Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church
Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church was born from the vision of local Catholic families who recognized the need for a parish in the rapidly growing Hendersonville area. Although the parish officially began in 1969, its roots date back to 1965, when Monsignor George Rohling purchased 10.1 acres on New Shackle Island Road for a future Catholic presence in southern Sumner County.
In February 1969, Father Joseph Wesley celebrated the first Masses in a small two room schoolhouse overlooking Old Hickory Lake. Later that year, Bishop Joseph Durick appointed Father Edward Arnold to organize the new parish, which parishioners named Our Lady of the Lake. The parish was officially established on November 1, 1969, with Father Arnold serving as its first pastor.
As the parish quickly grew, Masses moved to the newly completed Knox Doss School in 1971 while construction began on a permanent parish center. On May 31, 1972, the parish celebrated its first Mass in its new home on New Shackle Island Road.
Over the following decades, Our Lady of the Lake flourished under the leadership of dedicated pastors, clergy, religious, staff, and volunteers. Father James Black became the parish’s first associate pastor in 1975, followed by Father John Henrick as the second pastor in 1979. Sister Maria Edwards, RSM, joined the staff in 1980, and in 1985 parishioners Thomas Bomkamp and John Myers were ordained permanent deacons. Monsignor William Bevington became pastor in 1989, and parishioner Jim Carr was ordained a permanent deacon in 1999. Throughout these years, the parish also benefited from the ministry of numerous associate pastors and the faithful service of parish staff and volunteers.
As Hendersonville continued to expand, so did Our Lady of the Lake. On August 21, 1999, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec dedicated the parish’s current church on Stop Thirty Road, providing a beautiful and lasting home for a growing faith community. Father Eric Fowlkes became pastor in 2008, leading the parish through another period of growth and the Forward in Faith capital campaign, which expanded classrooms, gathering spaces, offices, parking, and other facilities to meet the needs of an ever growing congregation. During this time, parishioners John Lammers and Mike Rector were also ordained permanent deacons.
In 2020, Father Austin Gilstrap was installed as pastor and introduced a renewed vision to Sanctify Hendersonville. Guided by four core pillars, cultivating a welcoming culture, being rooted in prayer, remaining family focused, and prioritizing excellence, Our Lady of the Lake continues to form missionary disciples and invite every person into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
Today, Our Lady of the Lake is home to more than 2,600 families. Through vibrant liturgies, family faith formation, youth and adult ministries, service organizations, and outreach to the community, the parish continues to be a place where people encounter Christ, grow in faith, and serve others.
More than fifty years after its founding, Our Lady of the Lake remains a welcoming Catholic community that is ever growing in faith, united in Christ’s mission, and committed to sanctifying Hendersonville.
Our Lady of the Lake Expands and Celebrates its History
Our lady of the Lake Catholic Church (OLOL) celebrate the opening of its newly expanded facilities at a special dedication event on August 15, 2016. The Most Reverend David Choby, Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville, joined Rev. Eric Fowlkes, OLOL pastor, to preside over the celebration of Mass, ribbon cutting and blessing of the new facilities.
Mayor Scott Foster joined Bishop Choby and Fr. Fowlkes for the ribbon cutting ceremony held at the portico entrance of the new building expansion.
The $9 million expansion project added 35,000 square feet to OLOL’s church facilities, including 15 new classroom/ meeting rooms, a large multi-purpose room named St. Joseph Hall, and improved traffic flow/ parking on the church campus. The exterior profile of the space was designed to look similar in appearance to the existing church facilities.
Named in honor of the spouse of Blessed Mother Mary, The patron of OLOL, St. Joseph Hall is the largest meeting space in Sumner County. With 9,260 square feet space, it has capacity to accommodate banquet seating for more than 600 people. With its full-service commercial kitchen, it is the perfect venue for large parish events. St. Joseph Hall can also be rented for community and private functions, such as weddings, banquets, meetings, etc.
“Our Lady of the Lake is a vibrant and growing parish that is one of the largest in the Diocese of Nashville. These new facilities are essential to support the growing Catholic faith community in this area. I appreciate Fr. Eric Fowlkes and Associate Pastor Fr. Thomas Kalam for their pastoral leadership during this stage of rapid growth in this region of the Diocese,” Said Bishop Choby.
OLOL was officially established in 1969. The original parish with 250 families moved into its first parish home on New Shackle Island Road in 1972. For the next 20 years, the parish grew steadily and continuously along with the population of the city of Hendersonville. A thirty-one acre plot of land was purchased on Stop Thirty Road, and Our lady of the Lake built and dedicated its current church facility in 1999.
Since that time, the OLOL parish community has more than doubled in size from 1,000 families in 1999 to over 2,600 registered families today. The new facilities to accommodate OLOL’s growing faith family.
“Today is a historic day for Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church family.” said Fr. Fowlkes. “Today, we give praise and thanksgiving to God as we celebrate the completion of our new parish facilities, which will have a profound impact on our parish community for many years to come.”