Richard Edgerton
I was always aware of the Methodist Church on the corner of McFarland Road and Lula Lake, and not just because I lived right across the street. I could have lived anywhere, and as long as I was within pealing distance of the Fairyland business district on Lookout Mountain, I would have known of the church. At noon, on the hour, church bells ring, playing hymns and during the holidays, Christmas carols.
Besides the lovely lunchtime chimes, there was something magical about looking out my kitchen window at night and seeing the beautiful steeple lit up and welcoming.
But I didn't know this picturesque church was in trouble. "We're in a fight for our survival," long time member Richard Edgerton says. "Our membership is so low we're not sure we'll be able to keep our doors open!"
Apparently, June 2013 will be the month of reckoning. "New pastors are assigned every June, and if the Lookout Mountain United Methodist Church can't sustain itself, there's a possibility we will have to close the doors," Mr. Edgerton says. Mr. Edgerton, a ninety-one year old WWII veteran, was a pilot in the war and worked in 42 countries as an agricultural engineer. He and his wife fell in love with Chattanooga on a trip through and bought the Warner house near Warner Park. They spent six years restoring both the historic home and nine of the ten fireplaces. "We moved to Lookout Mountain when we decided we were ready to be warm," he jokes. He lost his wife a couple of years ago, and this church is very important to him. "It's the people I would miss the most," he says.
This church has had a long struggle with a low membership, but the current count of just over two dozen parishioners is an all time low. With a history of young student pastors barely out of seminary, the church has been in need of firm guidance for decades.
New pastor Ambrose Havey moved to Chattanooga this past summer with his wife, Sandra, who is a manager at TVA. They are happy to be closer to their daughter in Oak Ridge, but the Reverend Havey feels a certain pressure. The truth is, he only has a few months to completely turn this church around. A former hospice chaplain in Fort Worth, Tex., he believes this church has lost its way over the years, and is lacking a mission. "I think the pastors before me were good, but since they were so young they never really realized the trouble the church was in," he says. Ambrose believes people are half human and half spirit, and that the human part, the side that focuses on jobs and houses and cars, is well tended to. But the spirit side is often forgotten. "Every family has problems, and they seem to be getting larger and larger. People have lost touch with their spiritual side," he says. And if the members will trust him, he intends on fostering that reconnection.
He knows that trust is not something that comes automatically, and is aware that it must be earned. But he only has a short time to accomplish this with his congregation. "I think this church has lost its spark of life along with its mission, and it needs healing," Ambrose says.
Since he's been at the Lookout Mountain United Methodist Church, only a handful of people are scattered in the pews. "We can hold two hundred and fifty people in the church," Mr. Edgerton says, remembering the days the church was full of life. Now the only time there is an acolyte is when Reverend Havey's granddaughter is visiting, because she's the almost the only young adult attending.
There's probably no one better to heal and nourish brokenness in this church than a man who not only acknowledges our spiritual make-up, but has experience restoring souls. He is warm and funny and very appealing, and I believe Reverend Havey will breathe life into this ailing church. And that very soon the church bells will ring out victoriously for everyone who can hear.
ferris@waldenloghomes.com