MARS HILL — Parishioners at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Mars Hill gathered for its 40th anniversary on the feast day of the church’s patron saint, St. Andrew, Nov. 30.
“We are calling it the 100th celebration because we are celebrating 40 years of St. Andrew’s and 60 years of Father Anthony’s life. His birthday was earlier this week,” parish secretary Kelly Hansen said.
To accommodate the entire parish of the little church nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, organizers opted to hold festivities a few blocks away at a hall on the Mars Hill University campus.
Father Anthony Mbanefo of the Missionary Society of St. Paul, the pastor of St. Andrew, expressed his contentment with being a 60-year-old priest, his family in Nigeria, and his mountain congregation, which continues to thrive.
“If you want to know how I feel, I am so happy. … I pray that by the 50th anniversary, we won’t celebrate in this small hall but will rent out the whole compound,” Father Mbanefo said. “This parish is a good parish because the people are good. If I think about the works of charity, the impact of our volunteers … we have a good spirit.”
The tiny parish with an elevated heart serves a sparse population of Catholics, with a modest 200 members, but is a constant reminder of the first apostle, St. Andrew, who is known for turning little into plenty.
Event organizer Donna Bange explained, “St. Andrew first appeared at the Sermon on the Mount, pointing to the little boy with the two barley loaves and the five fishes.”
“A small church like this has a big impact, and it connects people,” she said.
St. Andrew the Apostle Church and its mission, Sacred Heart in Burnsville, cover a 764-square-mile territory and are the only Catholic churches in Yancey and Madison counties.
Although the parish officially started in 1985, local Catholic roots run deep, and that history proudly covered the wall with posters Bange designed. The information mostly came from Sister
Peggy Verstege, RSM, who joined the Jesuits in 1984 at The Jesuit House of Prayer Center, which at the time was in Hot Springs. The prayer center changed hands long ago, but Sister Peggy continues serving Sacred Heart Mission.
Deeply rooted faith
The first chapel, St. John Church, was erected in Hot Springs in 1887 by the Rumbough family, who owned the hot springs the town was named after. The family quickly befriended the Jesuits.
By 1931, the Jesuits opened a small chapel, Church of the Little Flower in Revere, and faithful Catholic Bessie Rumbough Safford conveyed the famous Hot Springs Inn plus her 500-acre property to the Diocese of Raleigh, which the Church later sold.
Meanwhile, Father Andrew Graves, a Jesuit priest from the Maryland province, became pastor of the Church of Little Flower, presiding over Mass both in Revere and in Hot Springs.
The Jesuits bought a large estate in Hot Springs in 1955 which they named the Jesuit House of Prayer. Over the years, they extended their mission to include Mars Hill, mostly ministering to the college community, tourists, and a handful of locals who gathered at local storefronts for Sunday Mass.
Rocko Meeker, the longest-attending parishioner, remembers those early days 40 years ago.
“When I first started coming here, there were only about 10 to 12 of us. It was at the storefront,” Meeker said. “The community had to get to know us … once they did, they accepted us.”
In 1985, with almost all Catholic churches and properties resold or destroyed by fire, the Diocese of Charlotte agreed to start the new parish in the Mars Hill area. The handful of local area Catholics and the Jesuit community raised enough money to build St. Andrew Church, completing construction in 1991.
Legacy remains
The Jesuits relocated in 2007 when they sold their prayer center, but their legacy remains in the parish they formed and the parishioners who joined.
Most parishioners today were not involved with the start of the church, but when they relocated to the area, they were happy it was there.
As parishioner Joe Oliveti shared, “We wanted to go to a small church, and this place is such an integral part of our lives.”
He followed his daughter to Mars Hill from Texas during COVID and was attending the celebration with his wife and granddaughter.
Parishioners surprised Father Mbanefo with a handmade quilt, a cake and a bag of cards.
Before blowing out his birthday candles, Father Mbanefo, who speaks four languages – Igbo, Wolof, English and Spanish – presented his own surprise to parishioners: copies of his new book published Oct. 16, titled “Women in Jesus’ Story.”
St. Andrew’s own faith story continues to be written.
— Lisa M. Geraci
