Print Issue: March 7, 2002

New Priest, Father Medlin, Holds Doctorate In Music

Father Medlin Bio | Photos

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

MARIETTA - The church was nearly full of excited parishioners anxious to see their deacon become a priest.

On Feb. 23 at Holy Family Church, Archbishop John F. Donoghue ordained Rev. Mr. Doug Medlin to the priesthood. For Rev. Mr. Medlin, who has served at Holy Family since May 2001, it was the culmination of many years of study and discernment, and his friends from several parishes were thrilled.

Several priests concelebrated the ordination Mass with the archbishop. The Holy Family choir, accompanied by a wind and brass ensemble, as well as a bell choir, provided the rich soundtrack for the joyous Mass.

In the first portion of the rite of ordination, Father Serge Ward, director of vocations, presented Rev. Mr. Medlin to Archbishop Donoghue who chose him for ordination, after which the congregation consented with applause.

In his homily, the archbishop spoke of Christ as a shepherd, willing to lay down his life for his flock.

"Not every priest is asked to die for the Faithful people of God-but every priest is asked to live for them-to live as if he were the shepherd-and though perhaps not as perfect a shepherd as the Lord, to live as closely as possible, in the image described by our Lord in the Gospel, and by his life," he said.

Archbishop Donoghue said a priest becomes a shepherd by leading, strengthening and loving the people of God.

"Dear friends, in these ways, by acting as an agent for the Good Shepherd, by feeding the Faithful flock, the Church, in all ways, through faith, hope and love, the priest honors his precious gift of priestly vocation," he said. "But even as the priest is thus enlisted on our behalf, it becomes our obligation as well, to pray for him, and to pray for all priests, that they may remain faithful to their calling, and keep their lives, any action, any word, any thought, that might harm the Body of Christ-any evil that might open the safe pasture, to invasion by the rapacious wolf."

He then told the candidate to hold steadfast to the priestly virtues of chastity, poverty and obedience.

"Cling to these, subsist on these, as the branch clings and lives upon the vines," the archbishop advised. "For if you impel yourself upon the virtue of Christ, then such is his perfection, that you will sustain, by His power, the strength you need-the strength 'to commend yourself,' as St. Paul says, 'to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.'"

Rev. Mr. Douglas Medlin, left, pledges his obedience and respect to Archbishop John F. Donoghue and his successors during his Feb. 23 Rite of Ordination to the priesthood at Holy Family Church, Marietta. Holding the book is fourth-year college seminarian Justin Howell.

Facing the archbishop seated before him, the candidate affirmed his intent to serve as a priest with a clear conscience and prayerful spirit after which he promised obedience to him and his successors. The archbishop called on the kneeling congregation to pray for the candidate who prostrated himself before them. In silence the archbishop, followed by the other priests, laid hands on Rev. Mr. Medlin conferring the Holy Spirit on him. The archbishop then said a prayer of consecration, completing the act of ordination.

Following conferral of God's Holy Spirit upon Rev. Mr. Douglas Medlin, kneeling, by Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Father Kevin Hargaden, parochial vicar at St. Joseph's Church, Marietta, joins all the priests in laying hands upon him in silence.

Father Daniel Rocco, a friend and priest from New Jersey, then helped the new priest into his vestments. Once vested, Father Medlin knelt before the archbishop, who anointed his hands to signify the priest's ministry in the church to heal, sanctify and offer prayer for God's people. The gifts were brought forth and presented by the archbishop to Father Medlin.

Sharing their support and congratulations with the new priest, the archbishop and concelebrating priests embraced Father Medlin in a presbyteral greeting of peace. The congregation responded with an enthusiastic standing ovation.

At the end of the Mass, Holy Family pastor Father Ed Thein called the ordination a "very special and momentous occasion in our parish."

At a reception in the parish hall, Father Medlin offered first blessings. A display in one area of the hall, featuring pictures of the new priest at different times in his life, from childhood to ordination, was a topic of much conversation among the crowd.

A native of Athens and a graduate of the University of Georgia, he holds a doctorate in music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before entering the seminary, he served as director of music education for 19 years at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Father Rocco, who came to know Father Medlin when he served a summer at Christ the King Church in Haddonfield, N.J., said that it was an honor to vest the new priest, who he thinks will serve the people well.

"He's very good with the people," he said. "He has a special gift for the sick. When he was at our parish, we really tried to introduce him to the pastoral side of ministry."

Dee Aukerman and her husband, Ernie, traveled in a motor home from New Jersey to Atlanta for the ordination. They, too, had gotten to know Father Medlin when he served in their parish.

"He's been a real friend," Mr. Aukerman said.

"We wanted him to know that somebody from up north remembered him," Mrs. Aukerman added.

Father Neal Lambert, a priest in the diocese of Camden, N.J., said that he was one of the first people that Father Medlin told of his vocation. Father Lambert was 54 when he was ordained, and shares a late vocation in common with Father Medlin, who is 58. Father Lambert preached at Father Medlin's first Mass, celebrated Feb. 24 at Holy Family Church.

"He's going to be a great priest, and the reason he is going to be good is that he will use all his life experiences to serve people in whatever way they need," he said. "He has a terrific, varied background and I believe he will put all that into practice to minister to God's people."

Father Doug Medlin, second from right, poses with (l-r) Father Tim Hepburn, assistant director of vocations, Father Serge Ward, director of vocations, Archbishop John F. Donoghue, and Msgr. Paul Reynolds, vicar general in curia/chancellor. Father Medlin will serve as a parochial vicar at Holy Family Church, Marietta.

Father Douglas Medlin administers the holy Eucharist to Myra Hargrove, a parishioner from Christ Our King and Savior Church, Greensboro. Hargrove, her husband, Art, and Medlin were classmates at the University of Georgia, Athens.

(L-R) Tom Reilly, Rose Marie Delano, Barbara Culps, Trish Voorhees, Katie Hercules, Betty Gassen, Diane Lou Sposaro and Diane Knox represent some of Father Douglas Medlin's "adopted family" from St. James Church, McDonough. The south deanery parish transported some its parishioners up for the Medlin ordination in the church van.