Ground Breaking at St. Paul's, Kingsport
'More Celebratory Than Ceremonial'

by Nellie McNeil
St. Paul’s Kingsport, broke ground on November 5 for a new $1.3 million addition to the 75-year-old church building.

“For myself and from the vestry’s standpoint, it has been long needed. It will meet the needs of parishioners for years to come,” said Larry Hooper, building co-ordinator.

After Sunday morning services, parishioners went in procession from the church to the construction site. The Rev. Dan Matthews, rector, prayed. Then, in hardhats and with shovels, many from St. Paul’s parish symbolically turned the earth to signal construction.

“It was more celebratory than ceremonial,” said the Rev. Suzanne Smitherman, assistant to the rector.

The two-story addition will house St. Paul’s Day School on the upper level. On the lower level will be a kitchen and parish hall. The parish hall will be named for former rector, the Rev. Doug Berndt. The addition will also contain an elevator and a new sacristy and a new entrance to the church.

Built to match the stucco and stone of the original structure, the addition is expected to be completed in seven months to one year.

In one and a half years, sixty-six percent of the three-year pledges have been paid, exceeding the set goal.

The architectural firm of Freeman Solt, Kingsport, designed the addition. Goins, Rash and Cain, Inc., Bristol, is the general contractor. Kristen Miller of Cargill Associates was the consultant for the project.

Nellie McNeil is a correspondent for The East Tennessee Episcopalian. She covers the upper east area of the diocese.