MINT HILL — St. Luke Church is building a pavilion, athletic fields and rectory on 31 acres along Fairview Road to accommodate the parish’s significant growth.
The projects totaling $2.173 million are the first phase of a major expansion plan for the parish, which has grown from 300 families to 1,500 families over the past three decades. Plans are under way to build a new, larger church on the land in the future as well.
Initial site work involves widening the road and adding turn lanes, installing water lines, and adding a septic field and electric utilities on the site that the parish bought in 2011. The covered pavilion, multi-purpose fields and rectory are the first building projects on the site and are expected to be completed this fall.
The fields and pavilion will be used for events such as outdoor Masses, scouting and youth events, and the parish’s annual fall festival.
Parishioner Chuck White is overseeing the project as building and planning committee chair.
St. Luke is “a very active parish with a great community spirit,” White said. “There are over 60 active ministries in the parish from youth involvement, to elderly involvement, to small faith groups, to the We Care Program helping those in need. Of the 1,500 families that make up the parish the vast majority are involved in one or more of the ministries.”
The parish has been looking forward a long time to using its new property. Uncertainty created during the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed things down a bit, but in April, diocesan officials approved proceeding with plans for a new church – part of a later phase in the parish’s master plan.
Father Paul Gary, pastor, said the fact the parish is moving forward however it can during these challenging times “is a mixed blessing.”
Right now, he said, building a new church “is not the top priority. We are more concerned with people returning to church and the end of the coronavirus (pandemic).”
“We have to wait until things improve to move forward with building the new church,” he said.
Plans currently call for construction on the church to begin in May 2021, and it is expected to take about a year to complete. ALR Architecture will handle the design of the new church, White said.
Plans call for a brick church that would seat 840 people, with the capability to expand to 1,100 later as needed.
This new 31-acre home for St. Luke Church is becoming reality and getting done carefully in stages, parish and diocesan planners say, and they are enthused by the progress made so far.
White noted that the first phase of the project has been completely paid for through the parish’s capital campaign – “a wonderful testament to the generosity of the people of the parish.”
St. Luke Parish has a history of good stewardship since the parish was established over 30 years ago, noted Jim Kelley, diocesan development director. The parish has conducted seven successful capital campaigns, he said, as “they have consistently had to address issues of growth over the years.”
“St. Luke is a strong parish family that continues to attract more parishioners in the vibrant Mint Hill community,” he said. “This is a very exciting time for their church community.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter