreach ministry. A meal-mobile was begun, with
parishioners delivering meals to Atlanta homeless on Tuesday and Saturday
evenings.
“We were just waiting for this place to open up so we could
establish that,” he said, “because we really just didn’t have
the facilities before.”
In building the church, Father Donaghey said that they wanted
“simplicity, but for it to be elegant as well because it is a house of
God.”
“Just to walk into the church, there is a spirit of prayer
and calmness,” the pastor said. “There’s a tranquility
there.”
Jim Curry, who served as co-chair of the building committee along
with Steve Dupont, agrees with Father Donaghey.
“The church’s beauty lies in its simplicity, there is no
question about that,” he said. “We wanted it to feel like a
house.”
Curry, who designs stadiums for a living, said that designing the
church was a unique experience.
“I’m an architect by profession, but I have never done
anything as personal and as worthwhile as a church,” he said. “It was
such a pleasure.”
Curry said he was impressed by the dedication and vision of the
committees involved.
“It was very spiritually enriching,” he said,
“because the committee as a whole never lost sight of what they were doing
and that was building a house of worship.”
He said that the parishioners really feel a sense of ownership
with the new church.
“The building itself matches how we feel. It’s very
small, and not very tall,” he said. “It fits into the neighborhood
perfectly. We did not want to build a big, dominant structure in the
neighborhood. I think the building really reflects the spirit of the
people.”
Mary Ellen Vaden, a parishioner who decorated the interior of the
church, said she was “honored to be asked.”
“I didn’t do it for me; I did it because I have been
given a talent and I wanted to give back,” she said. “It really
turned out to be a warm and inviting place.”
Vaden, like Curry, was impressed by the parish’s desire to
help.
“I have never seen so many people who care so much about a
place,” she said. “They were so eager about getting it built and
started. They just wanted this church so badly.”
As the parish grows, Father Donaghey hopes that it will continue
to serve its three goals of worship, education and fellowship.
“I hope that the people of this parish will grow spiritually
closer to the Lord and witness to that every day of their lives,” he said.
“We want this church to be a little beacon of light in this little corner
of Lilburn, where people feel welcomed, where other people will make them feel
a part of this place. What we want to try to develop here is a family.”
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