Friday, March 12, 2004
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Friday, March 12, 2004 |
| Soldier visits pen pals The little pond surrounded by open fields on Lower Fayetteville Road near Ga. Hwy. 154 will take on a whole new look in the future, following the announcement by the parish of St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church that they have selected an architect and builder for a new church to be erected on the site. Gene Barrington of Barker, Cunningham, Barrington PC, of Buford was selected as architect, and Group VI in Peachtree City, headed by Jim Pace, was chosen as builder/contractor. Fleming said that St. Mary’s building committee had conducted intense and detailed studies and interviews with other firms over the past few months and the final decision was unanimous for Barrington and Group VI.
The church property, consisting of 40 acres, is on Lower Fayetteville Road near its intersection with Ga. Hwy. 154 (McCollum-Sharpsburg Road) and adjoins property owned by Cokes Chapel United Methodist Church. Less than three years ago, parishioners began celebrating Mass at Thomas Crossroads School on Ga. Hwy. 34, as a mission of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City. The growing group then began sharing and worshipping in the small sanctuary of next-door-neighbor Coke’s Chapel United Methodist, a building which is more than 150 years old. But soon increasing numbers in the parish dictated that another, larger location had to be found, and the group moved to East Coweta High School where, at present, both weekend liturgies are celebrated, Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. Some special services are still held at Coke’s Chapel and others are held in St. Mary Magdalene’s tin barn, a distinctive structure that came with the property. Heading the present phase of the building effort is Lloyd Forshee, assisted by Bill Underwood. The plans for St. Mary Magdalene will progress in a unique “design/build” approach which pairs both the architect and the builder from the beginning of the creative phase, ensuring a more realistic budgetary process. Steve Larkin of Catholic Construction Services of Atlanta further explained the “design/build” concept, stating that it was “a method of designing a facility to meet the program needs and to assure that the project will be completed per that design within the established budget.” Larkin said it was a method different from most building endeavors, but was not experimental and was within the guidelines of the Archdiocese. Fleming summed up the feelings of all parishioners, saying, “Our efforts to build the Kingdom of God here are well on their way.”
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