MOORESVILLE — Father Mark Lawlor was officially installed Aug. 31 as pastor of St. Thérèse Church, the third largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Father Lawlor comes to the Mooresville parish from St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, where he was pastor for the past 14 years. He is the first diocesan priest in 47 years, following the relocation of the Jesuits of the Province of Maryland who had served the parish since 1970.
During the installation rite at the start of the Mass, Deacon Joe Santen read aloud Father Lawlor’s official letter of appointment. Bishop Peter Jugis and the congregation then witnessed Father Lawlor make his profession of faith, renew his oath of fidelity to the Church, and sign the official Church documents of his new office.
During his homily, Bishop Jugis welcomed everyone who attended the installation Mass. The parish’s new parochial vicars Father Paul McNulty and Father Henry Tutuwan were present, as well as Father John Eckert, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, and Father Lucas Rossi, his parochial vicar. Deacon Myles Decker of St. Thérèse Parish also assisted at the Mass.
“When a pastor arrives at his parish for the first time, there are a multiplicity of demands that are suddenly thrust upon him, a lot to do and a lot to learn immediately as he begins his ministry,” Bishop Jugis said.
St. Thérèse Parish, which has more than 4,000 families, is more than twice the size of Father Lawlor’s former parish, he noted. “You can imagine the multiplicity of demands that are placed upon his shoulders that he has to address.”
But above all this day-to-day work, a pastor must remain focused on three essential duties, Bishop Jugis emphasized: he must teach, sanctify and lead his parishioners.
A pastor has the responsibility to teach the faith, the bishop said, so making the profession of faith at his installation – in front of the bishop and the entire congregation – is important. “He is telling the faithful he will accept the faith, embrace the faith, profess the faith in their midst and lead them in the profession and practice of that faith.”
A pastor renews his oath of fidelity to the Church, the bishop also explained, to demonstrate publicly that he will be faithful to what the Gospel demands, faithful to what the Church teaches, and faithful to the practices and the discipline of the Church.
“These are very significant statements for someone who is placed in such an important position – the care of souls, the salvation of souls, the most important job on the face of the earth, salvation,” Bishop Jugis said.
At his installation Mass, the pastor – not the deacon – proclaims the Gospel, the bishop noted. “That signifies that the pastor is ultimately in charge for passing on the teaching of the Gospel, the teaching of Christ and the teaching of the faith in his parish.”
Besides his teaching role, the pastor must also offer the sacraments of the Church to the faithful, Bishop Jugis said.
“It’s appropriate that an installation of the pastor takes place at the Mass, because the Mass is the most important work of the priest. It’s the most important work of the parish. It’s the most important work of the Church. It’s the offering of the Sacrifice of Jesus for the salvation of the world to give honor and praise and glory to Almighty God in heaven.
“All of the ministries of the Church really take their power, their force and their strength from the altar, from Jesus, His Real Presence here.”
At Mass we are transformed by receiving Christ in the Eucharist, he said. We become more Christ-like; we grow in faith, hope and charity; and we are called to share that faith, hope and love in everything we do outside of church.
“You might look at the altar, or the Eucharist, Jesus’ Real Presence, as the bright sun shining in the universe of the parish,” he suggested. “There are rays emanating out from that Eucharist, from that sun, into all of the ministries of the parish, giving light and the warmth of Christ’s love to all of those ministries.”
Lastly, a pastor is responsible for governing the parish, the bishop said. Beyond making sure that everything is organized and that the buildings are cared for, it means he is also charged with getting to know the parish’s families.
In conclusion Bishop Jugis joked, “Do you think that is enough?”, eliciting laughter from the congregation.
“I think it is. But you know, he doesn’t do it all by himself – because you are here. He depends upon all of you to lend your support and to assist in the vitality of the whole parish life, that it keeps moving forward and shining as a bright light of Christ here in this section of our diocese.”
At the end of Mass, Father Lawlor recalled advice he received from a professor in the seminary: when a new pastor arrives, he should learn the parish’s history.
“I have always followed that in my previous assignments,” he said, and over the past seven weeks he has been doing the same thing in Mooresville. He read the parish’s history, listened to longtime parish employees, and made a pilgrimage with both parochial vicars to the old church building on Main Street.
“I know, in my brief time here, of the great dedication and talent and perseverance we can see in the work of the Church here,” he said. “I thank Bishop Jugis for the confidence he had in appointing me here.”
He quipped, “I would have been happy to have gone to a small parish in the mountains...,” then he continued earnestly, “I, without hesitation, accepted the assignment that was presented to me.
“I have learned in my 22 years as a priest that in every assignment there are unexpected graces, really bountiful graces, and I can see that is the case here in Mooresville.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — On a hot Sunday afternoon you can hear the music before you see the packed cars of young men cruising into Our Lady of Consolation Church’s gymnasium parking lot. The metal doors to the gym are bolted shut.
A look of slight disappointment sets in. “Hey, man, I know you’re in there. Open up!” someone yells while gently knocking. A roar of laughter mixed with relief surrounds the crowd as Coach Morris “Rocky” Whitaker swings open the door. Whitaker smiles, wipes his brow, and demands the group to dress out while he cheerfully high fives each person.
Ten minutes later, the group of six turns into a group of 20, with more people trickling in after that. Some are coming for the first time. Some consider this gym their home – a Sunday routine with their children, their wives, their grandchildren. Basketballs bounce on the newly renovated gym floor.
Whitaker finishes sweeping, and a young man hands him a dollar. “Remember who helps you sweep,” he jokes.
“Got to keep these lights on,” Whitaker replies with a grin.
“Some dudes bring in a dollar every week, some bring nothing and then one day they give over $10. It depends. It’s really not about the money,” Whitaker explains. “You see that guy right there, Jazrael? He’s grown up here. He’s bringing his kid around here now. See her? Ebony just graduated. You gotta talk to Award – he’s something else, he’s been here for a while. There’s another one ... oh yeah, Marcus, he’ll tell you.”
As Whitaker points, he’s interrupted with shouts from across the court. “Hey, Coach! Watch this guy right here…”
Balls are bouncing, three-pointers swishing and all types of pre-game “smack” talk is getting thrown down. The crowd gets larger, bleachers fill up, chairs are dragged out for newcomers.
Whitaker looks at his watch, then grabs his clipboard. “They’re waiting for me.”
He chooses two captains, including Ebony, the only girl on the court.
Award explains, “So it goes like this: you got the winners and the losers. The losers are on the left, the winners on the right. We play four on four. If your team wins five in a row, you get your picture taken and put into the Hall of Fame.
“I’ve been coming to this place since I was 25; I’m 33. It means a lot to me. Good atmosphere. Competitive, but in a controlled environment. Not like street ball, when you got bros yelling and fighting more than playing.”
Whitaker points to names from a list displayed on a poster for the Annual Benefit Concert held once a year to support the OLC Sports Leadership Initiative. The latest concert was held Aug. 20.
“These guys all came up through here, all going to college, graduating. Some have full scholarships,” he says. “This one, he needed a book – $250 for a book. Can you believe that? One book! We got him that book, though.”
His hand moves slowly across six photographs above the list of names. “These are the ones that passed. This one here, this is my son, Morrison Whitaker. This one had an illness, this one was in a wreck, these two went out one night and never came back.”
His finger drops. A caption on the flyer states, “The OLC Sports Leadership Initiative is inspired by the memory of Morris Whitaker and the SLI family.”
“We do the benefit concert once a year to raise money for the gym. We made $2,600, enough to go on for another eight to nine months and sponsor some kids for summer camp.”
Whitaker may understate the importance of the benefit concert, but it is a genuine experience with inspirational music and unique talent. His nephew, Matthew Whitaker, has been one of the performers. Born blind, he began playing the piano when he was 3. He is nationally renowned for his ability and has even played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Back on the court, a commotion erupts. “You’re traveling!” “Tell him, Coach!”
Co-Coach Randy Dupree quickly resolves the situation and gets everybody playing again.
“This has been my life every Sunday for the last 20 years,” Coach Dupree says proudly. “I keep them from getting in trouble. We’ve seen a lot of kids come through here. We even got one playing for the Raiders. Word gets out about this place. People come in here from all walks of life, but we just take ’em where they are and coach them.”
Player Kiki Burton adds, “Education is important. I graduated from North Carolina Central. Coach wants these guys to go down the right path, get an education. I used to work at the detention center. I would always recommend this place to the released. I have been coming here with my dad since I was young and it is just such a positive, safe spot.”
LaMarcus Taylor has played since he was in middle school and now his son, Little Marcus, is playing today. “At first, this was like a getaway place from my problems. It was a positive outlet and I enjoyed coming. The first time it hit, like, wow, this place is it, was when a situation occurred. Someone took something, stole something. Coach stepped in in a way I have never seen. He sat us down and taught us about positivity and family. I looked around and I thought to myself, ‘This is how a man acts. This is how I want to behave as a man.’ Ever since, we’ve been family. It started in the gym. Now, it is outings and dinners, everything. We see each other all the time. My son asks me about this place every Friday. He loves coming here almost as much as I do.”
Whitaker stops the game for a second and announces he wants to snap a group picture. Quickly the teams gather in the middle of the court while he directs who stands and sits. He tells them, “Believe it or not, guys, we are making a difference in this community!” He holds up a copy of the Catholic News Herald. “They want to write a story on us. We are changing people.”
The group glows with accomplishment and satisfaction, not because of the story, but because of Whitaker’s compliment.
Each Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. you can find Whitaker and the rest of the OLC Sports Leadership team in the gym with the players and a few well-worn basketballs, and a growing list of people with bright futures.
— Lisa Geraci, Correspondent
Want to support the OLC Sports Leadership Initiative?
If you are compelled by the work of the OLC Sports Leadership Initiative, please send donations to: Our Lady of Consolation Church Sports Leadership Team, 1235 Badger Ct., Charlotte, N.C. 28206.