Earlier in the year, Chick B reported on the Moved by Grace Project in a post entitled “Southern by the grace of God.”  Father David Dye, pastor at Mary Our Queen Catholic Church in Norcross, Georgia is moving an entire church building from Buffalo to the Atlanta area.

Due to church growth, Mary Our Queen was ready to construct a more permanent structure.  Father Dye has an appreciation for high quality architecture and had the idea to move a closed Catholic church to Atlanta instead of constructing a new building.  He then began identifying closed Catholic churches in the northeast and settled on St. Gerard’s in Buffalo.  Thus began the project “Moved by Grace” – preservation through relocation.

This month, Mary Our Queen will host a group of former St. Gerard’s parishioners who will come from Buffalo on the weekend of August 21 and 22^nd.  Father Dye and Mary Our Queen parishioners wish to extend the invitation to all those from Buffalo who reside in the Atlanta area to attend the welcome dinner on Saturday, August 21^st.  Others who are interested in attending festivities are invited to the Sunday Mass honoring the visitors and a reception immediately following.  The invitation and details are included below:

On behalf of Father David Dye, it is my pleasure to invite you to the Parish of Mary Our Queen for a gathering of former St. Gerard’s parishioners, Mary Our Queen parishioners and Buffalonians residing in Atlanta on Saturday, August 21, and Sunday, August 22.

Father Francis “Butch” X. Mazur, the last pastor of St. Gerard’s, will lead nineteen former St. Gerard’s parishioners on a 900-mile pilgrimage from Buffalo, New York, to Norcross, Georgia, to visit the future location of their former church.

Pilgrimage events include a welcome dinner and reception at Mary Our Queen on Saturday, August 21, at 7:00 p.m., and a Sunday mass honoring our visitors on Sunday, August 22, at 11:00 a.m. A reception will follow at 12:30 p.m. in Kiernan Hall.

As a special liturgical gesture, the former St. Gerard’s parishioners will adorn the altar at Mary Our Queen with the St. Gerard’s altar cloth, candles, water and wine during the Sunday morning offertory. Father Mazur and his former parishioners will also present a crucifix from St. Gerard’s to Mary Our Queen.

If you are interested in attending the weekend events, please RSVP to the Mary Our Queen office at (770) 416-0002. Additional information about the relocation of St. Gerard’s can be found online at www.movedbygrace.com.

Mary Our Queen is located in Norcross, Georgia, at 6260 The Corners Parkway (off Holcomb Bridge Road).

Those interested in learning more and/or financially contributing to the project should visit the website at www.movedbygrace.com

Chick A

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