Members of

the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Fayetteville, have

a lot to celebrate this afternoon at their family picnic.

The

congregation is now in a building that is not paid for

monthly by rent, but by mortgage notes. Several weeks ago

the church had a dedication and consecration service of

its very own building on Antioch Road. It is nestled on

seven acres in the woods right next to St. Gabriel's

Catholic Church. The congregation will be 11 years old

this November.

The

congregation numbers about 100 each Sunday morning and

the new facility will accommodate about 250 persons,

leaving plenty of room for growth.

The

4,200-sq. ft. building houses offices, a kitchen and

Sunday School rooms.

In the

fall, church members hope to build a deck outside the

kitchen and place picnic tables out in the woods.

Children's play yards are in the works right now.

The

outstanding wooden pews, obtained from St. Simon's

Episcopal Church in Conyers, are quite a conversation

piece. They originally came from the Catholic Shrine of

the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta. This church, along

with a Presbyterian church, were specifically kept from

being razed by Gen. W. T. Sherman during the War Between

The States in 1864.

woodworker in the Nativity congregation copied the swirl

design on the pews into the alter table, made and stained

to match the pews. As soon as things settle down, efforts

will be made to authenticate the pews to determine if,

indeed, they predate the Civil War.

An

overnight vestry retreat is planned this fall to be sure

of vision, mission and policy statements and their

pertinence to this congregation. The vestry consists of

Andy Anderson, senior warden, Tom Overson, junior warden,

Crystal Callaway, Toby Crafton, Robert Gowin, Celia

Hoffman, Mary Jordan, Jo McDonough and Sue Sosebee.

Many church

members have specific areas of strength and these are

being pursued, drawing more people into the workings of

the church. The Parish Directory will be analyzed to

identify the geographical areas of members and to

encourage the various areas to have "cottage

meetings" in homes through which members can get to

know one another and provide an opportunity to share

their faith.

The Rev.

Robert A. Hudak, vicar of Nativity, conducts an

inter-faith communion service at Azalea Estates Senior

Home every other week; and once a month it is the

church's responsibility to provide lunch at a Habitat for

Humanity house for workers there.

The Fayette

Samaritans have always been at the top of the list at

Nativity and support it with donations several times a

year. The collection taken at its recent dedication

service went to the Samaritans.

As a way of

keeping families together, and as a way of "testing

the waters," an additional Sunday morning service is

being tried at 9 a.m. This service is conducted entirely

to date.

the church hopes to add a part-time youth minister.

Sunday

School is Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and Worship Service is at

10:30 a.m.

The church

is at 130 Antioch Road and can be reached at

770-460-6390.