Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, February 15, 2001
Mews
The Southern Cross, Page 3
Saint Mary’s Church in “All-American Americas” looks to its 110th anniversary
W hen Harry Moxley attended
high school in Americus in
the 1940s, he was one of only
two Catholics going to the
school. According to Harry’s
sister, Pat, the family’s Irish
forebears, the Sherlocks, had
met and married in Macon and,
in the latter 1800s, had moved
from that city to Americus.
DeLorme There, the Sherlocks’ home
would become the place for
Catholics of the area to gather to attend Mass
whenever Father Merriweather, the “circuit priest”,
came to town. The devout Sherlock family provid
ed a place for worship for local Catholics until
1891 when the first Catholic church, Saint Mary’s,
was built and continued to provide visiting priests
with a place to stay long after that date.
Concerning one of these priest visitors, Sherlock
family lore relates the following: Christopher
Sherlock’s firm bedtime hour was nine o’clock and
he expected everyone in the house to be home at
that time. Once, a visiting priest who did not take
the nine o’clock curfew seriously found himself
locked out when he returned home after that hour
and had to spend the night in a local hotel.
Following Father Merriweather and other visit
ing priests, a Jesuit priest came from Macon to cel
ebrate a monthly Mass for the Catholic congrega
tion in Americus. Until the early 1940s, priests
from Albany carried on the work of these early
missioners. In 1942, the Franciscan Friars of Holy
Name Province (New York) undertook the care of
Saint Mary’s parish which then radiated out to nine
counties and included two churches—Saint Mary’s
in Americus and Saint Theresa’s in Cordele. Saint
Mary’s in Americus received its first resident pas
tor when Father Geoffrey Weitecamp, OFM, was
given charge of the parish.
Parishioners of Saint Mary’s continued to attend
their original church until 1961, during the pas
torate of Father Henry Madden, when the new
Early 20th-century scenes from Saint Mary’s, Americus.
Photos courtesy of the Diocesan Archives.
Saint Mary’s Church was consecrated by Bishop
Thomas J. McDonough. Summer programs of reli
gion, vital means of spreading the faith, were
staffed by religious of various orders over the
years, including: the Sisters of Mercy, Franciscan
Sisters, Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart,
Albany’s Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, a
Franciscan Sister from Massachusetts, and three
Franciscan Sisters of Peace from Haverstraw, NY,
whose time of service spanned 1984-1990. The
foundation laid down by these latter sisters (Sister
Justine Marcucci, Sister Ellen O’Connor, and
Sister Ann Smith) provided the base for catecheti
cal work and instruction implemented by Saint
Mary’s parish today.
At present, the missionary spirit of this 210-
member parish extends over Sumter, Webster,
Marion, Schley, Macon and Stewart counties and
includes Saint Michael Mission in Montezuma.
Pastors of Saint Mary’s in recent years have been
Father Thomas Albert, OFM (1985-1992) and
Father Lawrence A. Lucree (1992-1998). The cur
rent pastor, Father George C. Gonzalez, looks for
ward to the 110th anniversary of the foundation of
his parish and the celebration of this milestone
which will take place later this year.
Though looking back at what has transpired
since its early days, members of this vibrant, mul
ticultural parish today participate in a variety of
church activities which include choir, adult Bible
Study, Children’s Sunday School and youth pro
grams. In addition to the regular Saturday Vigil
and Sunday Mass, a Spanish Mass is offered each
Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Lay participation has been
the hallmark of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church—“a
growing church in a growing community”—since
those pioneer days when a half-dozen Catholic
families gathered at the home of Christopher and
Annie Sherlock to await the arrival of the circuit
priest who would offer Mass for them.
Much has changed in Americus since that time.
The international headquarters for Habitat for
Humanity, founded by Millard Fuller, is located at
Americus and the house at Koinonia Christian
Community where Habitat began its work is a
short distance away. So is former President Jimmy
Carter’s home town, Plains. Georgia Southwestern
State University in Americus attracts students from
all over the state. Although industry and business
have definitely come to town, Americus still val
ues its homey, Victorian image and Americus’
Saint Mary’s Catholic Church continues to treasure
its century-plus heritage of faith.
Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer in the
Diocesan Archives.
Saint Mary on the Hill student hopes for double lung transplant
By Virginia Norton
Augusta
ith his sandy hair, freckles and
bright smile, Aaron Booher is
for many people the teen-age boy
next door— right down to the braces
on his teeth.
But Aaron is at the center of a fight
against time—a fight he, his family
and friends want to win.
His name is on a list for a double
lung transplant, a procedure he needs
after developing a drug-resistant fec-
tion from a type of Pseudomonas
bacteria in August.
Aaron, 14, a seventh-grader at
Saint Mary-on-the-Hill Catholic
School, is no stranger to hospitals.
Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when
he was two months old, he has re
quired repeated surgeries to manage
the disease.
Cystic fibrosis or CF is a genetic
disorder that causes secretions of
thick mucus that plug body organs,
such as the liver, lungs and pancreas.
Without the transplant, doctors say
Aaron has 18 to 24 months to live.
Supporters have raised about
$20,000 to cover his transplant
expenses. Their goal is $100,000.
With the help of a national non
profit agency, the Bloomington, Indi
ana-based Children’s Organ Trans
plant Association (COTA), Augusta
organizers will hold several fund
raisers.
The way Augustans have rallied
around his son has been a great en
couragement to the family, said Ar
my Sgt. First Class Danny Booher,
Aaron’s father and a telecommunica
tions chief at Fort Gordon.
There are several hundred canisters
throughout the Augusta area asking
for contributions. Pupils at Saint
Mary on the Hill Catholic School re
cently went caroling and collected
donations for Aaron.
Dr. Tom Jackson, a physician in
Augusta, will fly Aaron, his father
and his stepmother, Sharelle Booher,
to Shands Medical Center in Gaines
ville, Florida, for preliminary trans
plant work-ups this month. The trip
will be the first from the Augusta
chapter of Angel Flight, a volunteer
pilot association.
In December, Aaron visited
Shands, a center that has a high suc
cess rate in pediatric lung trans
plants. Officials there are confident
he will make a speedy recovery
once he has his surgery, said Tish
Wynne, COTA for Aaron campaign
coordinator.
Aaron has had to make some ac
commodations for his disease. Doc
tors cautioned the 4-foot, 6-inch teen
to slow down to maintain his weight,
which is about 60 pounds. His lungs
bum up so many calories he needs a
feeding supplement piped into his
stomach while he sleeps at night.
“My body is so used to being sick
that I don’t recognize it,” Aaron said.
An A/B honor roll student, he loves
to sketch and enjoys chess, a game he
learned from a therapist. He likes rid
ing his motor scooter and playing
street hockey in his Goshen Plantation
neighborhood. An avid soccer player,
he played for the Jaguars, a YMCA
team, with many schoolmates from
Saint Mary for several years. Mem r
bers of the Jaguars changed their
minds about retiring the team last
year after Aaron developed the lung
infection. Instead, they’ve ordered
uniforms and will do some fund-rais
ing activities as a team to help Aaron,
said Mrs. Wynne, one of the soccer
moms. The reconstituted Jaguars’
slogan is “Together in prayer...mira
cles happen.”
COTA for Aaron Campaign Dona
tions can be made at any branch of
First Union National Bank or mailed
to COTA, 2501 COTA Drive, Bloo
mington, IN 47403. Make checks
payable to “COTA for Aaron” and
include the account number 300002-
5434108 in the memo space. For
more information about COTA for
Aaron, call 706-790-8630.
Reprinted with permission from
the Augusta Chronicle.