Christ Church Episcopal

Christ Church Episcopal. Town of Tracy City. From a humble start in a woodshed, an enduring legacy, Christ Church is the oldest continuously operating Episcopal Church on the South Cumberland Plateau., "The appointments and surroundings were not all that could be desired, but the people gladly heard the word preached" reads the diary of the Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, Bishop of Tennessee and Vice Chancellor of the University of the South, who on August 30, 1868, conducted Christ Church's first service. The "surroundings" he described was a sawmill shed near the railroad depot., Worship services continued there until a community structure, Temperance Hall, was built for all denominations. In 1873, area Episcopalians erected their own church under the leadership of Milnor Jones, a seminarian at the University., Jones was followed by The Rev. Henry Easter, the congregation's first ordained priest who served from 1891 to 1896. A master craftsman, he carved the altar, bishop's chair and other furnishings. The building was damaged severely by a storm, but miraculously, Easter's hand-carved works survived. The present church was built in 1925., On October 5, 1952, the Father Adamz Memorial Parish House was dedicated to honor the Rev. Alphonso Constantine Adamz, who served Christ Church for two decades. Father Adamz, who was also active with the Boy Scouts of America, has a campground bearing his name near Foster Falls in South Cumberland State Park., Christ Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2018., Photo caption: The current church building dating from 1925 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, protects some elements from the original church including the beautifully-carved altar.