The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg, third Bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee, asked God’s blessing on the new home of the diocesan staff near Lovell Road in West Knoxville on Saturday, July 26. The Rev. Matthew Dutton-Gillett, rector of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Farragut, arranged the liturgy for the blessing, and the Rev. Canon Chris Chase, campus minister at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, assisted in the service. Dozens of clergy and parishioners from around the region gathered with the staff and with contracting and design firm representatives for the celebration, which included a reception and tour.

The service began just outside the front door of the new Diocesan House with a song by a children’s choir from the nearby Episcopal School of Knoxville. The people then joined the choir in singing the Daniel Schutte hymn, “Here I Am, Lord.” A series of responsive prayers started with the bishop saying in part, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, says the Lord. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.” The people responded, “Unless the Lord is the builder, all our labor shall be in vain.”

In a service that moved throughout the building from bookshop to offices and conference room to the chapel, the Bishop sprinkled Holy Water and led the people in prayers of praise and petitions for the lives and health of the people who will use the facility.

Later, Bishop vonRosenberg commented on the move and the building. “My hope is that this new Diocesan House will service the diocese well in years to come,” he said. “It seems to be more convenient for most of our people in East Tennessee. In addition, our staff has already found this new space to be a comforting and friendly work environment.”

He went on to talk about the process behind the new facility. “As I indicated in our service this morning, we do well to remember the efforts of people responsible for the former Diocesan House downtown,” he said. “Proceeds from the sale of that property covered all the expenses of land purchase, building, furnishing and moving to our new space. And so we are indeed grateful for the efforts and stewardship of the people who came before us and who provided us with the resources to make possible our new Diocesan House.”

In the summer of 1988, the bishop’s offices moved from cramped quarters over Regas Restaurant on Gay Street to a newly constructed stone building adjacent to St. John’s Cathedral on Cumberland Avenue. But over time, St. John’s facilities became too small to fully serve the growing parish. A cathedral delegation approached the bishop with an offer to purchase Diocesan House and its parking lot, and in March of last year, the diocese sold the property to St. John’s. The diocese then purchased a 2-acre site from the Episcopal School of Knoxville.

The craftsman-style one-story Diocesan House was designed by Cope Associates and constructed by Johnson and Galyon, Inc. Design features include a soaring cathedral wood ceiling with exposed trusses in both the reception area and the adjacent glass-walled conference room, a stacked-stone fireplace, stacked-stone and wood pillars, two-over-one sash windows and period-style metal-and-glass lighting fixtures.