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OUR NEWEST PARISH
St. Luke s Dahlonega - Apostolate In The Mountain Country
lonega’s history as one of service to he rnnrWr-H I ^ — - _ "
Dahlonega’s history as one of
north Georgia’s most colorful
towns is a long one. Once a
"frontier” mining town, itwas
the center of the Georgia Gold
Hush country. It was near here
that the gold that now covers the
d<*ne of the state capitol build
ing was mined and, although the
gold rush days are long over,
DaMonega is still a favorite
spo^for latter-day prospectors
to visit on the chance that they
may find a grain or two of gold
dust in one of the nearby
streams*
Dahlonega’s history as a Ca
tholic center is of considerably
shorter duration} it’s just a
little over two years since St.
Luke's , Dahlonega’s parish
church, wis established.
ORIGINALLY, THE TOWN
<vas part ol the Athens parish,
Then, as thi Catholic populat
ion extended northward, it came
under Gainesville, where Fr.
Manning was pastor of St,
Michael*!, the only Catholic
church northern of Atlanta,
Every Sunday Fr, Manning said
Mass at GainesvUle, then drove
up through the mountains to
Toccoa, During the summer
months he said 4 third Mass
at Lake Raburn for the vacat
ioners,
In time it became apparent
that there was need for a fourth
service to be conducted in the
Dahlonega area. A growing
number of Catholics were at
tending the local college, North
Georgia College; the U. S. Army
had established a Mountain
Ranger Camp nearby; and the
number of visitors, especially
during the summer and fall
months, was increasing rapid
ly.
BY THIS TIME Bishop Hyland
had made arrangements with
the Glenmary Fathers, a home
mission society of secular
priests and Religious based in
Cincinnati, to staff the new
parish and the location of a
chapel and a priest’s re
sidence was Imperative,
A house was found about a
block from Dahlonega’s town
square. Soon afterward the
Glenmary Fathers arrived and
Fr, Leonard Spanjers was ap
pointed pastor of the new
parish of St, Luke, Fr, August
Guppenburger Joined Fr, Span-
Jars about a year later, In
addition, there are now two
Glenmary Brothers stationed
here, Brother Luke Ralble and
Brother Donald Springer.
THE FATHERS USED one
room in the house as a chapel,
Soon overflowing crowds filled
the room and the pastor realiz
ed that larger quarters would
A NEW BUILDING to house the rectory, parish hall, end New«
man Center is swiftly nearing completion.
KENIMER FOODLAND
COMPLETE LINE OF
GROCERIES-MEATS- FROZEN FOODS
ON THE SQUARE
DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA
S64-3748
il.
Phone
864-3921
HENRY W. WOORE
HARDWARE CO., INC.
BUILDING MATERIAL
DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA
APPLIANCES
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CURRENT INTEREST RATE:
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3 1/2% On Passbook Savings Accounts
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FATHER LEONARD SPANJERS, Pastor of St. Luke's, conver
ging with Rangers, He is their chaplain,
THE FORMER Presbyterian Church into a Catholic House of Worship required
voluntary labor, including the Glenmary priests and brothers, and the laity,
have to be found, Fortunately,
the Presbyterians next door
were contemplating building a
new church and the old one was
offered to Fr, Spsnjers, In
the meanwhile, Archbishop
Halllnan had come to Georgia
and he announced that, through
contributions to Georgia Miss
ion Sunday by the faithful of
the Archdiocese, the church
would be purchased,
Immediately, the Glenmary
fathers and Brothers got to
work, Plans were drawn up
for an altar, baptistry, con
fessional, saclstry etc., and a
complete transformation of the
building was accomplished,
Finally, although the new church
was not yet in official use,
Archbishop Hallinan laid the
first Mass in the structure on
September 1 of this year,
A VITAL PART of the life
of St. Luke's parish is the
role It plays In the life of
nearby North Georgia College.
The most recently formed re
ligious foundation at the Col
lege, the Newman Club has
quickly risen to the status of
a major campus organization.
Like the parish itself, the
Newman Club began in a small
way. When St, Luke's was
first formed in 1960 there were
only four Catholic stud*ents at
the college. By the time Fr.
Guppenberger came, the follow
ing year, however, there were
enough Catholics to warrant
starting a Newman Club (with
Fr. Guppenberger as Chaplain).
A CLUB CONSTITUTION was
drawn up which received pre-
THE PURCHASE of the former Presbyterian Church in Dahlone
ga shows Father Spanjers with the Reverend Lowell B. Sykes
and Presbyterian trustees.
liminary approval from the
National Foundation in the fall
of 1962, The official charter
was received from the execut
ive committee of the Newman
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Club Federation in the spring
of 1963.
At North Georgia College,
the school administration pro
vides a counseling office for
the various denominational
Chaplains, In addition to his
service in the office, Fr.
Guppenberger - or “Father
Gus” as he is known here -
also makes himself available
in the Canteen, making it
possible for students to dis
cuss their problems In an In
formal atmosphere without the
obstacle of formal appoint
ments. Spiritual penetration Is
also achieved by assisting the
College in providing Catholic
literature and the library now
has a set of the Catholic En
cyclopedia, obtained from the
Mission Society of St. Pius X
High School. Five Catholic
periodicals are also available,
THE NEWMAN CLUB HAS
sponsored several suppers and
Informal open-house gatherings
for all students, regardless of
their religious affiliations,
Newmanltes assist the parish as
commentators and leaders at
Dialogue Masses and provided
teama for the recent Arcli-
dlocesan census,
In the past, regular meetings
have been held at St, Luke's
Rectory, Now, however, a
Student Center is being Incor
porated Into the new Rectory-
Parish Center building which Is
already under construction,
THE CLUB'i REGULAR
weekly meetings are held on
Sunday evening* at 6;45 p.m,
These meetings cover routine
business affairs, but are prin
cipally devoted to discussion
groups as part of an educat
ional project. The text of the
discussion! has been the
Liguorlan pamplet, "Practi
cal Catholic Life Series,"
Total enrollment at North
Georgia is 950, of which 26
students are Catholic*, The
Club president, Jack Sch
neider, Is from Macon, _
Suzanne Cameron, of Dah
lonega, Is secretary-treasurer,
"FATHER GUS" WHO came
to Dahlonega after his ordinat
ion in 1961, is from Batavia,
New York, and began his pre
paratory Seminary in Buffalo,
N, Y, He later studied at
Mt, St, Mary's, Cincinnati, at
the Glenmary Novitiate,
Aurora, Indiana and at the
Glenmary Seminary, Glendale,
Ohio, ^
Two other colleges, Truett-
McConnell, Cleveland and
Young Harris, at Young Harris,
are within St, Luke's parish.
So far, there are not enough
Catholic students at these
schools to warrant the format-^
ion of Newman Clubs, butvisits~
are made regularly to assist
the Catholics now attending.
Parish borders include four
counties - Lumpkin, White,
Towns and Union. At the pre
sent time there is a total of
65 parishioners in these
counties.
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DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA
864-2231
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PIEDMONT DRUG COMPANY
103 BRADFORD STREET
GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA
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COCHRAN PHARMACY, INC.
PHONE LE 2.1869
"Diuf Stent SenUet
631 BROAD STREET S.E,
GAINESVILLE, GA.
BISHOP HYLAND, Former Bishop of Atlanta, shown celebrating
Mass at the opening of the Dahlonega parish,
ARCHBISHOP HALLINAN, with some members of the Dahlonega
parish,
DOM AUGUSTINE MOORE, Abbot of the Trappist Monastery at
Conyers, shown delivering a bell for the new Saint Luke’s.
'Ti/idAcb
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Phone 864-3621 864-2325
Dahlonega, Georgia
JOBMASTER TRUCKS
CHEVELLE
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INSURED SAVINGS HOME LOANS
TELEPHONE 532*8411
311 GREEN STREET, N.W.