Catholic church prepares for move
Seven months from now, a 37-year-old Catholic parish will debut in Columbia County.
St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church is building a new facility on Columbia Road. The first phase of construction is slated to finish in September. Later, a sanctuary, gym and youth center are planned. After it moves from Augusta, St. Teresa will be the only Catholic church in Columbia County.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, located at 117 Pleasant Home Road in Augusta, is planning to relocate to a 44-acre site on Columbia Road half a mile west of Belair Road.
"It is our hope that the building will be completed in September," Tom Peyton, the church's pastor, said in a written statement Tuesday.
He said that plans to relocate the parish were made after Bishop J. Kevin Boland, of the Diocese of Savannah, had him ask members to consider the move, which will make St. Teresa of Avila the only Catholic church in the county.
The first plan of the three-phase project includes the completion of a Parish Life Center and a Religious Educational Building.
The 30,000-square-foot life center will feature administrative offices, social space, a large kitchen and a temporary worship facility that will accommodate more than 1,000 people.
The education building, which has about 20,000 square feet, will offer 12 classrooms for educational programs and committee meetings.
The second phase of the project will be the sanctuary, and the third will be a gym and youth center, said Jerry Baine, the chairman of the church's building committee. The latter two phases are slated to begin in 2007.
Baine said the project is expected to be finished within 10 years.
"We expect to pick up a lot of new families when we move because we will be more convenient to some that are passing us now," he said, adding that the church has increased from 425 to 1,400 families in the past six years.