Copyright © 2004 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee

Please plan to join the Episcopal Church Women of the three dioceses in the state of Tennessee for the Women’s Spring Conference 2004, scheduled April 23-24 at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tenn.

East Tennessee is this year’s host diocese, so strong participation is especially needed!

Please follow this link for more information and to register.

Close call confirms God's presence

By Gary McGhee

When I was seven years old, I wanted to become a fireman. But when as a senior at City (Chattanooga) High School, I weighed only 101 pounds and wrestled at the 96-pound class, the dream was moving farther and farther away.

I decided God had a place on this earth for me as either an FBI Special Agent or as a teacher of U.S. history at City.

After completing an accounting/business management degree at Middle Tennessee State University, I worked in accounting positions and thought about rekindling that old dream of becoming a firefighter.

Some eight years later, I was talking with Mickey Hall at the Church of the Nativity, and he provided my first break.

I joined the Fort Oglethorpe Fire Department as a 32-year-old “rookie” volunteer and have never looked back. That was more than 20 years ago.

It hasn’t been easy. I have a new left knee from the Flavorich fire in 1981. I almost bought the farm in the Lum’s Produce fire in 1988. But my world and that of my family changed forever in the early hours of last Dec. 13.

My crew on Engine 8 helped several other units put out a major commercial fire in an 1845 building that was being used to store bedding products. Once most of the fire was out, my crew was assigned to douse “hot spots” in the front and left of the building.

Suddenly, I noticed a wall trembling near me and Firefighter/EMT-I Larry Jack-son. “Hit the deck!” I told him, but the wall was on us before we could take a step.

After recovering from a 40-minute “nap” at the scene and a trip to Erlanger Medical Center on a Life Force helicopter, I was stunned at the doctors’ discovery from the CT scan and MRI.

An aneurysm was found near my brainstem.

Two weeks later, my name had been placed on countless prayer lists from coast to coast, and I was scheduled for a “coil” procedure on Feb. 11.

At Christmas, Tiffany Casey, a fellow firefighter, gave me a gift that showed a smokey-faced firefighter protected by his guardian angel.

As throughout my life, I knew I continued to be in great hands.

Dr. Baxter told a crowd of 20 or so people who were with me before surgery that I would be in ICU for 24-48 hours, with a hospital stay of 3-4 days; I knew better even before the last prayer going into the room with all the bright lights.

The surgery was expected to last 2½ hours; it took 5 hours.

When I came to, I was still in the recovery room, but I heard the nurses talking about a quick turn of events and that I didn’t need to go to ICU; I was to be taken directly to a private room.

Again, I wasn’t surprised. God was with me every step of the way.

The doctors, nurses, family and friends were stunned to see me in and out of the hospital in about 32 hours.

Then the following Saturday brought a new worry. I got out of bed, walked down the hall to the kitchen, and the whole house started to spin.

My wife, Bonnie, and her sister Teresa were near panic and called two of my fellow firefighters, Larry Jackson and longtime friend Terry Goodman. They got a medic unit to take me back to Erlanger.

A CT scan revealed only that I couldn’t have picked a worst time to have a sinus infection — right after surgery.

God made me whole again! Thanks be to God!

Nativity, Ft. Oglethorpe member Gary McGhee is president-elect of the Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee and a member of Bishop and Council.

By Emily McDonald
South East Area Correspondent

The ministry to Hispanics in Chattanooga is an ecumenical effort based on building relationships and developing trust.

“You build relationships one kid at a time,” said the Rev. Mike Feely, minister of outreach and missions at Brainerd United Methodist Church in Chattanooga.

Feely is among a core group of individuals who started La Paz de Dios (“the peace of God”) after several years of involvement with Esperanza del Barrio (“the hope of the neighborhood”), an Hispanic ministry now associated with the Salvation Army. La Paz recently separated from the Salvation Army, received its own nonprofit designation and began fund-raising efforts. Organizers also are looking for a place to house the ministry.

In early March a group of about 20 students from the School of Theology at University of the South, Sewanee, were introduced to the work of La Paz during a lunch held at La Benedicion, an Hispanic-owned restaurant located in space formerly occupied by Esperanza. Lynn Schmissrauter, secretary of La Paz and a member of St. Timothy’s; the Rev. Lou Garcia, Chattanooga metropolitan minister; and the Reverend Jocelyn Bell of Christ Church, Chattanooga, were among those telling the seminarians about La Paz.

“You are getting some inculturation in what is going on in Hispanic ministry in Chattanooga,” Schmissrauter said. “You are right in the middle of the area that provides housing and jobs for Hispanics. It’s cool we can eat in the place where Esperanza used to be.”

La Paz is basically a resource center, and organizers have a three-fold vision for it, she said. La Paz seeks to match needs of the Hispanic community with assets provided by those outside the community, such as churches; provide individual assistance such as translation services; and educate the community.

“We want to talk about the reality of the situation and what can be done,” Schmissrauter said.

An estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Hispanic people reside in the Chattanooga area, and many of them are undocumented, said Matt Baez, former head of Esperanza who is now director of La Paz. He does intervention on their behalf with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, goes to places such as hospitals and police stations to translate for them and intervenes between employee and employer.

“I can’t even walk into a Wal-Mart or any other store without Hispanics coming up to me and saying, ‘can you help us out,’ ” Baez said.

“We want to deliver the Gospel the way it serves the people,” Schmissrauter said. “Immediate need is what we are all about at La Paz.”

However, La Paz doesn’t plan to offer worship services for Hispanics as they are readily available elsewhere in Chattanooga, Bell said.

La Paz is the offspring of a Hispanic ministry that began several years ago when Andy Mendonsa, head of the Widow’s Harvest program in Chattanooga, noticed new workers in the neighborhood served by his agency. The workers were Hispanic and had a variety of needs.

“We got together and prayed that there would be someone who had a burden, a passion to direct it,” he said. That person was Brad Pritts, whom Schmissrauter said started Esperanza with a backpack.

Esperanza was a collaborative effort and involved people representing several denominations, including Baptist and Presbyterians as well as Episcopalians and Methodists.

“It is an example of just going out and doing it,” Feely said.

St. Stephen in Oak Ridge celebrated the day most recognized for love, St. Valentine’s Day, by expressing love of good food!

The Rev. Bo Lewis, vicar of Grace Point, and his wife, Jan, donned chef hats and cooked up a big batch of famous Lewis gumbo. Lewis served a gumbo loaded with chicken and okra and also a version that included shrimp. Sides to the meal included salad, bread and some delicious Mardi-Gras themed cakes from a parishioner who shares Lewis’ Louisiana roots, Esther Nuhrah.

As Cajun music played in the background, more than 100 parishioners participated in the evening’s fun sporting purple, gold and green beads and masks adorned with feathers. A special display was set up with a miniature John Deere tractor to call attention to Grace Point’s need for a new tractor. The profits from the dinner as well as donations collected throughout the evening netted $600 for the Grace Point Tractor Fund.

St. Stephen’s parishioners provided ample evidence they know how to “Laissez les bon temps rouler!”

— Kathy Douglas

On the second Sunday of Lent, St. Stephen, Oak Ridge, offered Evensong, an evening of worship, prayer, confession and song by the congregation along with offerings from the choir and the young women’s choir.

Michael Keene was cantor for Psalm 84 and the Magnificat. The choir performed Felix Mendelssohn’s “Hear My Prayer,” after only two weeks to prepare for this demanding piece. Joy Schrotenboer was organist; Serge Fournier conductor and flute; Jenifer van Tol, violin; and Cheryl Scappaticci, soloist.

Scappaticci has recently returned to Oak Ridge, her hometown, and has said she enjoys performing for family and friends.

Meg White, Amanda Meredith and Ann Huston sang “Thy Holy Wings” by Michael Burkhardt.

— Roger Johnson

By Emily McDonald
South East Area Correspondent

A new pipe organ made possible by a gift from St. Paul, Chattanooga, was dedicated Feb. 18 at the School of Theology’s Chapel of the Apostles at the University of the South in Sewanee.

The donation for the 23-stop Casavant organ was given by the church’s Hansell G. King Choir Fund in honor of its rector, the Rev. Hunter H. Huckabay Jr. and his wife, Prestine Crosby Huckabay. The Huckabays were honored for their ministries at the School of Theology, the university and in the wider Sewanee community.

The Rev. Hunter Huckabay received a master of divinity degree in 1969 from the School of Theology, a doctor of ministry degree in 1984 and a honorary doctorate in 2000. Prestine Huckabay served as chair of the campaign that raised more than $3.2 million to build the Chapel of the Apostles. Both now serve on the university’s board of trustees.

The organ was dedicated during a service of Choral Evensong led by the Rt. Rev. Henry D. Parsley Jr., chancellor of the university and bishop of the Diocese of Alabama.

The donation of the organ “expresses what a gift Hunter and Prestine have been and continue to be to this school and university,” Bishop Parsley said in a homily. “In a way, the St. Paul’s organ completes this chapel.”

The service featured sacred music selections played by John A. Cannon, assistant university organist, and an anthem written especially for the occasion and performed by the School of Theology Choir under the direction of Susan K. Rupert. The anthem was written by Dr. Mark Schweizer, a composer, editor and professor at Austin Peay State University and Murray State University.

The gift from the King Fund also included the establishment of a church music internship in honor of Paul L. Reynolds, St. Paul’s organist and choirmaster. Cannon was the first recipient of the internship.

“Through the years the School of Theology at the University of the South has given a great deal to me and to my family,” Hunter Huckabay said. “The Chapel of the Apostles is a place of worship that our seminary has needed for a long time. I am delighted that St. Paul’s Church has given this instrument to the chapel.

“At the same time, I am both humbled and gratified that St. Paul’s Church has given Prestine and me the opportunity to be a part of giving something significant back to the university, which has given so much to us.”

Prestine Huckabay said when she and her husband first came to the seminary in 1966, she could not imagine there would be a different chapel than St. Luke’s (the previous seminary chapel). “I certainly never dreamed I would be asked to chair the committee which would raise funds to build a new chapel. I thank the university for giving me that opportunity and honor.

“My grandchildren refer to the Chapel of the Apostles as Eenie’s Chapel (their nickname for me) and to tell the truth I feel a certain ownership, and that means a great deal to me,” she said.

“I am so humbled and honored that our parish, St. Paul’s, has given this organ in our name.”

The Episcopal School of Knoxville and Old Gray Cemetery have partnered to host a participatory event called “Hunt for History” as part of the annual Knoxville-area Dogwood Arts Festival.

On Sunday, April 18, visitors will walk through the cemetery as they search for answers to scavenger-hunt questions.

The school’s 8th-graders, who have researched the lives of people buried at Old Gray, will dress in period costumes, stand by the graves and tell the stories of the people buried there.

They also will describe the Victorian gardens, tombstones and history of the cemetery.

Old Gray Cemetery is an historical and cultural treasure of Knoxville; it is the final resting place of historical figures including Governor William Brownlow, Mary Boyce Temple and the Rev. Thomas Williams Humes as well as that of numerous statesmen, 27 past mayors, veterans of the Union and Confederate armies, businessmen, artists and others whose lives contributed to the history and culture of our area.

The event is scheduled for 2-4 p.m., and it will be free to the public. Old Gray Cemetery is at 543 North Broadway, one mile north of the World’s Fair Park . Adjacent parking is available, or visitors may park at Emory Park Place.

For more information, please call Amanda Rader at 865-777-9032, Ext. 227, or Old Gray Cemetery at 865-522-1424.

By Laila Shahrokhi

In commemoration of Black History Month, St. Luke, Knoxville, enjoyed a special Service of Prayer and Praise on February 22.

The group of 70 or so people — including both familiar faces and new ones — were treated to an inspired celebration in African American song, poetry and literature.

The culmination of a month’s worth of special remembrances honored the past and recognized the ongoing struggle for racial justice and peace that continues today.

The words of Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Jean Toomer and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., among others, were brought to life vibrantly by a talented group of readers who worked hard to infuse each word with emotion.

Robin Matthews read the Angelou poem “Still I Rise” with feeling, and John Mayo’s reading of King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountain-top” speech was especially stirring. King originally had delivered the speech in support of sanitation workers the day before he was assassinated.

The Celebration Choir, under the direction of Freddie Brab-son, St. Luke minister of music, had practiced all month for the event. The choir sang traditional spirituals, some a capella, with great spirit and joy. Songs like “One More Battle to Fight” and “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired” lifted up the congregation.

It was an outstanding day for St. Luke’s, and a moving and powerful testimony to a rich and beautiful African American heritage.