The Rev. Harry Bahlow
New Vicar at St. Thomas and St. Columba

by Pam Doty
Editor

On April 9, the Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg installed the Rev. Harry Bahlow as new vicar of St. Columba in Bristol and St. Thomas in Elizabethton.

Services were held in each church to celebrate the new ministry of Father Bahlow. Presentations were made by the congregations of each mission.

The service in Bristol was held at 9:30 a.m. and was followed by a short reception. The service at St. Thomas in Elizabethton was at 11:45 a.m. followed by a luncheon with the Bishop.
In both settings, Father Bahlow professed his commitment to this new ministry and was presented by the Bishop.

The two missions have been working together in the calling of Father Bahlow to be their shared priest. They will share the expenses as well as the ministry. Plans are under way to continue a sharing between the two congregations. Shared fellowship is the starting point, with plans to share some ministries and programs.

The yoking of the two congregations is designed to help both to grow spiritually while sharing resources. Each mission can learn from the ministries of the other.

Father Bahlow, with his experience in a variety of settings, can help each congregation establish an identity and a mission.
In his message to the two churches, Bishop vonRosenberg encouraged the congregations to look forward in hope, to be a part of the Diocese of East Tennessee and to seek a vision for spiritual growth. He called upon the churches to be mutually supportive of the ministry of Father Bahlow and talked about the Area Mission Teams and the Archdeacon as resources for discovering and fulfilling the mission of the church.

About Rev. Harry Bahlow

The Rev. Harry Bahlow has been called as vicar to St. Columba in Bristol and St. Thomas in Elizabethton. A native of Windsor, Ontario, he graduated from Sacred Heart Seminary in 1958 and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in 1962. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1962 and served in the Archdiocese of Detroit for ten years.

He graduated from Nova University in 1982 and served as a healthcare administrator for 23 years in Michigan and Florida.

In 1995 he was received into the Episcopal Church as a priest.

He was chaplain of an Episcopal retirement center and has served in churches in Florida and Michigan. Bahlow has worked in Kairos Ministry (prison ministry) and ministry for the deaf. He has also served as an Army Reserve chaplain and a Hospice chaplain.

Bahlow is married to Arnetta. They have one daughter, Tina and a granddaughter, Taylor Catherine. Son-in-law, Mas, is a Georgia Natural Resource Office. Bahlow enjoys flying, hunting, fishing and walking.