St. Nicholas Episcopal Church
69 Mobley Road P.O. Box 752
Hamilton, Georgia 31811
706-628-7272
http://stnicholas.episcopalatlanta.org
Vision Statement
We exist to serve Jesus Christ and this community.
Mission:
Creating a place for worship, spiritual outreach,
service, memorials, education and childhood
enrichment.
St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas was born into a wealthy Christian family at the end of the third century in southern present-day Turkey. His parents died when he was young and he became the Bishop of Myra while still a young man. He was generous to the poor and a special protector of the innocent and wronged. Nicholas is the patron saint of several countries, children, sailors, captives and brides. He died in 346. We celebrate his feast day on December 6th.
Introduction
St. Nicholas Episcopal Church is a recently established parish of 60 families and over 100 members in Harris County, a rapidly growing community in west-central Georgia. The founding rector, the Rev. Beverley McEachern, died in 2007 after a long battle with cancer. With the assistance of a recently retired priest and the strong involvement of parish members, St. Nicholas has continued its growth in membership and activities. The parish now seeks a new rector to guide it in the future.
THE HISTORY OF ST. NICHOLAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The inspiration for an Episcopal church in Harris County came from a group of Episcopalians who lived in Harris County and attended Trinity Episcopal Church in the neighboring city Columbus. After numerous conversations with the Reverend Tom Jones of Trinity and under his leadership, a “Fellowship Picnic” was held at Callaway Gardens in August, 1998. Fifty people were in attendance.
This meeting was followed by Sunday afternoon worship services and fellowship at the Harris County Library in Hamilton, the County seat of Harris. In December, 1998, the Reverend Jones recommended to the Right Reverend Frank K. Allen, Bishop of the Atlanta Diocese, that a priest on the Trinity staff, the Reverend Beverley McEachern, be appointed Priest-in-Charge with the responsibility of leading this group of people to become a thriving congregation of the Episcopal Church.
On June 8, 1999 the Reverend Rick Callaway, a member of Bishop Allen’s Atlanta Diocesan staff met with the Reverend McEachern and members of the Harris County group to begin the process of organizing a church. Soon the meeting place moved from the Library to Sunday afternoons in the Hamilton Baptist Church. As attendance increased two needs became apparent. The group needed a place to worship on Sunday morning and a name that reflected its denomination. A rental agreement was reached with the Pine Mountain Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church for the use of their facility for Sunday worship and other activities. The membership selected and the Diocese approved St. Nicholas Episcopal Church as the name of this dedicated congregation.
The need for a building of its own was obvious if the next phase of planting a church was to flourish. On September 10, 1999 the Callaway Pine Mountain Benevolent Foundation conveyed five acres of land to St. Nicholas, and three adjoining acres were purchased from the Cason J. Callaway Foundation. This provided a beautiful eight-acre site strategically located on Mobley Road, just west of Hamilton, for a new church. St. Nicholas was ready for the new millennium.
On February 20, 2000, Bishop Frank K. Allen proclaimed St. Nicholas a “Worshipping Community” and appointed the Reverend McEachern as Vicar.
The St. Nicholas Congregation
Demographically, the members of St. Nicholas are older, active and from a variety of theological backgrounds. The church has 107 members and 19 children under the age of sixteen. Another 15 people regularly attend services and are active in parish activities. Membership has grown at an annual rate of 4 to 5 percent over the past few years.
The majority of the adult members are college graduates and they have a wide range of career experiences. A number of the members are retired and have the time and resources to support various church activities.
The Church and Property
St. Nicholas Church is located in Hamilton, Georgia, the county seat of Harris County. Hamilton is also at the geographic center of the county. The church is on Mobley Road, which runs north from GA Hwy 116 1.3 miles west of Hamilton. The site is an eight-acre corner lot with frontage on GA Hwy 116 (Blue Springs Road) and Mobley Road.
The church building was constructed in 2003. The sanctuary has seating for 96 in the pews and chairs and an additional 24 people can be seated in a side room that opens into the sanctuary. The sanctuary can be reconfigured with the addition of folding tables to provide a dining area for about forty people.
The building also houses a kitchen, a Sunday school room, a nursery/pre-K room, a record storage and workroom, rest rooms, a secretarial work area, and the rector’s office.
Outside areas include a parking lot, children’s play area, lawns and plantings, and the Memory Garden which is located behind the church. About half of the property has not been developed and remains wooded.
The Community
Harris County lies in west central Georgia on the Alabama border approximately 100 miles southwest of Atlanta and 20 miles north of Columbus. The County’s area is 465 square miles and it has five towns: Hamilton (the county seat), Pine Mountain, Waverly Hall, Shiloh, and a portion of West Point. The county is basically rural but there are a growing number of residential subdivisions particularly in the southern part. Primary attractions are the 14,000 acre Callaway Gardens resort community and preserve complex and the 9000 acre Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. Callaway Gardens is the center of the county’s primary industry, tourism. Columbus, the major city in western Georgia, offers a broad range of commercial and cultural activities.
The county has a population of about 27,000 people and is growing rapidly. This is the result of expanding industrial, financial services, and commercial businesses in the greater Columbus area. A new automobile assembly plant is opening in an adjacent county to the north of Harris and there will be major increases in activity at Ft. Benning. The racial mix in Harris County is Caucasian 78.4%, African-American 19.5%, and Asian and other 1.1%. Per capita income (2002) is $31,554 compared to the state average of $28,821.
Harris County has a county-wide public school system comprised of a high school and a middle school located in Hamilton and four elementary schools located around the county. An additional middle school is being built. The system has 4800 students. Ninety-seven percent of the eleventh grade students passed the high school graduation test in 2007 and the system’s graduation rate is eighty-one percent which compares favorably with the state’s average of sixty percent. Post secondary education is available at Columbus State University, Columbus Technical College, LaGrange College and West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange.
A wide range of residential real estate is available in Harris County. There are both large farm homes, smaller homes with several acres, and a number of residential subdivisions. The typical two bathroom, three or four bedroom single family home is located on a two-acre lot and sells for $245,000. Some houses of this type are in the rental market and are available for $850 to $1,200 per month. Three bedroom duplex rental houses with an area of 1500 square feet are available in Hamilton and Pine Mountain for $800 per month.
Additional and detailed information is available at www.harriscountychamber.org.
Community Outreach Activities
Members of St. Nicholas are heavily involved with Community outreach. Our primary involvement has been with the Fellowship of Christians United in Service (FOCUS) which is an interdenominational charity supported by a coalition of Harris County churches. Several of our members staff the FOCUS Thrift Shop (Philomena House) on the 3rd Thursday of each month and also work in the FOCUS office. Several members are involved with the week long FOCUS Thanksgiving Food Drive in early November of each year. Our December “Share The Warmth” program provides for the filling of propane gas tanks for those who need monetary help to fill their own tanks for home heating and cooking. A “FOCUS Food Box” is located in the Narthex for food donations at any time. The loose offering given on the last Sunday of each month is given to FOCUS.
St. Nicholas participates in the Harris County Cancer Society’s “Relay For Life” each year. Proceeds from our Bake Sale at this event are donated to the Cancer Society.
This year, St. Nicholas invited the community to a series of five Lenten Dinners with guest speakers who spoke to the theme “Lift High the Cross”. All of the sessions were well attended and we plan to continue the series next year. The parish also became involved with a new Harris County Literacy Program this year and provided audio taped Bibles in Swahili for a Tanzanian Mission in 2007.
Stewardship and Finances
St. Nicholas conducts its annual stewardship drive in October. The Vestry encourages each member of the parish to renew their pledge and increase the amount if possible. During the stewardship drive, each committee and ministry within St. Nicholas prepares an operating budget for the up-coming year. In November, the Finance Committee develops the budget based on the funding requests and the pledges that have been made. The budget for the coming year is presented to and discussed with the congregation in late November. Adjustments are made where needed and the Vestry approves the budget before the start of the next year.
WHERE WE SEEK TO GO
The people of St. Nicholas want to significantly expand our membership, our parish activities and our outreach programs. At the same time, we want to maintain the welcoming, friendly and cooperative atmosphere that is so much a part of this parish. In particular, we want to enrich our programs for children and teenagers within the church and participate in activities for them in the community. As we move in this direction, we recognize that we will need to expand our physical facilities within a few years.
We want to find a new rector who shares our objectives and sees
St. Nicholas as an opportunity to serve a growing Episcopal community in Harris County. We think a person with prior pastoral experience might be more appropriate for St. Nicholas at this point, but we hope a recent seminary graduate who is embarking on a second career would also consider this parish.
Nominating Committee Members
Bob Newton, Chairman
Gene Demonet Joe Kuechenmeister
Kenny Townsend Dorothy Webster
Norma Wolff
Vestry
Sue Halmrast, Senior Warden Bobo Morgan , Junior Warden
Sharon Cheatham Gene Demonet
Graham Horne Peggy Martin
If you are interested in the Rector’s position at St. Nicholas,
please contact:
Bob Newton
3 Stonewood Court
Columbus, GA 31904
