Christ Church Set To Celebrate Centennial Year

by Matt Wilson
When the Rev. William C. Robertson became the first rector at Christ Church Episcopal in Chattanooga in February 1901, he began traditions of rich Anglo-Catholic worship and social outreach to all segments of society.

One hundred years later, the traditions Robertson began are still going strong as the Christ Church congregation begins the celebration of its 100th year in 2001.

The history of Christ Church has been filled with significant twists and turns with struggles and triumphs and interesting characters. Still, newcomers to the church often say that the essential foundations are what strike them most about the church. Christ Church's rector, The Rev. Jocelyn Bell, said both the richness of the High Mass celebration and the congregation's history of social outreach impressed her when she first became aware of the church.

"Those have gone hand-in-hand at Christ Church from the very beginning," Bell said. "(It's) the pattern of a small congregation at times struggling for survival and struggling to witness to those two things."

The church began as an independent parish with parishioners from St. Paul's Church, Chattanooga, providing the core congregation for a parish 'on the East side' during Bishop Gailor’s episcopate. On Sunday, February 17, 1901 Robertson became the first rector and held the the first services in the Reception Hall of the Chattanooga Masonic Temple. It wouldn't be until Palm Sunday in 1908 that the first service would be held at the church's current location at the corner of Douglas Street and McCallie. The 1944 payment of the mortgage was celebrated at a public Service of Consecration conducted by the Bishop of Tennessee, the Rt. Rev. James Maxon, with the Rev. Thorne Sparkman, the then rector of St. Paul's, as preacher.

In 1923, Robertson became acquainted with Ralph Adams Cram, a Boston architect who was the foremost neo-Gothic designer in the nation. Robertson persuaded Cram to redesign the interior of Christ Church.

Cram designed, and his firm produced, beautiful drawings for a gothic interior for the church. Unfortunately, a dispute arose between Cram and the vestry over the cost of the designs. It was the vestry's understanding that the entire Cram project was free of charge. It was Cram's recollection that only his design was a gift; the firm's blueprints were not.

The Gothic interior improvements were eventually finished in 1930 and remain to this day, although records show that for years, Cram's office tried to collect $733 for the drawings.

According to the rector, Robertson's original message of outreach to the community was a powerful foundation for the new parish. He advocated programs to reach women and drug users in prison, something unheard of near the turn of the century, Bell said. Today, Christ Church serves as the headquarters for the Episcopal Metropolitan Ministries.

Another Christ Church priest that Bell mentions is the Rev. Walter L. F. Haylor, well-knownfor his support of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. Haylor was priest-in-charge at the church from February 1933 to Feb. 1936.

"He preached really socially active sermons that filled the place on Sundays," Bell said.

The Rev. Bill Murchison, a member at Christ Church, has organized the congregation's Centennial Committee to find ways to celebrate and make the church's milestone known. Although he came to Christ Church only in 1990, he has a family connection to the place. His uncle, the Rev. Reginald Mallett, was priest-in-charge of the parish for 15 months from 1931-1933.

The Rev. Murchison said he was moved early by the church's liturgical worship with its unapologetic appeal to both the intellect and the senses. He's planning a Centennial exhibit to show documents and artifacts from the parish's history.

"We've got 100 years behind us," he said. "I want to bring the story of Christ Church to life in words and pictures. We need to remember who we are; we're not just single people; we're members of a body, one that's been here a lot longer than we have."

"God has plans for this place," he added. "There's purpose here and intention for our future."

On Sunday the 25th at 5:00 p.m., a service of Choral Even song with a concert by the Chattanooga Bach Choir will mark the centennial year's inaugural celebration.

Other services and events are being planned by Karla Fowkes, Christ Church's Organist and Choir Master.

Of course, while the congregation remembers the past, its Centennial points toward the future. The rector said a number of challenges face the parish, but there are opportunities as well. The church is located in the middle of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's campus, which gives the parish a chance to reach young people. Plus, the university is planning on building more housing near the church, which would increase the number of people who live near the church.

Bell said she would also like to strengthen ties to the university's Episcopal Ministry. In keeping with the tradition of embracing all different types of people in the congregation, she said the church will also be active in reaching out to Chattanooga's growing Hispanic population.

"(Some goals are) the renovation of the buildings," Bell said. "(Increase) growth in numbers and growth in numbers of actions we offer and growth in lives of people."

The writer, Matt Wilson, is a Communicant at Christ Church in Chattanooga.