Simmons Parish Center dedicated Feb. 19
GREENSBORO — Parishioners, clergy, staff, benefactors and a Knights of Columbus honor guard all joined Bishop Peter J. Jugis for a special Mass, dedication and blessing of the new Simmons Parish Center Feb. 19 at St. Pius X Church. The Simmons Parish Center is now home for the Greensboro parish’s growing ministries and consolidates parish operations on its North Elm Street campus.
The 23,477-square-foot, $5 million parish center houses a large banquet hall, state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, nursery and library, as well as parish offices.
“This is by far the best space the parish staff of St. Pius X has ever been afforded for workflow, etc.,” said staff member and parishioner Liz Pendergrass.
The building project caps the parish’s successful “Making a Place to Gather and Grow” campaign which was combined under the auspices of the Diocese of Charlotte’s “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” campaign. The $8.6 million parish campaign also helped to build the 22,885-square-foot DeJoy Primary Education Center at St. Pius X School next door.
“Blessed are the parishioners of St. Pius X Catholic Church on the day of the blessing and dedication of the new Simmons Parish Center,” Bishop Jugis said during his homily at the Feb. 19 Mass, calling the occasion “a great day to be blessed by the Lord.”
“Be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” Bishop Jugis then encouraged everyone gathered, referring to the Gospel reading for the day. “Jesus is telling us we must mirror God’s goodness, and God’s love, and God’s holiness in our lives.
“The message is easy to remember. What (Jesus) is saying is be like God in your conduct, in your behavior, in your attitude. Since you are a member of the Kingdom of God, then, be like God who has begotten you as His dearly beloved children through the waters of baptism.”
The Greensboro parish has been building up the Kingdom of God and responding to unprecedented growth, especially over the past decade. The parish now has more than 1,800 registered families.
“This church has not only grown in numbers, but our ministries which serve those in need have grown tremendously,” noted Tita Wofford, parish council member and parishioner for more than 30 years.
From CROP Walk to Mobile Meals, Potter’s House to Room at the Inn, the Sunshine Club, We Care Committee, Dining for Friends and BackPack Beginnings, St. Pius X Church cares for others through more than 80 ministries.
“We have a long history of helping our neighbor,” said Krisan Walker, longtime parishioner and chair of the parish’s Community Life ministry. “That’s the best thing about St. Pius – we walk the walk. That’s 100 percent why I go there.”
“Our new parish center will serve our St. Pius X community as well as serve our neighbors in need through our outreach ministries,” said Carolyn Painley, parishioner and Community Life pastoral associate. “The Simmons Parish Center is truly a place for our parishioners to ‘gather and grow’ in the mission of Jesus Christ.”
The effort to build the Simmons Parish Center and the DeJoy Primary Education Center came on the heels of another successful building campaign for the parish.
A 2007 capital campaign, “Making a Place at the Table,” funded construction of the current 1,100-seat church, which replaced a much smaller church that had been built in 1981. The new church was dedicated by Bishop Jugis in 2010. The International Catholic Stewardship Council recognized “Making a Place at the Table” as the best overall campaign in 2007. In 2009, the same organization recognized the parish with the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Award for best stewardship parish internationally.
That first building campaign was barely over before parish leaders and Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor, were already planning how to make room for the parish’s growing ministries and community outreach work.
Rob Simmons, parishioner and major benefactor for the Simmons Parish Center, said he was inspired by what the parish had accomplished with that campaign and he wanted to contribute to that legacy.
“When we joined St. Pius, we got to experience the foundation that others before us had laid, sit in the beautiful church that others had built,” Simmons said. “In my heart, I feel it is my duty to keep it moving forward, helping to put in place what the parish needs so that those who come after can use and enjoy. I knew if we built it, they would come.”
“It’s a field of dreams,” Monsignor Marcaccio said in his remarks at the end of Mass. “I think it was over 10 years ago we had a vision to do something special on the corner of Cornwallis and Elm... It has been a dream of ours for a long time.”
Monsignor Marcaccio thanked the Simmons family and the many others who made it possible for the parish to “gather and grow.”
Then he noted, “The parish center we dedicate today is much more than a new office building or parish hall. I am very happy to say that the first things that happened there, even before the office was opened, were a marriage preparation class in the evening and a Bible study the following morning. Marriage prep and a Bible study – think of it in terms of Word and Sacrament. That’s why this building was built.”
“The new Simmons Parish Center, the Father Connolly Athletic Center, the DeJoy Primary Education Center – all of these ‘centers’ point to this and flow from this,” he emphasized, pointing to the tabernacle, “our true center – the source and summit of our spiritual life – the Eucharist and Jesus Christ, who is the center of all that we do at St. Pius X.”
— Georgianna Penn, Correspondent
CHARLOTTE — Thunder crashed and lightning pierced the night sky, but the faithful inside St. Patrick Cathedral heard a comforting message from Bishop Peter Jugis as he ushered in Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent March 1.
Severe thunderstorm warnings throughout the Charlotte region did not deter several hundred faithful from attending Mass for Ash Wednesday evening at the cathedral, where they received ashes on their foreheads as an outward sign of the start of their Lenten journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
"We're on the threshold of an exciting season which begins today, the holy season of Lent," Bishop Jugis said in his homily.
Lent is a "season of grace, where we bring our lives before the Lord Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer, and ask Him to purify our hearts," he said, "to give us His grace, to remove those sinful attitudes and sinful behaviors that still may be lurking and dwelling in our hearts, and to remove all obstacles to our response to His grace."
Bishop Jugis encouraged the faithful to view the six weeks of Lent as a "spiritual retreat," a journey towards the Lord that involves "interior renewal" and conversion of heart.
Lent is all about "turning away from sin and embracing the Lord's compassion, His love and His mercy," he said.
Use these 40 days as an opportunity to honestly evaluate one's life and discern those areas that need improvement or corrective action, he said.
"Don't get discouraged that it's a long six weeks, because you can do it! Six weeks is not that long," he said with a smile, especially "if you look at it as a retreat every day, walking with the Lord and listening to Him, and doing your spiritual exercises to come to the celebration of Easter."
He continued, "As with any new beginning, of course, there is a sense of encouragement and optimism, an attitude of eagerness, waiting to get started."
Lent is not only an interior journey, he said, but also an opportunity to show our love for the Lord and commitment to our conversion through our outward behavior – our acts of charity, such as giving alms or reconciling with others.
Finally, Lent gives us the opportunity to receive God's grace through the sacrament of reconciliation, Bishop Jugis said. He encouraged the faithful to seek the sacrament this Lenten season.
The sacrament reconciles us to God and cleanses us of our sins, he said, "cleaning out the house so that we're making that fresh beginning that He wishes of us during this beautiful season of grace."
With the help of God's all-powerful grace this Lenten season, Bishop Jugis said, "He can accomplish anything, and change even the most hardened sinner. Even the sins that are most deeply rooted, He can change and convert us – if we allow Him to."
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
