St. Peter Chanel Church will hold a Lenten mission March 11-15 entitled “Grace for a New Springtime.”

The mission will be held each weekday evening at 7 p.m. and will be led by Father Tim Hepburn, who will also preach at all weekend Masses March 11 and 12.

On Monday, March 13, the talk, “What Jesus Gave Up For Lent,” is about using willpower to yield to God’s grace. On Tuesday, March 14, the talk “When All Is Stripped Away, What’s Left” deals with raising up good reasons for belief, worship and witness. “Lessons From Fig Trees” on Wednesday, March 15, which will also include a penance service, is about “bearing fruit” in the new springtime.

Father Hepburn was raised in Atlanta, and in 1982 he began study for a degree in architecture at Auburn University in Alabama. In 1985 after some searching, he experienced a combination of God finding him and him finding God that set him on a course towards priesthood. With architecture degree in hand, he began studies for the priesthood in 1988 at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana and was ordained in 1993 for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

After serving as pastor to two parishes, and then as chaplain at Blessed Trinity High School, he was named director of the University Catholic Center in Atlanta, where he serves the students of Emory University, Agnes Scott College and Emory at Oxford. Father Hepburn also serves as assistant vocations director for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

A gifted speaker, preacher, and musician, Father Hepburn has done work in evangelization to the youth including Steubenville conferences, and Firepower conferences in New Zealand, as well as the archdiocesan retreat, Sonfest, in Florida. He has also spoken at Marian conferences, charismatic conferences and retreats, Life in the Spirit Seminars, young adult retreats and many others.

His heart’s desire is to preach and teach the Gospel of Christ so that all may have the opportunity to turn from sin, personally embrace Jesus Christ, live in the Spirit, and know their Heavenly Father’s will.

Father Hepburn has taken his inspiration for this year’s theme from the words of the late Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical letter, Redemptoris Missio: “If we look at today’s world, we are struck by many negative factors that can lead to pessimism. But this feeling is unjustified: we have faith in God our Father and Lord, in his goodness and mercy. As the third millennium of the redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity, and we can already see its first signs” (Redemptoris Missio #86).

A nursery will be available for childcare each weekday evening. For more information, visit www.stpeterchanel.org, or call (678) 277-9424.