St. Mary Magdalene Mission elevated to status of parish

St. Mary Magdalene

Mission elevated to status of parish

Last week marked a milestone

for the young congregation of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Mission on Lower

Fayettevile Road. Last Saturday, Members gathered in the mission's

tin barn to celebrate their elevation to the canonical status of a full

parish of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

The upward move for the growing

faith community comes after a scant three years as a mission, an offshoot

of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City.

The congregation met first

at Thomas Crossroads Elementary School, then at East Coweta High School

and at Cokes Chapel United Methodist Church, which adjoins the missions

40-acre site at the intersection of Lower Fayetteville Road and Ga. Hwy.

154 (McCollum-Sharpsburg Road).

The main celebrant of last

Saturday's Mass was Msgr. Paul Reynolds, Vicar General of the Archdiocese

of Atlanta. Reynolds has had close personal ties to the mission since

its earliest days.

Father Dan Fleming, administrator

of the mission, said he was delighted with the new canonical status, the

naming of St. Mary Magdalene as a parish.

"We are a very young community

to obtain this recognition," he said. "But, I am not surprised,

based on the outstanding enthusiasm of the people and the tremendous amount

of growth and expansion we continue to experience. It's an extremely

vibrant group."

As part of the ceremony, Fleming

was officially installed as the first pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic

Church.

Also presiding at the celebration

was Father John Walsh, pastor of Holy Trinity.

Members of the mission family

attended an outdoor reception after the Mass,held in large tents outside

the barn.

St. Mary Magdalene's Masses

currently are celebrated at East Coweta High School, 5 p.m. on Saturday

evening and 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.

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