Weekly THIS AND THAT for January 21, 2007: Five-Part Report on Bishop Rozanski’s Pastoral Visit to Our Lady of Grace

This and That:
Five-Part Report on Bishop Rozanski’s Pastoral Visit to Our Lady of Grace

On Tuesday, November 8, 2006, Bishop Mitch Rozanski and his staff spent the entire day at our parish. The itinerary for the day included morning Mass, reception for those at Mass, meetings with pastor and staff separately and then together, luncheon with pastoral team, meetings with those involved in parish and school finances, Parish Corporators, and an assembly with the children of our Catholic School. The Bishop then went on a tour of some of the more than 200 square miles that make up our parish, followed by some quiet time to begin a debrief with his staff. The very full day ended with a meeting of the Pastoral Council followed by dinner. In early January the Bishop published his report of the visitation. The complete report will be shared in this column over the next five weeks. All are invited to share their thoughts with members of the Pastoral Team by calling the or emailing the office or any members of the Pastoral Council. (They are the folks with the red ribbons around their necks each weekend at Sunday Mass.) Council members have an opportunity at the conclusion of each monthly meeting to share with the entire Council your comments, kudos, or concerns. It is a great way to have yourself represented to the leadership of the parish.

This first week’s installment addresses the areas of our History and Statistical Data.

Fondly,
Father Nick Amato


HISTORY

The parish of Our Lady of Grace traces its beginning to St. Joseph’s Church in Cockeysville. A number of parishioners asked the pastor of St. Joseph’s, Father John Hart to establish a mission to serve the needs of parishioners living in the northernmost part of Baltimore County. At the time, the nearest Catholic Church north of St. Joseph’s was in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. Father Hart was amenable and the Mission was established as the Hereford Mission. The first Mass was celebrated on October 6, 1968 in the auditorium of Hereford High School. 369 people attended the Mass.

By the end of 1968, the Hereford Mission established religious education classes and in early 1969, a high school religious education program began. Within a few years, the Mission was thriving . However, the Mission needed a building and needed a full-time priest. A building committee was formed and suitable land was sought. The committee recommended that the mission purchase a 10 acre tract of land on Middletown Road in the Parkton area, which was part of a larger tract of land already owned by the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The land was acquired and plans began to erect a suitable multi-purpose building.

In 1974, Cardinal Shehan raised the mission to parish status and appointed Reverend Edward Lynch as its first pastor. The name for the new parish was left to Father Lynch who asked parishioners to choose a name for the parish. Parishioners chose the title of Our Lady of Grace. By August of 1974, Archbishop William Borders, the newly appointed Archbishop of Baltimore, granted permission for the parish to begin a capital campaign to raise funds for a building. On September 18, 1977 the community celebrated Mass in the new Community Building, the first Roman Catholic Church in northern Baltimore County. The community of Our Lady of Grace finally had a home to call its own.

Reverend Neil J. O’Donnell was appointed the second pastor in 1983. He began working immediately to explore the feasibility of a new building, since the Community Building was no longer adequate for the growing congregation. Several capital campaigns later, and setbacks due to rock formations that had to be blasted out of the ground, the church was completed and the first mass was celebrated on September 16, 1990.

Father O’Donnell, who had carried the parish through the turbulence of many setbacks during the fundraising and subsequent construction of the new church, died suddenly on Christmas Eve in 1994. Within a few months, Reverend Nicholas Amato was appointed as pastor to succeed Father O’Donnell.

Father Amato came to Our Lady of Grace with a vision to create a Catholic School to provide excellent academics and Christian values throughout the curriculum. He was tireless in his efforts, and the school was opened in September of 2000 with Sister Helen Wiegmann, SSJ as principal. Sister Helen came to Our Lady of Grace the year previous and worked with Father Amato and others to make the vision a reality. Today, the school has an enrollment of approximately 190 students in all eight grades. The parish complex sits on a hill with attractive landscaping. The buildings are impressive and beautiful—a tribute to the community and the vision of its three pastoral leaders.


STATISTICAL DATA

Currently, Our Lady of Grace has approximately 1360 registered families. Over 1000 of these families live within the boundaries of the parish. Another 300 come from outside the archdiocese, the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier, St. Mary’s and St. Mark’s. A few families come from other parishes in the archdiocese. Conversely, approximately 450 families living within the boundaries of Our Lady of Grace are registered elsewhere.

The last U.S. Census taken in 2000, indicated that the area of Parkton had grown approximately 14% since the 1990 census. Currently, the parish is in a high growth area with projected increase of population at between 10% to 20%. The southwest area of the parish which borders on St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley, has projected growth of over 50%. Although the population continues to increase and the parish registration has grown consistently, mass attendance has been in slight decline over the past three years.