Print Issue: November 21, 2002

Historic St. Gerard's Parish Celebrates 50th Year With Expansion Dedication

Archbishop John F. Donoghue is joined at the altar during the Liturgy of the Eucharist by (l-r) Father Joe Majewski, CSsR, vice provincial for the Redemptorists in the Southeast, Father Michael Redden, St. Gerard pastor, Father Paul Flood, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church, Woodstock, Father John Howren, pastor of St. Augustine Church, Covington, Msgr. William Hoffman, pastor of St. Joseph Church, Dalton, and Father Timothy Hepburn, chaplain of Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell. (Photos by Michael Alexander) A framed mosaic of St. Gerard hangs on a wall just to the left of the sanctuary. Pius X canonized the Italian native in 1904. St. Gerard's feast day is Oct. 16. At the Chickamauga battlefield memorial park, located down the street from the church, fields are lined with cannons, hay bales and soldier's statues, which recall one of the most bloody and stubbornly contested battles of American history.

By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

FORT OGLETHORPE - In the shadow of the historic Chickamauga battlefield honoring the memory of the Civil War soldiers who died there, members of St. Gerard's Church gathered Nov. 1 to honor and remember Christ who died for them and all the faithful who have built their community over the past 50 years.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue rededicated the facility on Nov. 1, the feast of All Saints, while concelebrants included the first two archdiocesan priests there, Father Tim Hepburn and Father John Howren, current pastor Father Michael Redden, and Redemptorist pastor from 1972-75, Father Joseph Majewski, CSsR.

The 210-family parish celebrated both its jubilee 50th anniversary, and an expansion and renovation of its circa-World War I worship space, formerly a military chapel. The $450,000 renovation project, designed by architects Kirkman and Associates, preserved its historic character, adding more space and giving the existing building a face-lift.

Located two hours north of Atlanta in Catoosa County's Fort Oglethorpe near the Georgia-Tennessee state line, St. Gerard's is in a quiet area with a population around 7,000. The Chickamauga memorial battlefield park is down the street from the church, its long fields lined with cannons, hay bales and soldiers' statues which mark one of the most stubbornly contested and bloody battles of American history. And as this church fosters prayer, the park fosters contemplation of the soldier's raw courage, evoking images of the blood shed over a century ago.

The white, Colonial style church was originally an interfaith chapel for the former Fort Oglethorpe cavalry post across the street that dates from the early 20th century. When the post closed in the mid-1940s, buildings were sold by the government, transforming the post to a now ordinary-looking strip of businesses. In 1948, the Redemptorist religious order bought the church from the government and founded St. Gerard, named after one of the order's famous members, as a mission. It had a parish school located on a former officer's club building at the fort from 1948, closing in 1969. St. Gerard Mission became a parish in 1952 and was given to the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1996.

Founding member Betty Smith's "heart" is in the historic church. As she sat quietly waiting for the Mass to begin, she looked at the brightened interior and reflected on how the church had also lightened her load, recalling how the congregation prayed for her when her oldest son Jerry, named after St. Gerard, died. Regarding the church's new look, she said, "I think it's wonderful. We've waited a long time for this. (The church) is a landmark. My heart is here. I have three sons and they were all three christened here and the oldest was buried here."

A 15-year-old boy then walked over to greet her, after which she explained, teary-eyed, that he had recently come with a priest to visit her in the hospital. "This is a powerful church community for prayers. It's just a strong community. A lot of the young families have come in the last few years. When I was in the hospital he came with the priest and brought me Communion. We've had some wonderful priests here and I think at first we had Redemptorist priests that were responsible for St. Gerard's. They started the church. The Redemptorist presence is still here in just the good things they've done for us along the way."

Added Bernadette Betourne, a member since 1972, "when you come it almost demands for you to get down on your knees and pray . . . Several people have said that."

As he dedicated the renovations, the archbishop prayed for many good years to come for the church. he sprinkled water to bless the building and consecrated its new wood altar with a marble top.

With the dedication on All Saints Day, the archbishop said it was especially important to remember St. Gerard Majella, the 18th century patron saint of the church who died at only 29 but after an extraordinary life of service despite frail health.

"His memory also calls to mind, the religious order he served, the Redemptorists, who for almost a half century, served the people of this parish with devotion and love, and without whom, the events we celebrate today, might never have come about. We cannot thank them enough."

And just as the feast coincides with the dedication, the archbishop said that attendees' lives must coincide with the lives of saints before them "Today's celebrations are all about holiness-the holiness of our Church, the holiness of our saints, and our holiness, which is being formed, every day, by our devotion to the Sacraments and to the life that Jesus has taught us to live, the life of selfless love. That selfless love has brought about, through the efforts of many, but acting as one, the work we bless and dedicate today."

He concluded challenging them, as the parish begins a new phase in its life, to also renew their quest for holiness. "May this day stand, then, as a new beginning . . . a day whose recollection will not be a simple anniversary, but a living memory of who we have become, and who we will become, in His love."

Afterward the archbishop incensed the church and anointed the altar with oil.

In addition to the new altar, the renovations to the elegant, simple church included re-sanded and varnished wooden floors, freshly painted white walls and new insulation, sheetrock and siding. The altar area of the church was extended about 50 feet, creating seats for about 50 more people, and a stained glass window with a chalice and cross that says "Come to Me" was added in the narthex, which reflects onto the glass wall between it and the church.

Building committee chair Bob Hucke was glad to help lead the project for the church he began attending after moving to the area from Ohio in 1982. "I was proud to be a part of it. It's something we needed. I think it's gonna help it grow," he said. "The church was completely gutted. We needed a new heating system, new air (conditioning system), the electricity was rewired. There was no insulation in the church and all had to be installed. We added onto the sides and into the sacristy . . . We tried to leave as much of the original church as we could. We had to go in front of the historical society with the church because it's been here so long. We basically kept the outside the same."

Hucke grew up attending a minor basilica in Carey, Ohio, and still goes there when he goes there to visit his mom. "I come back and am so pleased to get into my little church where I can hear. It's small, everybody knows everybody. I wouldn't trade it for (anything)."

He said a primary reason the church is small is that it's a heavily Baptist area, and some Catholics go to other area Catholic churches in Lookout Mountain and Dalton. And the construction of a bypass highway last year forced a lot of nearby businesses to close. Yet he said there's an ecumenical spirit of cooperation in the community, and that "it definitely has historical significance, not only to the church, to the whole community." And the historical significance of the battlefield nearby attracts a small but steady stream of visitors to the church.

Hucke has also served on the parish council and maintained the grounds, while his wife Nina works with the youth. He noted how ministries are all intertwined. "It's a very close knit community . . . Everybody wears a lot of hats here."

Dolores Sutton came to the church in '95, also from Ohio, and serves in the Ladies' Guild and as a eucharistic minister. "It just feels like home. That first time we came to this church it reminded me a lot of our small parish back in Ohio and the friendliness of the people."

She is quite pleased with the renovations. "It's still the same church. It's quite a change in the looks and appearance of the inside and I'm real pleased with the spaciousness," said Sutton. The church "gives you a more historically reminiscent feel - that it was part of history and should be preserved as part of the history of the area. I think they've done really well as far as preserving the look of the church on the outside," she said, but the challenge now is paying off the debt.

Another challenge for Father Redden is to get more people involved to strengthen ministries in the coming year. And there are quite a few of them - around 40 - for a small parish, including one to bring meals to families of patients in the ICU, transportation for Mass and ministry to the bereaved. During Thanksgiving, Christmaas and Easter, church members prepare and give about 80 food baskets to those in need.

"We have a limited number of people. We try to keep the ministries here going that we have and try to keep them working. The biggest challenges for the year is trying to revitalize our religious education program and keep it going hard, trying to make time and space and room for everybody, getting volunteers to do it," the pastor said.

But it is hoped that their renovated worship space will revitalize them for those ministries. "The church was in really bad shape. Nobody had done work on it for about 35 years. I think it turned out really good, it turned out great."

Members of St. Gerard's community provide a fitting conclusion to the Mass of rededication for the 50-year-old parish by singing the closing hymn, "Alle, Alle, Alleluia." A fresh vase of flowers beautifies the gathering space, which also contains a new baptismal font. The panels on the wall, which depict various symbols of Christ, were the creation of artist Margaret Wesley. Jesse Bourne places flowers at the foot of the altar. Choirs members Joy Fisher, left, and Rachael Gily sing the entrance song as members of the Father Gerald Whelan Assembly of the Knights of Columbus lead the procession of clergy into the church. Archbishop John F. Donoghue anoints the new altar with chrism during the Mass of rededication and the 50th anniversary of St. Gerard Church, Fort Oglethorpe, Nov. 1.