Glenmary’s mission in Overton County finds a new location, deepening faith and fellowship for the community. By Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

It’s December 12. In a building on the aptly named Church Street, the Catholic community of Overton County, in Middle Tennessee, is gathering to celebrate.

They have two reasons to celebrate. First, it’s the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a special day of devotion for a community that is mostly Latino. Second, it’s one of the first times outside of Sunday Mass that they are gathering at their new building.

They moved in less than a month prior, on November 17, and celebrated their first Sunday Mass there on the first weekend of Advent.

“It’s a blessing because we need it, all of us who live here,” says Guillermina, a parishioner of their new location.

Nicolasa Aju agrees. “This place is a blessing to the community,” she says. “The people are very happy. They feel at home.”

Finding a new location

Before having their own building, the community rented space at the First Methodist Church for two years.

“In June, we started looking for a place,” says Lorenzo Aju, “because I received a letter from the Methodist church that they encouraged us to find a place for our community.”

Lorenzo is a seasoned Glenmary lay missioner who moved to Overton County with his wife, Nicolasa, in 2022 to begin building up the community. He’s worked at Glenmary missions in the past, but at missions that had existing buildings and parish offices.

“This is a new experience for me,” says Lorenzo, of finding a new location to meet. In a county with a population of about 22,000 people, open rentals are few and far between. Lorenzo enlisted the help of the community, asking for everyone to keep their eyes open for possible locations.

“The first day of October, we found this place available where we are now,” says Lorenzo. He remembers driving by the building that same morning and there was no “for lease” sign. “But in the afternoon, somebody send me a message and say, ‘Look, there’s a place available.’”

He toured the building and found it was exactly what the community needed: one big open space, two smaller rooms, and a kitchen. In the open area, one side is dedicated to worship with an altar and chairs, while the other side is set up for community gatherings.

“When I told everyone we had a place, everyone cheered, ‘Yes!’” says Lorenzo. “Everyone is happy.”

Gathering together

The benefits of having a place to call their own showed immediately. The Methodist church was nice, but the community was often limited in the times and days that they could gather there.

Previously, they only had 30 minutes after their monthly Masses for potlucks and fellowship. Now at their new building, “everybody takes time to talk and there’s no hurry to leave,” Lorenzo says.

Being able to spend time together, unrestricted, is part of what makes this community so close-knit. “We don’t have the same last name,” says Ramon, a parishioner, but “everyone’s like family.”

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is another example of why having their own place was so needed. For the nine days leading up to December 12, the community gathers for a novena and potluck each night. In 2024, the 30 or so members who participated met at a parishioner’s home. This time, they were able to pray every night at their new building.

And for the first time, the community was able to celebrate a Christmas Mass together.

Educating the youth

In addition to searching for a new building this summer, Lorenzo undertook another big first for the community: preparing for their first year of religious education classes.

Previously, children were preparing for their sacraments at the churches where they attended Sunday Mass. When the community started celebrating Sunday Mass together last April, the next step was adding religious education classes.

“For me,” says Lorenzo, “it’s very important to have the education for the children.” So while he looked for open properties, he also began getting volunteers and preparing the curriculum.

“I need to start the program and not waiting for the building,” Lorenzo says of his mindset at the time. “Now we have the building and so it’s more easy to have the program.”

Sixteen children are enrolled for the first year of classes, from first communicants to young adults.

“There are many children,” says Guillermina, “so we also want these children who are small now, that in the future they will also have more faith, so that faith continues to be here, in our church.”

In May, the community will have more reasons to celebrate when two children receive their first holy Communion, and one teenager receives the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Growing in faith

A sign on the building, that the Catholic community of Overton County gathers here, will be up by the time this story has been published. It is a hope that this milestone will help the community grow in both number and faithfulness.

“I expect to grow in number,” says Lorenzo, who is already planning the community’s second Baptism, “but this group, we are growing also as a community, as members of this community and how they support each other.”

“I’m very happy, very happy that we have this place to give thanks to God,” says Guillermina. She shared with the community during the Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe about her faith and devotion.

“And that we also feel welcomed with so many problems that are happening these days, right? With immigration authorities, family problems, or things that our family is going through,” she says, it is a blessing “that we have a place to come to, to welcome us, so that we feel happy, joyful, that we are in a place of peace and happiness.”

Assistant Editor Theresa Nguyen-Gillen holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.