Building On Rock Of Faith, Mission Breaks Ground

By ERIKA ANDERSON, Staff Writer

Published: December 11, 2003

CLEVELAND—As they broke ground for their new church Nov. 25, parishioners of St. Paul the Apostle Mission poured soil from their own homes into the place where the future altar will stand.

It was a gesture that signified their willingness to put themselves into their church wholeheartedly. And for St. Paul’s parishioners, that is something they’ve been doing since they first began gathering nearly 40 years ago.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue celebrated a Mass to commemorate the groundbreaking and was joined by concelebrating priests Msgr. Bill Hoffman, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Dalton, and Father Richard Wise, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Blairsville and overseeing pastor of St. Paul. Father Thad Rudd, administrator of St. Paul, was unable to attend as he was recovering from eye surgery.

In his homily, the archbishop said that when just a few people and a priest gathered for Mass, the history of White County was forever changed.

“This first Mass in White County, with six people and a priest, was a turning point in the life of the Church, and in the history of this area—for the Mass, this consecration, this offering of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ was authentic in a way that had never been felt or realized before,” he said. “It was the full realization of Church—the perfect fulfillment of our Lord’s command, ‘Do this in memory of me.’”

The archbishop praised the Glenmary priests who established the mission and all those who had committed their hearts to the church.

“To them, to all who have remained faithful to this beautiful parish in the halcyon hills of North Georgia, the entire Church proffers its gratitude today. And with Father Rudd, I now extend my own thanks to those who have responded to the material needs of this community, and who have so generously put in place the talent, the dedication, and the funds to make possible the work we begin today, as we break ground for your new church.”

“Your gifts, though local in origin, will extend beyond this physical place, benefiting God’s Church on earth as a whole,” Archbishop Donoghue continued. “For the Church is built on the rock of faith—a rock that stretches to every place on earth, from within the courageous heart of Jesus Christ, and against which the flood of the world’s evil crashes in vain.”

A groundbreaking of a church can only happen where God is already established.

“Dear friends, we are breaking the earth’s ground today—but well before today, God has broken the ground of your hearts, and settled there, the cornerstone which is His Son and our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “Upon that Cornerstone, you will now build your parish church, and in its stones, in its walls and halls and doorways and rooms, in the light which will suffuse its interior, in the silence which will embrace your prayers, and in the joyful song which will accompany your worship, the life that comes to you from Christ, will break forth, and make the home of your souls, and your children’s souls, and a haven for the community.”

Following the Mass, the congregation, led by concelebrating priests, left the cozy church and braved the cold to participate in the groundbreaking. Blessing the earth, the archbishop was met with applause as he dug his shovel into the ground. Parishioners then emptied their own soil into the ground where the altar will be placed once the church is built.

Currently 190 families squeeze into the tiny church that is divided from the social hall by a movable wall during four Masses each Sunday. The new church, designed by local Cleveland architect Bob Kirkland, will seat nearly 400 and is designed after an 18th century church in New Jersey, built in Prairie-Gothic style. Father Rudd hopes that the church will be built in time for the mission’s 40th anniversary in July.

The current church was built by hand in 1983 by the Glenmary priests, who then administered the mission, and parishioners. Prior to its dedication, St. Paul’s faithful gathered in a funeral home, a Methodist Church, and several different houses.

Longtime St. Paul parishioners remember very different times for Catholics in White County.

Tom Quinn has been a parishioner for over 30 years and said Catholics were misunderstood when he first came to Cleveland from Florida.

“I wouldn’t exactly say it was hard to be Catholic, but I was afraid to tell people I was a Catholic,” he said.

But the adversity they faced only made the community stronger, said Tom’s wife, Carol.

“This church was our social life,” she said. “The families really stuck together.”

Greg LaHatte, another longtime parishioner, said that parishioners would “have a supper for anything.” He recalled the enthusiasm from his fellow St. Paul parishioners when his daughter, Jennifer, was born in 1980.

“When we had our first child here, it was like the parish had a baby,” he said. “Literally, we would walk in and someone would take Jennifer and she would get passed from person to person throughout Mass.”

The strong ties of community have continued throughout the mission’s 40 years. Father Rudd said that he is proud of the strong dedication of his parishioners, who raised the necessary $1 million to build the new church. To raise money, 900 commemorative bricks were sold and will create a memorial walk for the new church.

“They did every bit of it themselves,” he said. “Less than 10 percent didn’t (give money), which means that 90 percent did. Now that’s pretty impressive. These people love their church, and they love their faith.”

They also love their pastor.

“They make me very humble,” he said. “It’s like I just can’t do anything wrong here. They are so gracious.”

Father Rudd said that above all it is the sheer commitment to their faith through the years that makes St. Paul’s parishioners special.

“There are no old people in this church. There are a lot of people in their 70s and 80s, but there are no old people. These people are something else,” he said. “There is nothing they can’t do and there is nothing they won’t do.”