St. Paul’s, Chattanooga, Dedicates Phase III
A New Building, a Labyrinth and a Memorial Garden

by Emily McDonald, South East Correspondent
Completion of a $5 million addition and renovation was celebrated by St. Paul's Chattanooga on two successive sun-filled Sundays.

On May 6 the new two-story brick King Building was dedicated. The following Sunday a labyrinth and memorial garden for the burial of ashes were dedicated.

The extensive work also involved the renovation of the Hart Building where church school classes have been held since 1930.

The King Building was named in memory of Ernestine H. King, who served as St. Paul's choir mother for many years. Her children, Hansell, Orlean and Robert, were generous benefactors of St. Paul's after her death.

"This is a glorious day for St. Paul's parish family and friends,'' the Rev. Hunter Huckabay, rector, said about the King Building dedication. "To paraphrase Psalm 118: This is truly a day which the Lord has made and given to us. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.''

The dedications represented completion of Phase III of St. Paul's long-time expansion plan. Huckabay said that Phase III would not have emerged from a dream to reality without the faith and leadership of Ray Soileau, junior warden and head of the building committee.

"As proud of this project as I am, I am proudest of the reason we needed more space,'' Mr. Soileau said. The need was due to the "healthy atmosphere at St. Paul's and the direction in which this church is moving'' due to the leadership of its clergy and staff.

The King Building contains offices, classrooms, youth suite, lecture room, library, bride's room, restrooms and storage space. A new entrance was also added.

The King Building dedication service began with a procession from the nave and continued with stops at several stations. The first stop was outside St. Catherine's Shelter, where a ministry to women and children has been underway for a number of years.

Nell Eiselstein, a lifelong member of St. Paul's, answered questions from children at the next station in front of the Hart Building. She was asked about the history of the building as well as her own personal experiences as a church school teacher.

"I came over with the primary children in 1933 and there I remained for the next 40 years,'' she said.

Eiselstein said there were too many memories to select her fondest but she did cite "the wonderful teachers and children who were given into our care for that hour on Sunday morning.''

At St. Barnabas Nursing Home and Apartments, next door to St. Paul's, the Rev. John H. Bonner III, rector of Christ Church South Pittsburg, told how his father and former rector of St. Paul's, the Rev. John H. Bonner Jr., led the effort to found St. Barnabas while he was rector of St. Paul's. The elder Bonner saw a need to provide housing downtown for those displaced by urban renewal in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

His father said the opening of the nursing home in 1965 and the apartments a year later "represented God's body on earth ministering to God's people,'' Bonner said.

After a brief stop at Key-Andrews Hall, the procession moved on to the Bonner Tower in the King Building. "A very important part of the King Building is the Bonner Tower, given by the Bonner family and friends to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for the Rev. John Bonner Jr. and Henrietta Aughtry Bonner,'' Huckabay said. He noted that Bonner served as St. Paul's rector for 29 years and had "a lasting effect not only on St. Paul's but on the entire city of Chattanooga.''

The Rt. Rev. William Sanders, retired diocesan bishop, conducted the dedication of the labyrinth and consecration of the memorial garden on May 13. The labyrinth and garden, which are located in a courtyard between the King Building and older parts of the church, were created by the new construction and demolition of the old rectory.

The Phase III project was financed primarily by the King family bequest and only $600,000 had to be raised by the church.