Catholic Church of St. Gabriel gets a new priest

Catholic

Church of St. Gabriel gets a new priest

Fr. Daniel Toof,

formerly of St. Mary's in Toccoa, has been named pastor

of the Catholic Church of Saint Gabriel in Fayetteville,

effective June 1. Fr. Toof succeeds Fr. Tim Hepburn, who

has been named chaplain at Blessed Trinity High School in

Roswell and will handle a dual role as assistant director

of vocations for the Atlanta Catholic Archdiocese.

Hepburn was named pastor at St. Gabriel's in 1998 after

having served as pastor at St. Gerard's in Ft.

Oglethorpe.

The

official installation of the new pastor will be on

Thursday, June 1, which is the Feast of the Ascension,

the anniversary of the day that Christians celebrate

Christ's ascension into heaven. Vicar General Rev. Msgr.

Donald Kiernan will install the new pastor at a 7 p.m.

Mass at St. Gabriel's.

Fr. Toof,

45, a native of Columbus, Neb., comes to the Catholic

community in Fayetteville from St. Mary's Catholic Church

in Toccoa where he served as pastor along with pastoring

the mission, St. Catherine's, in Commerce.

Both Toof

and Hepburn were seminarians at St. Meinrad. Fr. Toof was

ordained a transitional deacon in May of 1994 while

assigned to St. Peter's in LaGrange. He later spent time

at St. Theresa's in Douglasville before leaving the

Archdiocese to complete his theological studies in

Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest on Dec. 3,

1994.

Following

his ordination, Fr. Toof was assigned to St. Thomas

Aquinas parish in Alpharetta as a parochial vicar, and

later was assigned pastor of St. Mary's.

Fr. Toof

recently wrote in the St Gabriel's parish newsletter:

"My walk with the Lord has brought me here to you.

Our Lord is always with each one of us wherever we may

find ourselves. The strong sense of friendship and

community in the parish of St. Gabriel is evidence of His

Presence among you. It is a sign of faith as you walk

with the Lord and one another on your pilgrim journey

home."

Parishioners

agreed they will miss Fr. Hepburn. "We as a parish

should be proud. We should be happy. We should

rejoice," said Jim Winkler, chairman of St.

Gabriel's administration commission. "Yes, we are

losing a pastor that we all love very much. But, he will

touch many, many young folks' lives at Blessed Trinity

High and this will be such an important part of the lives

of these young people. They will now have the opportunity

to share in the knowledge and love of the Lord that we

have for the past years."

St.

Gabriel's is on Antioch Rd. just off Ga. Hwy. 92 South.

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