SUMMERVILLE—St. Theresa of the Little Flower Church held a ground-breaking ceremony Nov. 21 to begin work on a new administrative center that will hold parish offices and a new adoration chapel.
Msgr. Edward D. Lofton, pastor, said the structure will allow the parish to use its current building for expanded classroom space and as a parish hall.
“It’s a relief to get this underway because it’s part of our master plan for the growth of the parish campus,” he said. “I’ve been at St. Theresa for 12½ years, and one of the good things about staying in a parish for a while is you see an opportunity to really get things done.”
The new building will measure about 4,900 square feet, with costs estimated between $550,000 and $600,000. It will be connected to the current church office by a covered walkway. The project is part of St. Theresa’s ongoing capital campaign.
The church building committee is looking for a contractor for the project.
Msgr. Lofton said new classrooms are a necessity because of the increased need for CCD classes at the parish, which has a membership of about 869 households and serves the rapidly growing Dorchester County area. Students now attend CCD classes at Summerville Catholic School about six miles from St. Theresa.
“Our big need is space for education,” he said. “It’s always been part of our development plan to build new classrooms and get CCD back here on the parish campus. With the economy, growth has been staying level here, but with Boeing moving back into the area, St. Theresa is going to be growing again.”
Msgr. Lofton said the new adoration chapel would add to the spiritual life of the parish, offering a quiet, more intimate space geared toward prayer and reflection. He said the goal is to have perpetual adoration once the chapel is completed.
Now, adoration is held from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays in the main church.
He described a marble raredos, which is a decorative screen that goes behind an altar, and a marble ambo that the church purchased from a closed convent in Canada. The items date from the 1920s and are in storage in Atlanta until they can move into the new chapel.