SALISBURY — The Salisbury City Council recently approved a rezoning request for a wedding venue to be operated at the former Sacred Heart Church property.
The city council approved a plan June 21 to rezone the 1.5-acre property at 128 N. Fulton St. for a wedding venue called The Abbey.
The vote was the second approval by the city council, which OK'd the rezoning June 7 only after city planners and the property owner modified the plans in response to neighbors' concerns.
Lori and Michael Dienfenbach requested the rezoning so they could convert the property into a wedding venue. Along with furnishing the former church and other buildings on the property to serve as a wedding venue, they plan for a support services building that could include related businesses such as a florist or tuxedo rental store. Another of the buildings could be converted into a bed and breakfast in the future, they said.
The Salisbury-Rowan Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that the 1,800 square feet of retail space could have an impact of $1.8 million on the local economy, Lori Dienfenbach said. The venue would also bring many out-of-town visitors into Salisbury.
But some neighbors and the Historic Salisbury Foundation had voiced worries about the noise, parking congestion, and businesses that might move into the support services building if the wedding venue were to fail.
The Dienfenbachs' proposal went through two council committee meetings and a Planning Board committee meeting, during which changes were made to the plans, including removal of a rooftop terrace.
The Refuge, a church that currently rents a building on the property, will also have to move before the plans for the wedding venue can move forward.
The Fulton Street property was the home of Sacred Heart Church from when it was built in 1940 until 2009, when Sacred Heart Church moved to its current 40-acre campus on Lumen Christi Lane, just off Jake Alexander Boule-vard.
— Amanda Raymond, Salisbury Post
WAYNESVILLE — Two more faith communities in the Diocese of Charlotte have inaugurated a Catholic Daughters of the Americas chapter.
On June 5, St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton instituted the Court Immaculate Heart of Mary 2715 with a total of 28 charter members. It is the 18th and newest local CDA chapter in North Carolina.
The CDA is the oldest and the largest Catholic women's group in the Americas. Formed in 1903 in Utica, N.Y., today it numbers 70,000 members in 1,250 courts in 45 states across the country, and in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. Members are dedicated to the principles of "Unity and Charity," the order's motto. CDA tools of the trade are considered the Circle of Love, including Spiritual Enhancement, Education, Family, Leadership, Legislation and Quality of Life.
The chartering ceremony in Waynesville was the culmination of months of work by parishioners and CDA leaders from elsewhere in the diocese, including State Regent Essie Walker of Charlotte; District Deputy Diane Clark-Hawkins; Jo MacWilliams, Regent of the Court St. Joan of Arc 2471 in Candler; and State Secretary Gwendolen Parris of the Court St. Mary of God in Sylva.
Officers for the new court are: Regent Jean Burton, Vice Regent Christine Ryan, Recording Secretary Mary Harrah, Financial Secretary Gail Webb, and Treasurer Norma Waring. Father Christopher Riehl, pastor, wll serve as court chaplain.
National Director Sheila Storey of Durham swore in the new officers.
Attending and serving at the ceremony were Brend Spizo and Vice Regent Sue Harris, both of Court Durham 1576 in Durham; Teresa Cornett, State Treasurer and Regent, of Court St. Bernadette 2629 in Fuquay Varina; and Janet Rapiey, Vice Regent, Court St. Philip the Apostle 2593 of Statesville.
District Deputy Diane Clark-Hawkins organized the court and and the event was hosted by the Court St. Joan of Arc 2471. The Knights of Columbus Father Bernard McDevitt Council 15085 helped with the reception that followed.
— Catholic News Herald