St. Helen is a mission of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte. From original members to newcomers like Pat Beatty people stay at the welcoming church where services are punctuated by a cappella singing from a small but powerful choir. (Christina Lee Knauss | Catholic News Herald) GASTONIA — “Soon and very soon we are going to see the king …”
These simple words of a Gospel song, sung a cappella by a small but powerful choir, welcomed the season of Advent Nov. 30 at St. Helen Mission, near Spencer Mountain just outside Gastonia.
In a homily during that morning’s Mass, Father Marcel Amadi, parochial administrator of the mission, gave the congregation of about 40 people three guidelines to live by during Advent: “Stay awake, prepare and wait.”
“Stay awake because salvation is nearer now than ever before,” Father Amadi said. “Wake up from anything dragging you down.”
His words held special relevance for the small mission, where parishioners are preparing for the blessings and challenges of growth as the area around the cozy brick church changes rapidly.
They are welcoming new members and visitors during Advent with an outpouring of love.
“It’s always exciting to see a new face at this church, and when people come for the first time, we typically see them again,” said Lyle Wilson, a member at St. Helen for 54 years. “There’s just something about this church.”
St. Helen is a mission of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte, the only historically Black parish in the diocese. Like Our Lady of Consolation, St. Helen is home to a long-standing community of Black Catholics and has welcomed members of increasing diversity over the years.
Like Pat Beaty, who found St. Helen while driving down the winding road near it shortly after she and her husband moved to the area from Florida in 2013.
“I looked up and saw this little church – it called to me,” she said. “I came to Mass and immediately felt the welcoming, the love and the Holy Spirit. And now here I am every Sunday.”
Several members of the congregation like Wilson have been attending St. Helen since childhood.
Lynn Setzer has spent Sunday mornings at St. Helen for almost 60 years alongside her family and recalls going to Mass with her parents, the late George Gardin and Barbara Gardin, who is still a member.
“This is a family church that has instilled a lot of traditions in me,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of people come and go here, but it still has the spirit.”
Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve was a longstanding tradition that Setzer treasures, even though the service is now earlier because many older members no longer drive at night.
Membership has fluctuated over the years as members died or moved away. The COVID-19 pandemic caused some to stop attending, and activities dwindled. Members are working to rebuild the mission’s pastoral council and hope more young families with children will find St. Helen.
Residential building projects are springing up on roads surrounding the parish, and members know that eventually the influx of people may bring more Catholics to their doors. They welcome the new faces but want their church to stay intimate and welcoming, the way it’s been for generations.
“I’d like to see us eventually have two Masses every Sunday, but I don’t want to see the church building get any bigger,” Wilson said.
The building’s size makes it easy for members to see and greet each other every Sunday and also to pick out visitors. On the first Sunday of Advent, Father Amadi greeted a family visiting from Cleveland, Ohio, and gave a blessing to one of the children who celebrated a November birthday.
After Mass, another woman who had been visiting for several weeks stayed to talk about joining some of the ministries.
Wilson said that’s not uncommon – those who come to the mission are welcomed and remembered.
As Wilson said, “Once you’re here, you’re part of us.”
— Christina Lee Knauss
