Faith Formation Finds More Space At Holy Trinity

By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer

Published: September 18, 2003

PEACHTREE CITY—Atlanta native Father Joe Shaute is receiving a baptism by fire at Holy Trinity Church, as he works to improve his Spanish fluency while serving as the priest leading the parish Hispanic ministry.

Now finding his groove after a demanding first six months, the parochial vicar is among many who are excited by the opportunities made possible by Holy Trinity’s newly completed community life center for religious education.

The parish, where Father John Walsh is the pastor, has grown to over 3,100 families. The Spanish-speaking presense has grown to include about 375 families.

At the building dedication Aug. 18, Father Shaute talked of plans to offer a Spanish RCIA program and “Life in the Spirit” seminar.

“A lot of Mexican immigrants who are coming here do not have much religious education beyond the third or fourth grade. They feel very much that they don’t have as much to offer because they haven’t learned as much about the faith,” Father Shaute said. “What they’re seeing is the parish school of religion providing for their kids. The parents and adults are starting to get excited about the faith in a new way. Our plan is to do a lot more for the adult community’s needs.”

Bilingual religious education director Pamela Villacrés hopes the desperately needed new building does just that—stimulates adults and children to grow in their understanding of Catholicism—as it provides space conducive to learning.

There are some 1,500 children in religieus education through eighth grade and another 1,000 in the Life Teen program.

“We hope that this extra space will inspire us to be renewed in our desire to know and serve the Lord,” Villacrés said. “We have been so cramped. It has been so difficult. Furthermore we hope the new space will revitalize adult formation. We have not had the space for adults to meet at the same time kids do. Consequently it has been difficult to get adults to come. Hopefully it will renew the desire for people to learn more about the Lord and our church and form a stronger community in our parish.”

“It smells new. I’m so excited,” she added. “We have over 60 ministries at the parish and all will be meeting here.”

The pre-engineered steel, two-story building, which is connected to the church, has eight offices, 13 classrooms and a chapel. Previously children, youth and adults met in partitioned sections of the parish hall and the rectory basement and the school of religion held classes all week in eight different sessions.

The ceremony began with Mass celebrated by Archbishop John F. Donoghue, concelebrated by Father Walsh and by former parochial vicar Father Kevin Peek and current parochial vicars Father Shaute and Father David McGuinness and Vicar in residence Father Paul Burke. The dedication in the building’s central gathering space followed Mass.

Especially with the societal breakdown in morality and in communication between generations, the archbishop spoke of the essential role the church has in passing on the faith.

“The best thing we can do for our children, the best thing we can do for ourselves and the world we live in, is to hold fast to our faith and our hope, but also to let faith and hope move us to charity—to work, to good work, for the sake of Christ’s love and for the sake of the love we bear one another. And how better can this love, this charity be expressed, than in teaching—in teaching our children, especially, that the only foundation upon which one can successfully build life, is the foundation of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“God has given the people of Holy Trinity Parish this new education building,” he concluded. “May all who pass through its halls become greater believers and deeper friends of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and in the fruit that this vine will bear, for generations to come, may God forever be glorified.”

The $2.4 million, 26,000 square-foot building was designed by Jeffery Seeley of Foreman, Seeley, Fountain Architects of Norcross, and built by general contractor Lusk and Associates, Inc., of Alpharetta. Building committee co-chairs were Philip Browning Jr. and Vince Rossetti, who also helped lead the building project for the first church.

“It’s beautiful. Phil is a great organizer and I was in the building business all my life … I built the first rectory,” said Rossetti. “I’m very happy. It’s state of the art. Its modern sound systems are extensive. Everything is up to date, first class.”

Additionally, 2.4 acres next to the church with a building on it were purchased for a preschool and other activities, and a new rectory was built on that land, while the old one will house the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Life Teen member Stephen Lenahan looks forward to meeting in the new youth space, where teens can come after school and which may attract others curious to check out the program.

“It’s a very welcoming environment ... We’re thinking about maybe having concerts here. Also I think it’s going to reach out to some of the youth in the parish who haven’t been going to Life Teen,” he said.

Father Walsh, the pastor for nine years, said that when the archbishop raised the age for confirmation to 10th grade, the parish recognized their classrooms were “truly inadequate” and that the project had to be undertaken.

“It’s a dream come true to have something like this to come and gather. We worked on it a long time,” he said. “The people rallied and responded … A night like this is a great night to see it come together with the archbishop present, teens, seniors and the youth of the parish, the children.”

He plans to begin perpetual adoration in the new chapel.