St. Paul Episcopal Church, Seymour, TN

Summary of Progress

2005- 2006

 

 

At the request of the remaining Trustee of St. Paul Non-denominational Church and with Bishop vonRosenberg’s permission, Episcopal Services were initiated on August 7, 2005 at 4 PM in the old Trundle’s Crossroads Methodist Church building, with Fr. Rob Henley of St. Joseph the Carpenter, Sevierville celebrating the Holy Eucharist.  Fr. Henley provided clergy support, celebrating the Holy Eucharist on every other Sunday, alternating with an Evening Prayer service conducted by a worship leader.  The number of communicants at this time was limited and the time of the service was changed to 6 PM in the hopes of increasing participation.  On October 30, 2005, Bishop vonRosenberg celebrated The Holy Eucharist and announced the formation of a Worshiping Community at St. Paul Church.  At the 2005 Diocesan Convention, St. Paul, Seymour was recognized as the newest Worshiping Community in the Diocese.   On Christmas Eve, worshipers from St. Barnabas, Jefferson City joined us for Midnight Mass conducted by the Rev. Canon Robert Rizner with approximately 45 communicants in attendance. 

 

The St. Paul Non-denominational Church Trustee offered the church land and buildings to the Diocese of East Tennessee for the remaining mortgage amount of approximately $17,000.  In September and November of 2005, discussions with the Diocesan Property Committee were initiated and initial dissatisfaction with the Church site was overcome by the low purchase price compared to the value of the land and facilities.  There was concern about the parking situation. However, there is room to park up to 25 cars on church property and the promise of parking spaces on adjoining land for an additional 25.  The nave will hold up to 100 communicants.  There is an unfinished undercroft that will make a perfect “Parish Hall” and with a kitchen installed, will allow hosting meals, and other outreach functions for our neighbors and our congregation as well as provide four rooms for Christian education.

 

 In November, the Diocese funded a thorough building inspection which found many concerns but none of an emergency nature.  From the initiation of Episcopal services, sufficient donations (usually from collections) have been obtained to cover the small cost of operations – heating, cooling, water, mortgage payments, insurance, etc.  During the period from August 2005 until Lent 2006, St. Joseph the Carpenter, through the good offices of Fr. Rob Henley, provided support, loaning the fledgling church prayer books, hymnals and the necessary equipment to operate Episcopal services.  Donations of materiel were soon made by numerous churches in the diocese and individuals, including prayer books, hymnals, albs, candlesticks, a lectionary bible, Eucharistic vessels and linens, a processional cross and other items.

 

By March of 2006, the Council of St. Paul Episcopal Church agreed that we needed to move the service time to Sunday Morning, even though this would require payment of supply priests to replace Fr. Henley who was conducting St. Joseph’s services Sunday morning.  From March 2006 through May 2006, numerous Supply Priests from the Knoxville area celebrated the Holy Eucharist two times per month.  More recently, Fr. Henry Swann, recently retired rector of Good Shepherd Knoxville, has agreed to act as Supply Priest on a regular basis.  The attendance at services grew from 4-6 in the evening to 10-14 Sunday morning, an increase of some 140%.  We currently have received three letters of transfer to St. Paul Episcopal Church and have one communicant who wishes to be confirmed.  The communicants who are in attendance are sufficiently faithful that there is little drop-off noted on Morning Prayer Sundays.  None the less, we have had a number of visitors who came once and then never appeared again and some families who had children who were seeking a church that had viable programs for youth, which they did not find at St. Paul.  One of the highest priorities is to provide four services of the Holy Eucharist per month and another is to provide visible and exciting youth activities. 

 

The St. Paul Council believes that the principal way to reach the un-churched, who are our missionary target population, is to reach out to the community and publicize our outreach.  St. Paul Episcopal Church is a member of C.R.O.S.S. ministry which distributes food and financial support to area indigents and the congregation has collected food for that purpose.  On June 16, 2006 the Church held a rummage sale which was a great success and raised money to begin modification of the pews, pay part of the cost of the new A/C cooling unit and provide $200 for outreach programs.  The cemetery next to the church is owned by Trustees and our congregation has worked with them to collect money for its upkeep.  On May 21, 2006, the cemetery decoration day, we placed carnations on all gravesites without flowers.  On August 5, 2006, the Church hosted a pool party that fed both our hunger and our knowledge about each other.  St. Paul also hosts a Centering Prayer meeting once a week and would like to expand our assistance to our needy neighbors when our church building is fully functional.  An Episcopal couple, who do not attend St. Paul Church, was visited and church bulletins delivered.  The husband had incurable cancer and died recently.  His widow and neighbors have donated a chalice, paten and ciborium in memory of the deceased.  We attended the 2005 Small Church Conference at Rugby and are continually looking for ways to increase our membership and outreach.  There were numerous discussions with Rick Govan regarding emphasis on “Shared Ministry,” a principal that has been in the forefront of St. Paul’s operations, both by necessity and by design.  The Council believes strongly in the Baptismal Ministry, even though the prevailing question in our area is, “Who is your pastor?”

 

The old building needs some modifications even though it has proved quite serviceable at the present time.  Numerous changes to the sanctuary and nave have been made or are planned with existing funds.  A gradine and tabernacle have been added, a donated organ is being repaired and installed, 4 pews will be removed and the remaining pews separated to permit kneeling.  Two choir pews and two acolyte benches will be constructed and placed in the sanctuary. The A/C unit that cools the nave was replaced.  St. Paul recently received a grant from the Opportunity fund for $6,000 to stabilize the epistle side of the nave and a $16,000 gift to purchase the land and building.  Because the church building was designed without handicapped access, there is no way for a wheel chair bound communicant to enter the nave.  St. Paul currently has one such communicant who can access the annex and the sanctuary but not the nave.  He currently stays in the sanctuary during the services.  This can be alleviated by providing a covered walkway from the nave to the annex.  The bathrooms need to be redesigned to provide handicapped access as well. 

 

Despite these shortcomings in the building and the programs, the church has begun its initial growth successfully.  The St. Paul Council looks forward to another year of growth and successful service to the community.