Holy Angels Parish recently acquired the former Rockford United Methodist Church, and plans are underway to renovate the 10,400-square-foot building and make it suitable for Catholic worship. The parish of 400 families long ago outgrew its original church (below), which seats about 40 people. (Catholic News Herald | File)MOUNT AIRY — Churchgoers at Holy Angels Parish have gotten used to attending Mass in the parish hall – they’ve been doing so for about 30 years. As the congregation has swelled over the years, the crowds could no longer fit inside the original picturesque granite church located on North Main Street.
That will hopefully change in the next year or so when the parish moves into a renovated church building about three miles away.
Holy Angels recently acquired the former Rockford United Methodist Church on the corner of Rockford and Durham streets, and plans are underway to renovate the building and make the altar suitable for Catholic worship. The 10,440-square-foot property also includes room for six classrooms, a parish office, pastor’s office, sacristy, and confessional, as well as a fellowship hall with a kitchen.
“The church was built in 1925, and the building has incredible bones,” said Randy Goins, chairman of the parish council. “If it wasn’t for the sanctuary needing to be renovated, we could literally just start using it very quickly. It’s an incredible property which also comes with an amazing operational 1931 Kilgen organ.” This organ was relocated to the church from a silent theater in Mount Airy.
John Nobers, construction project manager and project advocate for the diocese, noted, “In some ways moving into an existing church building is unique, but the beauty of our Catholic faith allows us to make the proper renovations and make the building appropriate for Catholic worship. This new church is going to fit very well for the parishioners of Holy Angels. ”
Goins and members of the pastoral and finance councils have been working with Father Peter Nouck and diocesan staff for a long time to consider options for a worship space. Crowds for Masses had long outgrown the original church, which only seats about 40 people, and liturgies were moved to the Monsignor Duncan Parish Center.
“That’s where we’ve been, but it’s not really a proper worship space, so we were considering whether to build a new church or expand the Duncan Center,” Goins said.
The parish over the years had acquired property surrounding the Duncan Center in anticipation of constructing a new church. But plans changed.
“We learned it would cost multiple millions of dollars for a new church, and as a small parish of around 400 families, we wondered if we would ever be able to obtain enough capital commitment to justify that kind of investment,” Goins said. “The longer we waited to save money, the higher the cost of new construction would be, and we realized we’d be chasing a rainbow we probably wouldn’t get to. So we pivoted and started looking at existing church buildings and found the Rockford church listing.”
God’s presence in guiding the project has been evident. Holy Angels almost didn’t get the Rockford Street property. Earlier this year, church officials learned they were outbid by another buyer, but they asked to be a backup bidder. Three months later, they were notified by the Charlotte-based listing agent notifying that the original bidder’s deal had fallen through.
“They asked if we wanted to make an offer, and we said, ‘yes, absolutely – we’re back in the game and let’s play ball,’” Goins said.
They bought the property for $235,000, a remarkable deal in an area where purchasing raw land can cost twice that much.
The parish recently launched a $1.5 million capital campaign, “Rebuilding Our Church, Renewing Our Faith,” to raise funds for the renovation.
“It is the right time for us to act as a community to take a bold step in having a more befitting permanent space of worship,” said Father Nouck.
Along with the changes to the sanctuary and nave, restrooms and other areas will be made accessible, and the HVAC system and areas showing signs of age will be updated.
Renovations will be completed in phases, beginning with the nave and sanctuary and then moving on to the other rooms, including a parish hall space, and enlarging the parking lot, Nobers said.
Goins said the goal is to begin work as soon as possible in 2025. Plans call for Holy Angels to offer daily Masses in the original 1921 church. They will call the renovated Methodist Church the
Holy Angels Church and refer to their original church as the Holy Angels Chapel.
When worshipers move to the former Methodist church for Mass, they’ll be in a building that’s only a few years newer than the original Holy Angels granite church, which was built in 1921.
However, it will be 770% larger, with seating for about 275.
Before Holy Angels was established, only a few Catholics lived in Mount Airy, and priests would travel from Winston-Salem to celebrate Mass in homes or at a local opera house. The current church, constructed with locally sourced white granite, was dedicated by Bishop Leo Haid on May 8, 1921.
Holy Angels welcomes anyone wanting to learn more to visit mountairycatholicsha.com/capital-campaign. As Father Nouke reminds parishioners, “God is Good All the Time and All the Time God is Good.”
— Christina Lee Knauss