A capital success
Members of Our Lady of the Mountains raise $7.5M in pledges for new church
The current church will continue to be used for Mass during the construction of a new, Baroque-style church for Our Lady of the Mountains. (Photo provided by Our Lady of the Mountains Mission)HIGHLANDS — When Our Lady of the Mountains Mission launched its first capital campaign in more than 30 years, those involved were optimistic. It was the middle of 2022, and parishioners felt hopeful and supported the idea of building a new church for the growing resort community nestled high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Their hope was well-founded.
The campaign committee – which includes Father Jason Barone, parochial administrator, and Berney Kirkland, pastoral council chairman, as well as Greg Thompson and David Goodrow, campaign co-chairs – had done their research and gauged the support of Our Lady of the Mountains’ 240 registered families, most of whom are seasonal members.
“The results were consistently encouraging, and Father Barone proved to be an excellent ‘salesman’ for the project,” Kirkland said.
In less than six months, they received $7.5 million in pledges, the minimum amount needed for the $10.7 million project. As of mid-January, $3 million has been collected, and all pledges are on schedule for the campaign.
Now their hope is well-funded.
“The support of our community has filled me with humility and gratitude,” said Father Barone. “As we began this project, Building a Beacon of Catholic Faith, I committed myself never to lose sight of the reason for all this work: to glorify God and sanctify souls. Prudence and hard work are essential, but so are prayer and providence.”
The campaign committee members agreed.
“We have felt the Holy Spirit blessing our efforts throughout the campaign,” Kirkland added. “I was optimistic from the outset, but I did not anticipate that we would achieve this amazing level of success, and in such a short time. It was an audacious goal for us, but the timing was right.”
Jim Kelley, development director for the Diocese of Charlotte, has called the capital campaign the most successful ever conducted by a parish in the diocese.
“Over the past 35 years, our office has assisted parishes and schools with more than 270 capital campaigns. Our Lady of the Mountains has raised more than the other 270 campaigns, and no other church in our diocese’s history has ever raised that much in a single campaign. Congratulations to Father Barone, their campaign leaders and their parishioners for their extraordinary results.”
The present church, built in the 1950s and expanded in the late 1980s, presented challenges to the growing congregation. The new, Baroque-style church will be built adjacent to the existing church on the mission’s 2.5-acre property.
Fundraising to reach the ultimate goal of $10.7 million will continue at a lower profile in 2023.
Father Barone assembled a Construction Advisory Committee of experienced parishioners to help guide him as work moves forward.
Final drawings of the 9,000-square-foot church with a capacity of 300 will arrive soon from McCrery Architects of Washington, D.C. Groundbreaking is expected in early 2024.
The new building will have several amenities the current church lacks, including a choir loft, Marian shrine and dedicated spaces for a confessional, baptismal font and sacristies, some of which donors have specifically funded. In addition, the new church will have a narthex where parishioners can gather for fellowship before and after Mass.
The idea to build a Baroque-style church frequently came to Father Barone in prayer. He noted that they didn’t need a large church and thus had the financial potential to pull off a church in the Baroque style, which is often cost prohibitive.
The style also seemed appropriate based on where the Church is in ecclesial history, Father Barone said. He noted that Baroque architecture came out of the Counter-Reformation, when the Holy Spirit was stirring the Church to renewal after many decades of seeming decline and division from the Protestant Reformation.
“It’s the story of a phoenix rising from the ashes,” Father Barone explained. “We’ve seen many scandals and bad press the past couple decades. It seems as though the Church is and will remain in decline, but that’s not the case.
“Our Lord, who promised the gates of hell would never prevail and that He would remain with His Church until the consummation of the age, has not abandoned us but is already stirring renewal and growth, the evidence of which we see throughout our diocese with the growth of vocations and parishes. I want this church to tell that story.”
— Annie Ferguson