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O Thursday, September 21, 2000 M®ws The Southern Cross, Page 3 Statesboro’s Saint Matthew parish: the town and the church aren’t that little any more Rita H. DeLorme F ifty years ago, the town of Statesboro was still small. So was Saint Matthew’s, its newly-constructed Catholic church. A welcome addition to the area, the church served both loyal, longtime parish ioners and tourists who trav eled the nearby highway. Statesboro’s sedate little Georgia Teachers College was years away from its transformation into Georgia Southern College and, later, Georgia Southern University. Its campus dotted with spring-blooming redbuds and with the town of Statesboro as yet unsprawled to its door, the school may have had a Catholic student or two at the time, but that was all. Starting in 1943, Mass was offered at 10:00 each Sunday morning in a house at 553 South Main Street in Statesboro. Bishop Gerald P. O’Hara dis patched the Father Daniel J. McCarthy to Statesboro to see to the spiritual needs of Catholic members of the cadets corps training at the U.S. Army Air Force school there. In 1944, the Glenmary Missioners accepted the bishop’s invitation to undertake the pastoral care of Statesboro. When the house chapel on Main Street, in which services had been held, burned down, the second floor of the Georgia Power Building became the parish’s new home for a time. In 1947, Saint Matthew’s first Glenmary pastor, Father Francis E. McGrath, bought property on Savannah Avenue and Route 80, During the subsequent pas torate of Father Edward W. Smith, a Spanish Gothic structure was built on this site to accommo date the growing parish. This church, which could seat 168 people, was dedicated in February of 1950, by Auxiliary Bishop Francis E. Hyland. All inside woodwork in the church came from the expert hand of Anton Kulas, a Ukranian cabinetmaker whose settlement in this country was aided by Father Smith. Milton Little of Savannah crafted the stations of the cross and Harry Sica of New York donated the tabernacle. Architect of the building was Walter Aldred. Stalwart members of the Catholic parish of Statesboro from its earliest days were the Denitto and Strozzo families who had moved to nearby Brooklet from New York in 1931. By 1934, Father Harold Barr was making the 75-mile trip from Savannah once a month to say Mass in the Denitto family home, a residence affectionately dubbed the “Cathedral of Brooklet.” Here, in 1935, John Denitto was baptized on his family’s farm by Father Barr, the baptism being a notable “first” for that locale. In 1937, another pioneer Catholic fami ly, the Sacks, moved to Statesboro from Augusta, and joined the Denitto and Strozzos and others as “founding families” of Saint Matthew parish. Statesboro continued to expand, its economy fur ther spurred on by the establishment of the Rockwell Corporation (later Brooks-Emerson) which funneled more Catholics its way. The status of Catholics living in the town also underwent a change and acceptance in various local organiza tions was no longer uncommon. The Glenmary Sisters and their Superior, Sister Mary Magdaline, arrived in Statesboro in 1960 to assist with teaching religion. Playing a big role in shoring up the improved sta tus of the Catholic Church in the town was a pastor who would remain at Saint Matthew’s longer than any other: Father Lawrence A. Lucree. During his twelve years as pastor, Father Lucree spearheaded the drive to purchase land for new facilities, taught classes at Bulloch Academy and helped found sev eral United Way agencies: Joseph Home for Boys and the Humane Society. With Father Michael H. Smith as pastor, Saint Matthew’s present church was dedicated on November 21, 1996, by Bishop Kevin J. Boland. The new church’s seating capacity of 500 reflects the parish’s unabated growth. Various service build ings, including Saint Matthew’s Parish-Newman Center and a downtown thrift store run by members of the parish, had earlier extended the scope of Saint Matthew’s ministry. At present, the popula tion of the “little” town of Statesboro is about 22,000, membership in Saint Matthew’s parish includes 350 families and Saint Matthew’s campus ministry embraces hundreds of Catholic students Old Saint Matthew Church, Statesboro enrolled at Georgia Southern University. Perhaps the best proof of the good work done by the many fine priests and religious who traveled the road to Statesboro to spread the Catholic faith from the 1930s onward has been the ordination to the priesthood of several members of Saint Matthew’s parish: Father Brett Brannen (1991) and Father Robert Girardeau (1995). Another parishioner, Vaughn Crabtree, entered the Holy Spirit Monastery in 1996. Today, the influence of Saint Matthew’s parish, under the direction of present pastor Father David Stachurski, OFM Conv., reach es far beyond the little church built on a busy high way back in 1950. Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer in the Diocesan Archives. Romero” producer Father Kieser dies at 71 “Insight”, “ By Mark Pattison Washington (CNS) ather Ellwood “Bud” Kieser, who produced the “Insight” drama anthology series from 1960 to 1983 as well as movies on Archbishop Oscar Romero and Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day, died of colon cancer September 16 in Los Angeles. He was 71. An evening funeral Mass was scheduled for September 22 for Father Kieser at Saint Paul the Apostle Church in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, with burial September 23 at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Father Kieser had undergone sur gery for colon cancer in late August, and doctors found the cancer had spread to his abdomen and liver. After one week in the hospital, he went home on Labor Day, September 3, with plans to begin chemotherapy once he recovered. A week later, he returned to Cedar Sinai Hospital complaining of severe abdominal pains. A CAT scan found a blood clot lodged in Father Kieser’s aorta going to small intestine, and his doctor gave little hope then he’d recover or be able to live through sur gery to correct the problem. Father Kieser slipped into a coma late on the night of September 12. In the days that followed, 30 people a day came to see him, according to Paulist Father Frank Desiderio, Father Kieser’s assistant and likely successor at Paulist Productions. A close friend of Father Kieser’s, Patt Shea, had prayer cards printed with a picture of Catholic Worker co founder Dorothy Day and the words: “Through the intercession of Dorothy Day, we pray for the physical recov ery and spiritual well-being of our brother, Father Bud Kieser.” There was a hope that if a miracle were to occur, it could be part of Dorothy Day’s cause for canonization. Father Kieser had planned to retire from Paulist Productions in September 2001 but continue his work on the Humanitas Prize, which he established in 1974. “Father Kieser’s contribution is unique. No other Catholic priest has made such a lasting contribution both as a producer and a pastor to the entertainment community. He was a true son of Saint Paul,” Father Desidero said in a September 17 statement. The 6-foot-7 priest was a “gentle giant,” the statement added. Father Kieser produced two the atrical films: “Romero,” starring Raul Julia as Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, and “Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story,” which starred Moira Kelly in the title role and her “West Wing” co-star, Martin Sheen, as Catholic Worker co-founder Peter Maurin. But the priest got his start on tele vision by producing and hosting the “Insight” anthology series. The series, which won six Emmy awards, ran in first-run syndication for two decades, and is still seen on the Odyssey cable channel. It has also found a home on videocassette with a “Best of ‘Insight’” series.