Parish Profile: St. Michael and All Angels

When the original Tyson House was donated to St. John’s Parish in 1934, its intended purpose was the establishment of the Episcopal Church’s ministry on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

The present center was built in 1956 through private donations and a major grant from the United Thank Offering. It has been a mission of the diocese since 1979.

The Canterbury Episcopal Student Community at the University of Tennessee meets at Tyson House. It is a place where Episcopal students get together for fellowship, worship and outreach.

According to the chaplain, the Rev. Kay Reynolds, a primary goal of the ministry is to create an awareness of needs in the community and beyond. Students have been involved in Civitan, Dismas House, Lakeshore and the Volunteer Ministry Center.

Students are encouraged to attend both Province and National gatherings of college students and to make connections on a larger scale.

Campus ministry is also about exploring vocations and talking with those interested in ordained vocations.

Tyson House also offers a residential program. Students living at the house perform two main functions:

They add to the ministry of the center, and to the student group; and

They care for and maintain the facilities in and around the center.

The Church of St. Michael and All Angels holds services each Sunday morning for students, faculty and community. In addition to the services, other opportunities include such things as a Taize service one Friday evening in September, a monthly luncheon for Episcopal faculty, staff and students, and, in November, "An Evening with Eleanor," a one woman play by the Rev. Lawrence Waddy.