History
Firstly, Holy Family would like to welcome you and invite you to celebrate mass and God’s grace with us. Holy Family is a large parish with over 2,500 families and over 50 different ministries. Our Catholic community, located in Brentwood, TN, exists to bring spiritual development to those who join us for prayer, education, worship, and service.
History of Holy Family Catholic Church
In March of 1988, two hundred Catholics attended a meeting led by Bishop James D. Niedergeses at Maryland Farms in Brentwood to show their interest of a new parish in Williamson County. After a survey of county residents, it was determined that a parish was indeed needed. On July 19, 1989, Bishop James D. Niedergeses, Bishop of Nashville, officially decreed and published the boundaries and limits for a new Brentwood parish and named Father Edward T. Alberts as Pastor.
On August 6, 1989, the first community-wide Mass was celebrated in Brentwood High School’s Auditorium under the church name of Brentwood Catholic Community until it became officially known as Holy Family Catholic Church. With close to 300 registered families and over 400 students in the Religious Education program, the parish was born.
In October of 1989, a Planning Commission was established to set priorities and plan for the future. The Commission developed a Parish Mission Statement, a Parish Covenant (by-laws), and searched for a suitable tract of land on which to build the church. The Finance Board was formed at the same time.
In August of 1990, a Building Committee was formed and developed a survey to determine what the parish wanted in terms of facilities. A Capital Campaign Committee was formed and a firm was chosen to conduct the fund drive. Through the generosity of the parishioners of St. Philip Parish in Franklin who donated $200,000.00 to the campaign, and the Diocese who contributed $125,000.00, the Capital Campaign raised close to 2 million dollars in pledges over a three-year period. The success of the campaign allowed a loan to be approved by the Diocese. The architectural firm of Thomas, Miller & Partners was chosen to be the architects. After much searching, a 25 acre tract of land on Crockett Road was purchased. American Constructors, Inc. was hired to be the contractors for the project.
In January of 1992, the newly elected Parish Pastoral Council held its first meeting and began to implement the Council’s structure.
On September 20, 1992, ground-breaking ceremonies were held on the property on Crockett Road, and Phase I of the project—which included the Worship Area, Gathering Area, Devotional Chapel, Education Wing and Administrative Offices—was begun. On Saturday, July 10, 1993, at 5:00PM, the Church was officially dedicated by Bishop Edward U. Kmiec. A dinner for all followed.
On October 9, 1994, the LifeTeen Program was initiated at Holy Family, and the first LifeTeen Mass in the State of Tennessee was celebrated. By this time the parish had grown to nearly 800 families. In November of ’94 the parish initiated a Stewardship process as a way of developing a spiritual basis for the sharing of one’s time, talent, and treasure in building up God’s kingdom.
In May of 1999, Phase II of our building plan was constructed and dedicated. This included a Parish Activity Center with a Gym (with a stage and retractable bleachers), commercial Kitchen, Nursery, LifeTeen Youth Room, Youth Minister’s Office, and several rooms for Religious Ed classes and various meetings. A smaller Chapel adjacent to the original Worship Area was added for weekday Mass, smaller weddings and funerals, and various other liturgies. An outside area to gather was created that included the Picnic Pavilion, baseball and soccer fields and additional parking space. The Picnic Pavilion was erected with proceeds from the Men’s Club fundraisers.
In fall of 2001, the Holy Family Learning Center was established for children two through five years of age and licensed by the State of Tennessee. It was created from a common desire of excellence in meeting the needs of children and their families, for nurturing, growth and development, relationships, and understanding in a Christian environment. In 2001, a Nursery opened its door for children between the ages of one and three during Sunday morning Mass times. The Nursery also accommodates baby-sitting for various meeting and special events.
In November of 2001, the Room in the Inn program was started and is solely worked by volunteers. RITI feeds and houses homeless men every Saturday night from November through March.
After a group of HFCC parishioners visited (in 1998) its “twinning” parish, St. Joseph’s in Bahon, Haiti, a concerted effort to help the parish began. (St. Joseph’s is HFCC’s “sister parish” within the Haiti Twinning Program.) In February of 2002, the first Medical Mission occurred, and it included 15 doctors, dentists, nurses, and workers. In a four-day period, they served the medical needs of 1,525 individuals. Today we continue to provide medical assistance and financial aid, as well as fulfilling individual needs through the Sea Container Project.
Over the last couple of years, there has been a renewed emphasis on adult faith formation opportunities to aid adults in growing spiritually and in the knowledge of the Catholic faith. Men’s and Women’s Faith Sharing groups are very active, along with the Sunday Adult Education sessions. There are several Scripture study and prayer groups.
The CONNECT project was initiated in the fall of 2003 with the purpose of trying to bring together the people in the various neighborhoods of the parish and help them to get to know each other. The parish continues to grow (2,162 families as of September 2014).
The parish-wide survey we conducted at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004, sought input from parishioners on all aspects of parish life. As a result of the survey, the Pastoral Council formed a Phase III Planning Committee to investigate the various possibilities for the use of our remaining land to meet our future needs. Much discussion was centered on either the building of an elementary school or expanding the present facilities to meet the growth of our other ministerial activities. To assist the committee in determining the best possible decision, the architectural firm of Hart, Freeland, Roberts, Inc., HFR, listened to the various needs voiced in numerous discussions. Their task was to provide advice on Brentwood codes for the expansion of our facility for general purposes and the creation of a school. Based on their report, the PPC decided that building a school would not be feasible and that expanding our parish facilities for our ministerial needs would.
HFR was then hired to be the architects for the expansion. Phase III expansion included an addition to the Administration offices, additional classrooms for our Learning Center and Religious Education and Formation Program, a Parish Hall, Lobby extension, and a Youth Ministry building. Because of the downturn in the economy, it was decided to put the Lobby expansion and Youth Ministry building on hold. Construction began in April of 2009 and completed in December.
The parish began in 2008 an outreach ministry in Honduras working with orphaned and foster children and the poor. Our parish continues to reach out to the poorest of the poor, both in Haiti and Honduras.
Deacon assignments made to Holy Family: Deacon Jack Nulty (December 2004 to his death in November 2010); Deacon Richard Weller (2008 to his retirement in August 2010); Deacon Ron Deal (August 2010 to June 2019); Deacon John Calzavara (March 2012 to present); Deacon James Booth (July 2014 to present).
In July 2010, Fr. Titus Augustine, CMI, was welcomed to Holy Family as Associate Pastor.
In March 2011, the Knights of Columbus, Council #15234, was organized at Holy Family. The K of C charitable activities encompass a variety of local, national, and international projects.
On June 21, 2013, Fr. Edward T. Alberts, first pastor and founder of Holy Family Catholic Church, passed away. Fr. Ed will be remembered for his tireless dedication and loving devotion to the Holy Family community. Fr. Titus Augustine was named Administrator by Bishop David R. Choby and served until September 2013.
In September 2013, Fr. Joseph McMahon was welcomed as Pastor at Holy Family. In August 2014, Fr. Justin Raines was appointed Associate Pastor of Holy Family.
Bishop David R. Choby performed a celebratory Mass in honor of Holy Family’s 25th Anniversary as a parish in the Diocese of Nashville on September 14, 2014. Following Mass, a dedication of HFCC’s Parish Hall was made in memory of Fr. Ed Albert.
Fr. Justin Raines was later assigned to St. Christopher Catholic Church in June 2018. In July 2018, Holy Family welcomed the new Associate Pastor, Fr. Anthony Stewart.
Holy Family’s Columbarium and Prayer Garden was approved for construction by the Diocese in April 2019. Approval from the City of Brentwood was obtained in August 2019 and construction of the Columbarium began soon after. The Columbarium was dedicated by Bishop Mark Spalding in June 2020.
Holy Family should be proud of what has been accomplished and the number of lives that have been touched by God’s love through the care and concern of so many dedicated and life-giving parishioners.