VER 100 YEARS AGO A MERE HANDFUL OF EPISCOPALIANS joined together in Morristown to form All Saints' Church. A priest from Knoxville agreed to come monthly by horse and buggy to conduct worship services for them. The congregation rented a hall over a storefront on Main Street and filled it with chairs and an altar. This was the first Episcopal worship space in Morristown.
In the early 1890's, the tiny congregation acquired the first segment of the present building site for $500 for which they paid $100 down and $100 a year. To pay off their land debt and to finance their first church building, the women of the church sold baking powder, flavoring extracts, and spices from a horse drawn carriage that traveled the countryside. Their efforts produced only enough funds to lay a foundation and a cornerstone. Unfortunately, the cornerstone was stolen before the building could be erected.

Through much perseverance and the Grace of God, the first Episcopal Church building in Morristown was eventually completed and dedicated by Bishop Gailor on the third Sunday after Trinity in 1902. But after WWI, the congregation dwindled to only two families and Bishop Maxon had to close the church. For a time, the building was leased to the Seventh Day Adventists.

The development of Tennessee Valley Authority projects during the Great Depression is credited with bringing enough new Episcopalians to the area to warrant reopening the church in the late 1930's. During the time the church had stood vacant, vandals had set a fire that resulted in extensive damage. Once again, the women of the church led the fund-raising efforts by selling a variety of Appalachian craft items. After restoration of the sanctuary, this effort led to the establishment of a fund for stained glass windows.

During these years the Rev. Eric Greenwood came from Greenville to celebrate the Eucharist and All Saints' first pipe organ was installed. It is said that the Rev. Greenwood often preached, celebrated, sang and played the organ during services. He later went on to play a role in the formation of the 1982 Hymnal.

In spite of the still small membership, All Saints' called its first resident vicar in 1947. Legend has it that the vicarage occupied by the Rev. Sauls had formerly housed a bootlegger's operation. Former customers, unaware of the new resident, called at the vicarage in person and by phone all hours of the night, until word spread that the "holy water" was not quite the same.

The first midnight Christmas Eve service in Morristown was held at All Saints' in 1947. The entire community was invited; the service included organ music, carols, guest soloists, and the celebration of Holy Communion. The service was also broadcast over radio station WCRK. To the present day, All Saints' has a reputation in Morristown for the beauty of its annual midnight celebration of Christ's birth.

All Saints' Day School (ASDS) opened its doors to nursery school students in the fall of 1967, offering the first quality preschool education in a Christian environment in Morristown. From its very conception, professional educators ran the Day School as a school, not as a day care facility. Immediate growth demanded the addition of a Kindergarten class the very next year.

All Saints' achieved Parish status in 1968. That same year, All Saints' distinguished itself as a progressive parish when the membership elected the first female vestry member in the Diocese of Tennessee.

Our semi-annual Bar-B-Que was born as part of the Hamblen County Centennial Celebration in 1970 and continues to this day to be a central tradition in the life of All Saints', providing funds for the church's outreach programs both locally and through the diocese.

When the original church building was declared structurally unsound, the church proper moved into the newly completed parish hall while a new church rose on the original site. Our handsome church was dedicated and consecrated at a celebration of the Holy Eucharist on September 30, 1979 with the Rt. Rev. William Sanders, Bishop of the Diocese of Tennessee as celebrant.

In the mid-eighties ASDS expanded to include classes up to the fourth grade and acquired the Boxmoor property on Second North Street in order to house the additional classrooms. In the early-nineties the school continued its expansion to its current pre-K through eighth grade classes. All Saints' priests had always served as both rector of the parish and headmaster of the school, until the growth of both organizations led to the hiring of a full-time headmaster in 1996. ASDS grew so dramatically in the late-nineties that the church purchased over 40 acres of land located on Maple Valley Road and Hwy 160. All Saints' Church and ASDS became separately incorporated in the year 2000. ASDS incorporated under the new name All Saints' Episcopal School (ASES).

After 18 months of planning and fundraising by our ECW and choir members, and countless special rehearsals, our All Saints' Choirs made a memorable pilgrimage to sing God's praises at the Washington National Cathedral during the prelude to a service honoring the State of Tennessee on October 27th, 2002. Five All Saints' members also participated as presenters during that service. Our choirs and all the All Saints' family who accompanied them were also privileged to hear the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral as guest preacher on that day. The pilgrimage was full of memories that will last a lifetime.

This summary of our history is only a mere listing of some of the past events and growth of our diverse parish. Much more color and interesting details can be found in our creatively and carefully preserved scrapbooks full of photos, newspaper clippings, programs, and many other such memorabilia from our varied life together as a church family.

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