According to Diocesan records, St. Helena began in 1946 as a Mission Church of Saint Mary’s, Toccoa.  Please see the Brief History and List of Pastors that follows the articles.

Please Note: All Articles are from “The Georgia Bulletin” The Newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.  Articles are not necessarily in chronological order.

St. Helena's In Clayton, A Parish Adoption

Print Issue: July 17, 1980

Lina Davis - 1946 - Dressed for Mass

For a long time Lina Davis was the only Catholic living in Clayton, Georgia. The closest Catholic church was St. Michael’s in Gainesville, 65 miles away. Every Sunday her husband John, a Baptist, drove her to Mass.

In 1947 another Catholic moved into the area and the two women began attending services in Franklin, N.C., 20 miles away. There was no church in Franklin, so Mass was celebrated in the home of an elderly couple.

In 1956 Walt Disney arrived to make a movie, “The Great Locomotive Chase” with a crew that was largely Catholic. The crew worked hard seven days a week and had little time to travel to North Carolina for Mass, so the bishop of Atlanta gave special permission for the Franklin priest to offer Mass in Clayton.

By this time, a few more Catholics had settled in the area and, after the Disney people left, the Franklin priest continued to offer Masses in Clayton. For a place of worship, parishioners had a choice between the Community House or the American Legion Hall. During the summer, tourists sometimes increased attendance at Mass to between 130 and 150.

Then a miracle! The people of St. Helena Church in Center Square, PA, decided they wanted to do something in the mission field. They chose to take the community in Clayton as their godchild. They built a beautiful little mission church in Clayton, paying practically all the costs by taking a second collection every Sunday. The exact amount is lost in the mists of history and misplaced records, but Eleanor McDevitt recalls that the Pennsylvania Catholics sent $17,000. Others insist it was $20,000.

On Nov. 1, 1961, the proud congregation in Clayton attended the first Mass in their own church. People who were present that autumn day declare that the ring of mountains circling the church was polished with special gold!

Deciding on a name for the new church was easy. A bronze plaque at the entrance reads: “This chapel bears the title of St. Helena as an expression of profound gratitude to the people of St. Helena’s Church, Center Square, PA, whose love for our holy faith, generosity and sacrifice made this chapel a blessed reality.”

No pastor was assigned to St. Helena’s until 1964. By June 1979, when the present pastor arrived, the parish had grown from 21 to 42 families, due to the arrival of 20 Catholic families who had moved from Illinois when the company they worked for relocated.

Ties between the two churches named St. Helena have continued even though almost 20 years have passed. Two years ago Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hoffmeister introduced themselves to the usher at the Georgia church: “We’re from Center Square, PA. Does that mean anything to you?”

“It certainly does,” the usher replied. “You built this church.”

In commenting on the changes she has seen in Clayton, Lina Davis says: “It is amazing how much the presence of a church can change mentalities in a community. I remember how friendly and kind the people were when I arrived in 1947.” Nonetheless, she testified there was a “lot of bigotry and hostility” toward her religion when began to change only after Catholic worship began in the town. Then, Lina explained, the people of the town began to show “tolerance at first, then respect and full acceptance” toward Catholicism.

Father Bob Healy - First Priest in Clayton

Want to see the website of St. Helena Church in Center Square, PA?

Just click here: St. Helena, Center Square

Spirits Renewed at Rural Parishes

Print Issue: October 29, 1981

By Father Gerald Peterson

A spirit of renewal in the faith was generated at the two small churches of St. Mark in Clarkesville and St. Helena in Clayton between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3. The parish mission was preached by Father Richard Kiernan, director of the Catholic Education Office in Atlanta and deacon candidate, Mr. Robert Dotson of Atlanta.

At St. Mark Church, the attendance was generally between 35-40 adults each evening for the four nights of the mission. Among those attending were three inactive Catholics and four who were interested in the Catholic Church. Two individuals came simply as a result of interest stirred through a news article and an advertisement put in the local Tri-County News.

In Clayton at the St. Helena Mission, 60 percent of the regular parishioners were in attendance. Among those present for the three evenings were nine inactive Catholics and three Protestant guests.

In order that the spirit of renewal might continue after the parish mission, the parishioners were asked to commit themselves to involvement in the parish through joining one committee of service and to a commitment of daily prayer and Scripture reading. All were also encouraged to form small Scripture and prayer groups or to find support in movements such as the Cursillo or Marriage Encounter or some other prayer group.

Much of the success of the parish mission can be attributed to several months of planning with a small committee and Father Richard Kiernan. The pastor, two sisters and several lay people visited all the known inactive Catholics of the area prior to the mission and also contacted others interested in the Catholic faith. A catechumenate program has been started at St. Mark’s. Six people have expressed an interest in learning more about the Catholic Church with a view of becoming members.

St. Helena Celebrates its 25th Anniversary

Nov. 2nd 1986

Liturgy is celebrated by Father Gerald Conroy, center, with Father Gerald Peterson to his left. Deacon Bob Mulligan is on Father's right. Chris Wallace and Kyle Dampier were the altar boys.

By MICHAEL ALEXANDER

Published: November 6, 2003

About 120 miles outside of Atlanta up Highway 23 and 441 is Clayton, Ga., nestled between the borders of Tennessee and South Carolina. This small town has a population of approximately 2,000 people and is the home of St. Helena Mission, the most northeast mission in the archdiocese.

The road to St. Helena Mission is beautiful.

Just 15 miles outside of Clayton you enter the Chattahoochee National Forest, which provides nice scenery over the closing miles of the trip. Shortly afterwards the town of Tallulah Falls is followed by Tallulah State Park. By the time you reach the Clayton city limits, country stores, produce and hot boiled peanut stands are strung along the side of the road. Mind you, you still see a Wal-Mart Supercenter and fast food franchises along the way. But once the road intersects with Highway 76, things start to return to the small town look of days gone by. Take a left turn on Highway 76, and just a block away is Clayton’s Main Street.

Main Street is lined with the storefronts of various businesses. There is a hardware store, a department store, a pharmacy, a book store, an art gallery, and a furniture and appliance store, just to name a few. Once you reach the top of Main Street, standing in the shadow of the Clayton Cafe, there is a picturesque backdrop to the city, a range of mountains looming in the background.

Just a few short miles from Main Street, off Mountain Stream Lane, is the property St. Helena Mission purchased in July 2000. One day it will be the site of a new church, with a breathtaking view of the Black Rock Mountains. Right now the community worships at a church on Warwoman Road. On this particular August day, however, as in the last three years, the congregation is gathering for its annual outdoor Mass and picnic under the shade of a large, white 40-foot by 60-foot tent. The main celebrant is Father Luis Zarama, pastor of St. Mark Church, Clarkesville, and the administrator of St. Helena Mission. On any given Saturday and Sunday, Father Zarama makes six 30-mile trips between Clarkesville and Clayton to celebrate Mass for the English and Spanish-speaking communities of the church and the mission. Teenager Jonathan Engel is the lone altar server for today’s liturgy and Dan Lange, a deacon in formation for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, is the lector. Deacon Lee Tollett, who relocated to Clayton with his wife from Sugarland, Texas, just over a year ago, assists Father Zarama. Deacon Tollett welcomes everyone in attendance and reports that pledges for the new church now total $310,000, 10 percent of their goal. He also takes a moment to recognize Ron Spencer, the chairman of the church building committee.

Father Zarama brings a lot of emotion and passion to his sermons. As he shares touching stories of the mutual love between himself and his maternal grandfather from New York City who would come to visit his family in Colombia, South America, it brings people to tears and laughter. But the real story Father Zarama is trying to drive home is the “beautiful mystery of love” we have in the Eucharist. He said the love is at the altar and all we have to do is open our hearts to the love of Jesus. The congregation before him is a mix of seasonal Clayton residents from various Southeastern cities and states, as well as full-time Clayton residents; yet there’s no distinction between localities. They worship like a close-knit family with great faith.

The outdoor Mass is followed by a picnic with a spread of food the width of the tent, plus some. Pat Marcellino has been cooking much of the morning under the hot Clayton sun on what can only be described as a large, black commercial grill on wheels. Marcellino, once known as “the chicken man,” owned a restaurant in Clayton for 20 years called The Chicken Coop. But this year they’ve requested hamburgers and hotdogs instead of last year’s smoked chicken. The rest of the parishioners bring an assortment of side dishes and desserts. It’s like an outdoor smorgasbord. Maybe it wasn’t the town of Bethsaida, where Jesus fed the crowd of five thousand, but the end result was the same. “They all ate and were satisfied.”

Leaving the St. Helena Mission property, one can only imagine what the new church will look like in the future. A sign on the outskirts of Clayton during the drive up read “Mountain Man Country.” No offense mountain man, but one glance at the majestic beauty surrounding Clayton, and it’s clear this is God’s country and it always will be.