Print Issue: December 5, 2002

Sacred Heart Of Jesus Church Celebrates Heritage Of Its Founders On 25th Anniversary

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

HARTWELL - Far from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta, on the border of Georgia and South Carolina, sits Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, a parish with a deep-rooted Catholic heritage and the pride of its founding families.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue traveled to Hartwell Nov. 3, to celebrate the church's 25th anniversary.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hartwell, parish community celebrated the silver anniversary of its church building, Nov. 3. Before the current building was erected a farmhouse on 17 acres served as the church. (Photos by Michael Alexander) Above, Descendents of the Doker and Kotal families, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church's two founding families, still worship at the Hart County Catholic church over a century after their Czechoslovakian ancestors moved to the area. Father Patrick McCormick, far right, a former pastor, joins them in the photo.

Located 110 miles from the city, Hartwell is a town untouched by the ever-widening sprawl of metro Atlanta. Seated at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Hartwell boasts the beauty of Lake Hartwell, one of the largest lakes in the southeast, as its backdrop.

Winding through the small town, shop windows are painted with the local high school's colors, in support of its football team. Large homes sit acres away from each other, most with big front porches beckoning rocking chairs.

At Sacred Heart, members of the parish greet each other with the warmth of family. With fewer than 200 families registered, the church is small, but grand in spirit.

Archbishop Donoghue's visit was especially exciting, and parishioners were honored that he made the two-hour trek to offer his blessing.

The image of the Eucharist is one of the stained glass windows along the side of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hartwell. Some women in the church who learned the craft made the windows back in the middle 1980s. Father Joseph Fahy, CP, is the main celebrant during the Spanish Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hartwell. Father Terence Kane, right, concelebrated and Archbishop John F. Donoghue presided at the Nov. 3 liturgy observing the 25th anniversary of the church building. Father Patrick McCormick holds 3-month-old Camden Doker, a descendent of one of the two founding families of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church who originally emigrated from Czechoslovakia. Father McCormick, the pastor from 1977-90, presided over the first Communion and wedding Mass for Camden's parents, Bryan and Carrie. Today Father McCormick is a U.S. Navy chaplain stationed in Japan.

Father Terry Kane, pastor, concelebrated the Mass, along with Father Patrick McCormick, the parish's first official pastor, who made a special voyage from Japan where he is serving as a military chaplain.

In his homily the archbishop spoke of the community's strong Catholic ties.

"Though we celebrate the 25th anniversary . . . we know that the roots of Sacred Heart Church go back much further - back to the waning days of the 19th century, when Catholic immigrants from Czechoslovakia made their way to this beautiful locale, and whenever possible, whenever a priest was available, began to celebrate the Holy Mass," he said. "There were already many Catholics in the area, for immigration from nearby South Carolina was steady throughout the 1800s, as was an influx of pioneers from the ports of Charleston and Savannah."

"Irish, French and many Eastern European Catholics brought into our state a Catholic presence, that has provided a foundation for the growth of our Church over the last century," the archbishop continued. "From a few hundred, we now number in this Archdiocese 300,000, and the Church still continues to grow in Georgia. But she grows as much these days, by the power of example and conversion, as she does from immigration. And that fact has much to do with the goodness of communities like Sacred Heart Church."

That power of example and conversion is a running theme in Sacred Heart's history that reaches back almost as far as the first Catholics in the archdiocese.

A Catholic community has existed in Hart County ever since the end of the 19th century when Catholic immigrants moved there from Czechoslovakia. Today a large number of the parishioners are descendants of the Doker, Kotal and Sokol families that made up the first community. In the early years of the 20th century, these families would travel to Anderson, S.C., several times each year to attend Mass. Later a priest from Greenville, S.C., would come to Hartwell and offer Mass in the homes of the Kotals and Dokers.

In the late 1940s Father Walter Donovan started coming up to Hartwell each Sunday from Athens to offer Mass with the people. Later priests from Washington and Elberton served the Catholic community. In 1953, Mary Nell Doker wrote a letter to Msgr. Joseph Moylan, administrator of the Savannah-Atlanta Diocese, requesting that a church be established in Hartwell for the over 60 Catholics living in the area.

The first church, an old farmhouse, along with 17 acres of land, was purchased in 1954. The Verona Fathers staffed the church until 1964, when Father Joseph Drohan became administrator. Several priests staffed the church for the next few years, and in 1976, construction began on Sacred Heart's current church building.

Dedicated by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan on Oct. 30, 1977, the church was built for $78,000 with a mortgage of $32,000.

In 1982, Sacred Heart, originally a mission of St. Mary's Church, Toccoa, became a parish. Father Patrick McCormick, who had been serving as administrator since 1977, became the church's first pastor.

In 1985, the women of the parish showed their dedication to their community by funding and making the stained glass windows that highlight the sanctuary.

The church was expanded in 1988 to include a new structure adding nine classrooms, doubling the size of the fellowship hall, providing a large kitchen and increasing the size of the worship space.

Following the Nov. 3 Mass, parishioners gathered in back of the church for a ground-breaking. Construction will soon begin to create new church offices. A fire this past April in the rectory and offices of the parish created a need for new space.

The Mass also marked the first anniversary of the parish's Spanish Mass. Father Joseph Fahy, CP, travels to Hartwell every two weeks to celebrate Mass in Spanish, while Father Kane celebrates the other weeks.

The archbishop stayed to celebrate the Spanish Mass with Father Kane and Father Fahy, while descendants of the founding families posed for pictures outside.

Father McCormick said that the strength of the parish is owed mainly to its members.

"When these families came over from Europe, there were no Catholics in the area," he said. "But they held onto their faith-so much so that all their spouses converted. They became well-respected members of the community and as a result, the Catholic Church in this area became much more accepted."

Now serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy, Father McCormick said it was important for him to celebrate with the people he had served as pastor for 13 years.

"It's really nice to see everyone and see how everyone is getting along," he said. "I always remember the strength of the Catholic community here."

A descendant of the parish founders, Ralph Kotal, 62, has been a member of Sacred Heart all his life.

"It's meant everything to me," he said. "It's the only thing I've ever known."

As a child, Kotal said, the church came to him.

"In the '40s, a priest used to come to our house to celebrate Mass," he said. "I've seen all the changes in the church, from the homes, to the farmhouse, to the new church."

Kotal's wife, Rebecca, converted to Catholicism in 1965 and said she was attracted by the community.

"You know, sometimes people say that their church is like family, but this isn't like family, it is family," she said.

Father Kane, who has served at several Atlanta parishes, including the Cathedral of Christ the King, said he welcomed the rural parish experience. He has served as pastor of Sacred Heart since 1998.

"I wanted to experience the woods and the water and the country," he said. "I had always heard good things about Hartwell. The people here are very friendly and very cooperative."

They are also go-getters, he said.

"We do a lot together," he said. "I leave it to them and they organize it."

Recently, Father Kane said, parishioners funded and built a memorial garden, where members of the parish can have their ashes interred. Over 40 people have already signed up to make the garden their final resting place.

"We're very proud of it," Father Kane said. "I hope to be interred there too."

Father Kane is also proud of the parish's long-standing ecumenical history. Sacred Heart participates in 10 ecumenical services each year.

Above all, the pastor said, it is the people who make the parish special.

"We really have wonderful celebrations and wonderful people," he said. "People are very supportive here."

(L-r) Deacon Jerry Korte, Father Joseph Fahy, CP, Father Patrick McCormick, former Sacred Heart of Jesus pastor, Archbishop John F. Donoghue, Bill Griggs, building committee chair, and Father Terence Kane, current Sacred Heart of Jesus pastor, participate in a ground-breaking ceremony on the future site of the parish all-purpose building, which will include administrative, classroom and meeting space. Sue Cary Lindholm, left, and Father Terence Kane turn heads as they engage in an uproarious moment of laughter at the silver anniversary reception meal at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hartwell, Nov. 3. Lindholm is responsible for the church's memorial garden adjacent to the church and her late husband, Lindy, was on the original building committee for the 25-year-old church.