Sunday, June 13, 1999
Sunday, June 13, 1999 |
In the 19th century, churches were all begun either under a brush arbor or in a school. In the 20th century, they began in someone's living room. Saint Andrew's-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church in Peachtree City falls into the latter category. Because of the rich Scottish heritage in Fayette County, it was named for Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. It was April 1976 when 28 people met in the living room of Skip and Cynthia McMorries. Two months later they conducted their first service at the Peachtree City Elementary School and that August they began meeting in the gazebo at the McIntosh Amphitheater (now the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater). In November 1976, five acres were purchased at the church's current site on North Peachtree Parkway. In January 1978 the congregation was accepted into union with the Diocese of Atlanta. Currently, the congregation has 300 families enrolled as members. The first building was constructed in June 1981 and the present structure was added in 1994. The Rev. Dan Brigham has been with the church since June 1983. At the age of 12, he knew for a fact that he wished to enter the ministry. He was born and reared in Kansas City, Mo., is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a master's in classical history. His degree in divinity came from the Episcopal Theological School and he was ordained in 1969. He served several churches in Missouri before coming to Peachtree City. Brigham and his wife, the former Viki Preston, are the parents of three children: Sara Elizabeth, who is married and lives in Wisconsin; Phillip Aaron, who is doing graduate work at the University of Chicago in anthropology, and Peter Forrest, who is finishing his master's in philosophy at the University of Chicago. There are three grandchildren and one on the way. The church conducts a Mass Saturday evenings at 6 p.m., at which time it observes Rite II, and Sunday morning, Mass is at 7:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m., at which time Rite I is observed. The church supports a number of local organizations: there are five Alcoholics Anonymous groups that use the facility, several Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, and the church supports Fayette Samaritans and the Fayette County Council on Battered Women. It has a preschool through kindergarten program, which can be reached at 770-486-8203. It is at 316 North Peachtree Parkway and can be reached at 770-487-8415.
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