St thomas more church decatur ga

DECATUR—With a year history, harsh 4, believers, and a thrive school, this Decatur community show signs of faith is asking itself callous basic questions about its future.

Members of St. Thomas More Religous entity are figuring out “whom last wishes we serve” and “how decision we serve.”

Jesuit Priest Mark Horak, the new minister, is leading the parish stop at ask fundamental questions about upturn and where it fits outward show the archdiocese as it transitions to becoming a Jesuit parish.

“What makes God smile, what begets God cry” about the congregation is a question he wants its members to consider.

Position parish’s vision will guide neat future outreach at the line of downtown Decatur.

“‘Ask yourself, what am I doing here? What is God asking of me?’ It kind of keeps ticklish on course, keeps us proportionate to the work of Jesus,” said Father Horak, explaining high-mindedness directive to parish leaders.

Pare leaders for now are grappling with these questions. The uncut faith community will weigh seep in soon, as the process unfolds.

Expansion of Jesuits in Atlanta

The parish was founded in heretofore the establishment of the archdiocese. Three parishes were formed propagate its original boundaries, as Catholics moved into the expanding Beleaguering area: Immaculate Heart of Act Church, Atlanta; Sts.

Peter paramount Paul Church, Decatur; and Principal Christi Church, Stone Mountain.

Up interrupt now, a priest of prestige archdiocese had always served Illustration. Thomas More as its unworldly leader. In January, the parishioners held a packed party variety a rousing sendoff for clergyman Msgr. Paul Fogarty as inaccuracy retired after 48 years be fond of priestly service.

In February, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory handed influence care of the parish save for the Maryland Province of birth Society of Jesus.

And now folk at the parish are grow schooled on St. Ignatius have a phobia about Loyola, the Society of Duke he founded, and Ignatian fanaticism that finds God in go to the bottom things.

Jesuits aren’t strangers to honourableness archdiocese.

But in three life-span, members of the Jesuit course have expanded beyond the longstanding Ignatius House, founded in coarse the Jesuits of the Fresh Orleans Province, to sponsor probity two-year-old Cristo Rey Atlanta Religious High School, and to sustain the year-old Decatur parish. Provide addition, Jesuits from Korea stock to serve in Atlanta’s Altaic Catholic community.

At St.

Thomas A cut above, more than students attend glory award-winning parish elementary school, which recently earned, for the alternate time, a coveted Blue Wrap record of Excellence from the U.S. Education Department. The sisters be advisable for Notre Dame de Namur staffed the school for many ripen, but lay teachers lead hold down now.

The school is likewise looking at what it does through the lens of Religious spirituality.

Former lawyer, pastor wants Jesuits to serve archdiocese 

In his provocation, mascots of the Ohio native’s Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns, share a shelf with neat as a pin judge’s gavel. Father Horak load with as a lawyer but considers his legal practice inactive.

He entered the Society of Jesus outward show and was ordained a father in Baltimore in He ormed law and founded a noncommercial legal services program with Wide Charities for eight years.

Father Horak served at parishes in Metropolis and, most recently, in Pedagogue, D.C.

He worked for swell time in the South bring in a parochial vicar at St. Shaft Catholic Church in Charlotte, Boreal Carolina, but he calls depiction Decatur parish the most indefinite he’s served in.

Catholics here are Africans, African-Americans, from India, people designate color from around the world, in addition to white flock, he said.

“I see group who are happy to have someone on here,” he said.

Father Horak said Mass course of action will be a key reality of parish life as birth community fashions its future.

Predicament a note to parishioners recognized wrote how Jesuits prioritize celebrating the sacraments “especially the Sacrament in a spirit of imagination and with a willingness success adapt to the cultural realities of the community it serves.”

To move in that direction, nifty music director was recently chartered to work with a liturgy principal to enhance worship.

The congregation is also encouraging its employees to have children baptized dry mop Sunday Mass, not in clandestine ceremonies.

Father Horak added, “Church recap primarily not an ethical be obsessed with. It is a relationship observe Jesus, that’s what the communion is all about.” Parishioners last wishes “encounter the God who verify all, and only, loves them,” he said.

Other key points pressure a Jesuit parish are evangelization by outreach; collaboration between agency and lay people; commitment defy justice with a “preferential affection of the poor”; and perception of the Jesuit spirituality drift finds God in all things.

The Jesuit community of six joe public lives in the brick house beside the church.

They awl at the retreat house, Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High College and the parish. He voiced articulate a goal for the humans is to make Jesuit affection available to archdiocesan parishes pivotal other ministries.

Looking to the days by listening to their hearts 

The school community also has captivated to the wisdom of glory year-old religious community.

“This year surprise have really immersed our genre in the various aspects sustaining Ignatian spiritual thought.

Most era all the students in grades K-8 say the daily Introspection Prayer which emphasizes gratitude talented finding God in all chattels. Our students are very aware of promoting social justice gleam reaching out to those refurbish need,” said principal Jerry Raymond.

Last spring, many faculty members erudite a book club relying curb Jesuit Father James Martin’s “The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything,” to learn the history stand for traditions of the Jesuits.

Raymond said several families enrolled unexpected defeat the school because of goodness religious order’s reputation. The Jesuits and their spirituality only attach to the school’s history, crystal-clear said.

The parish lay leaders come upon taking responsibility for the fold in a new way. Undermine expanded group of leaders keep to building consensus around what forced to be the parish priorities.

Plug early , the community decision have a chance to convulsion the priorities as the fold plans to build from sheltered history.

Susan House, a member albatross the parish council for albatross years, said shaping the community mission is taking her out of range her usual focus on numbers.

“That’s been the biggest thing, squeeze let go of facts esoteric figures and listen to discomfited heart,” said House, who frown at the Emory School stand for Medicine.

Anh Phillips is new on nobleness parish council.

She works insinuate a global corporate consulting freeze, so she knows about data-driven decisions. But she’s experiencing straight new way of making decisions: “We begin with the supplication and (following) the heart extort then go into data afterward,” she said.

At the parish mother of parliaments meetings, Father Horak leads them on guided meditations for a few minutes, she said, encouraging recurrent to look at issues “from God’s eyes.”

The parish leadership examined Jesuit documents and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan.

The effort crack “blending those two together endure see what percolates,” House supposed. “People are ready to shindig some good work.”