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PARISH PROFILE
 St. George, Scottsville: ‘Used to doing things on our own’
By Jean Denton
of The Catholic Virginian
Two little girls shared a step stool behind the ambo so they could go over the Sunday readings before Mass.
As they quietly rehearsed the Word of God, two older women in the front pew watched them.
“It’s the next generation,” one commented approvingly.
Indeed, the school-age children of St. George Parish in Scottsville would serve as lectors, ushers and gift bearers at Mass, as they do the first Sunday of every month.
 There’s new life here, and it’s a sign of the times at the small parish in the rural hills 25 miles south of Charlottesville.
“We’re definitely growing,” said parish Christian formation leader Ellen Sherwood.
Noting an infusion of fresh enthusiasm among the many young families at St. George’s, she said they are proving what she’d heard at a diocesan workshop about how “Generation X” families are energizing Catholic parish life.
“They have ideas, and they’re not just coming with suggestions. They are willing to do what’s necessary to make things happen,” she said.
Sundays are certainly lively at St. George as youngsters skip about the foyer, mingling comfortably with the older generations of parishioners, all sharing in various preparations for celebrating Mass.
 “You’ve never seen so many happy kids in church,” Ms. Sherwood laughed.
Longtime church member Maureen Cahill smiled as she watched a group of youngsters getting their instructions before liturgy on Palm Sunday. Wistfully noting the recent passing of several beloved parishioners, she said, “Yes, we are losing some older folks, but they are being replaced with younger people with families.”
As her husband Don snapped photographs of children distributing palm fronds, Ms. Cahill added, “We enjoy seeing the changes.”
St. George’s sits on a hill surrounded by farmland. A small diocesan cemetery is also on the grounds.
The rural setting belies the fact that it’s a bedroom community of Charlottesville. In fact, Father Dennis McAuliffe, pastor of Holy Comforter Church in Charlottesville, serves as St. George’s pastoral administrator. The Dominican priests of St. Thomas Aquinas, on the University of Virginia campus, serve as the parish’s primary sacramental ministers.
 Parishioners are happy with the arrangement even though they had resident priests for short periods in the past. Tina McCarthy, an active member of St. George’s since 1977, explained that as a small church the lay members are accustomed to taking charge of all parish activities and community life.
As the diocese proposes necessary changes among area parishes through its current strategic planning process, Ms. McCarthy noted, “We’ll be able to take it in stride because we’re used to doing things on our own. We take care of ourselves very well.”
Because of changing demographics and anticipating the strong possibility that St. George’s may become a mission parish of one of the Charlottesville parishes, Father McAuliffe has encouraged the various ministries to develop specific mission statements, and they have formed committees and begun coordinating resources to better organize the tasks parishioners always have done.
 “Our ministries are working hard to define themselves,” Ms. Sherwood explained.
“Father Dennis wants the best for us,” she added, noting that in diocesan area planning discussions, he has been “our biggest advocate” for parish self-reliance.
Father McAuliffe said he appreciates “a sense of vibrancy” in the community and emphasized that St. George parish needs little administrative oversight.
“There are many great lay leaders in the parish,” he said.
“What we are doing now is structuring things to put them in a position so that their clerical needs will be minimal and the ministries will be fully functioning with the leadership they have,” he explained.
As administrator, Father McAuliffe goes to Scottsville periodically to meet with the parish pastoral council, finance council and other committees as needed. He presides at Mass at St. George’s about every seven weeks.
Christian formation and liturgical ministry are closely coordinated, with the latter led by Leslie Cushnie. Outreach ministry, including Meals on Wheels and a local food pantry, is done in cooperation with neighboring churches.
The children’s formation program has 29 enrolled. They meet in three age groups on Sundays before Mass.
Ms. Sherwood noted that many of the parents are closely involved in their children’s faith formation and want them to learn traditional Catholic practices. One Sunday a month, for instance, classes are dismissed early so the children can participate in a family rosary before Mass.
 She also estimated that half of St. George’s parishioners are converts to Catholicism, and she thinks that has prompted interest in a weekly Bible study.
There also is an active Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults program.
“We have a lot of new people hearing about us and people coming back who have been away from the church,” she said. “We have quite a few visitors, too. People are happy to know there’s a Catholic church here.”
Ms. Sherwood and her husband Frank, who chairs the pastoral council, moved from Boston to Scottsville to retire in 2006. Coming from a large urban parish, they were concerned about finding a Catholic community in the rural location.
“This church has been exciting for us because we came from a very dynamic parish in Boston,” she said.
There are quite a few other retirees and “transplants” among the church’s 55 households.
Al and Ann Marie McGibney came to the area from Long Island, New York, in 1977 when St. George’s was a fledgling church community. “We came looking for a better life,” Al McGibney joked. They did want a change for their young family and although they don’t claim to be founders, he said they were number 17 on the registry.
The parish was established in the late 1970s, actually in response to the gasoline “crisis” of the time, Ms. McCarthy recalled. Then, most people in the area drove 30 or more miles to Charlottesville or to St. Joseph in Columbia for Mass.
So Cal and Bea Denby began hosting Scottsville Catholic families for Mass in their home, and later the group rented space at St. Ann Episcopal Church.
 While St. George’s was under construction they met at the local firehouse, Mr. McGibney remembered. The church was dedicated in 1980.
“When we started, all we had was each other,” Mr. McGibney said, “that’s why we began to get together for social activities.”
The parish community still takes special joy in its social gatherings.
A favorite celebration is the annual feast day of St. George held in April. The event features a parade around the grounds, a dinner and the children’s dramatization of St. George slaying a dragon.
For years, social events were held in the church with the Blessed Sacrament being removed, folding chairs re-arranged and people spilling out onto the sidewalk.
But now parishioners are thrilled that their new fellowship hall was completed in December.
“Building the structure — and so fast — was really galvanizing for the community,” Father McAuliffe said, noting that it was built in about three months. “It will be very much utilized.”
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