Printer Friendly
Email to Friend'A house with windows'
North Carolina congregation builds a foundation and reaches out to its community
Parishioners busied themselves to ready their barely year-old sanctuary for the morning's festivities. Family and friends of four confirmands gathered in the entryway. Parents and godparents of three children scheduled to be baptized stood quietly near the font as the priest gave them final instructions. Madrinas, padrinos and parents of the 12 children who were being presented for First Communion met with their teachers for prayer.
Salvador Balthazar sat near a bank of six-foot picture windows that stretch along the east side of the church. Reverently he said to his friend Eloise Kaeck, "Aquí hay ventanas abiertas." (They have open windows.)
Salvador frequently comes to the predominately Anglo church, especially for high holy days. Several years ago, many local Latino families became disenchanted with the Catholic church in town when it offered the imposition of ashes only on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. So, at the invitation of two Anglo families at St. Thomas, Salvador and others started to worship with the small congregation.
For two years, Salvador sat in the back row of the church, next to one of the few bilingual members. Sometimes he stayed for coffee hour, but more often he quietly left after Communion to get to one of his Sunday manual jobs. On the Sunday of the bishop's visit, Salvador articulated the welcoming nature of the St. Thomas community: "Aquí hay ventanas abiertas."
Humble beginnings
Like many mission churches, St. Thomas began humbly. The closest Episcopal congregation was 25 miles to the west. Supported by then-Bishop Robert Johnson and the parish of Holy Spirit in Mars Hill, four people were commissioned to start an Episcopal presence in Burnsville.
The first service was held on Mother's Day, May 9, 1993, at the local American Legion Hall. Unsure of how many people would attend, the founding families set out 10 metal folding chairs. To their surprise, they had to set out 20 more chairs.
Ever since, the congregation has grown slowly but steadily. Being small never has deterred mission and ministry, as St. Thomas parishioners have offered themselves and their meager financial resources to various local service programs in the wider Burnsville community, including Habitat for Humanity, Yancey Literacy Council, Centro de Enlace, Family Violence Coalition, an annual holiday dinner for people in prison, and UTurn ministry with youth.
"Commitment to justice and environmental stewardship have been a hallmark of our parish family since the beginning," said Maggie Zurbrick. A founding member, Zurbrick served as music coordinator and, along with her husband Dave, oversaw most of the day-to-day operations from their living room the first year.
"The hospitality of Jesus permeates everything we do, from our Sunday coffee hour to welcoming every person who walks through the doors," she added.
St. Thomas is known for nurturing strong leadership, both lay and ordained. "From the start, the laity embraced their responsibility for the mission and ministry of the church," said the Rev. Bill Whisenhunt, who was canon to the ordinary and led services until the congregation called its first priest.
Such leadership not only served the members well as they moved from mission status to independent parish in 1998, but also gave them strength as they pursued the dream of a permanent sacred space.
In 1998, the diocese gave the congregation money to purchase three acres of land on a hill overlooking downtown Burnsville. For the next four years, regular fund raisers slowly contributed toward the building fund. In the spring of 2004, with the arrival of a parttime priest, the parish re-energized the building committee and undertook a capital campaign.
"What started out as a rigorous campaign to raise an additional $250,000 to match the $100,000 in the bank from just 32 pledging families ended up, when the last light bulb was installed, being a $600,000 endeavor," said Joann Collins, the campaign director. "Grading expenses and building materials cost more than many of us anticipated, but God is good, and the monies kept pouring, though, and now we have a beautiful church debtfree. I know this all happened because we believed in the dream and the dream was infectious. Friends and family from all across the country sent in contributions, and we are forever grateful."
'Standing room only'
The congregation broke ground in the spring of 2006, and the new church was consecrated on the Feast of St. Thomas, Dec. 21, 2006. "It was standing room only," recalled Robbie Robertson, parishioner and on-sight liaison with the contractor. "We had over 200 people join us in a space that officially seats 100. It was a great evening to celebrate all of our hard work."
Indeed, most members contributed sweat equity to the final phase of the building effort, painting, laying tile, staining the pine boards for the ceiling, landscaping and even hand-crafting the cherry altar.
Yancey County is one of the fastestgrowing communities for Latino families in North Carolina, and this parish family wants to reach out to all and invite them in. While the church community was raising money and then literally helping build the new church, it also started a Saturday English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) class for Latinas who couldn't attend weeknight classes because there wasn't anyone to watch their children.
This spring, several Latino families approached the vestry and rector, seeking support for a First Communion class for their children. The local Catholic church couldn't meet this pastoral need, and St. Thomas could. Two lay leaders taught the classes and prepared the 12 children to receive the sacrament.
Taylor's annual visit fell on Father's Day. The church was filled with the laughter of children, the welcoming chatter of long-time parishioners and newcomers and the clanging of dishes as the kitchen crew prepared a feast for all. St. Thomas Church is truly "un pueblo con ventanas abiertas" — a people clear in their mission to be a place of radical hospitality, transparent in their love of Jesus and full of joyful light.
Resources
Try these locations for resource materials and further reading
Lectionary resources in Spanish available through Episcopal Books & Resources: search for leccionario
The Heart of Christianity by Marcus J. Borg Amazon (HarperOne: 2004)
Vital Statistics
Congregation: St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Location: Burnsville, N.C., Diocese of Western North Carolina, Province IV
Average Sunday Attendance: 60
Year founded: 1993
Current leadership structure/staff: part-time interim priest; part-time organist; part-time office assistant
Search
Browse by Topic:
