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- The Little Brown Church
in the Wildwood
The First Ninty
Years of Union Chapel in Summertown
- Walden, Tennessee
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Author |
- Karen Paul Stone
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Publisher |
- Waldenhouse
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Description |
- Casebound; 350 pages; 6"x9"
$25.00
82 photographs and illustrations; Index
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Availability |
September 1998 |
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Order from |
- Karen Stone at Waldenhouse Publishers,
Inc.
- 100 Clegg Street
- Walden (Signal Mt.), TN 37377
- 423-886-2721 888-222-8228
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The
year 1908 brought an important addition to the Summertown community
of Waldens Ridge above Chattanooga in Tennessee. A group of summer-time
residents constructed a small building with the name of Union
Chapel, that soon thereafter came to be known as The Little Brown
Church in the Wildwood. This latter name was lifted from a song
in the Cokesbury Worship Hymnal titled The Church in the Wildwood.
A prominent resident of Summertown, Robert Henry Williams, altered
the wording and it became the Union Chapel's theme song.
This book tells the story of the small, but loyal, congregation
of the Little Brown Church, that meets only during the months
of June, July and August each year, as it has ever since it was
founded. But there is much more involved than the bare facts
of its history .
In a world that is caught up in a sticky tangle of sweeping changes,
social, technical and economic, with all the accompanying stress
and bewilderment, this tiny chapel, hidden in the green woodland
of one of the oldest settlements on Walden's Ridge, is a quiet
oasis of traditional and unchanging values. It's a voluntary
association of the young, the middle aged, and the old, who wish
to hold fast to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, regardless
of denomination and is an example of communal sharing that is
highly familial.
On Sunday mornings as the weekly message is being delivered to
the adults, the children are sent to classes downstairs or out
in the yard.The songs sung are those of long ago: the thumping,
rollicking enthusiasm of Revive Us Again, or Love Lifted Me,
or Beulah Land, alternate with the haunting melodies and lyrics
of In the Garden or The Old Rugged Cross, or Amazing Grace.
Best of all is the happy inclusion and enthusiastic participation
of the youngest children, who pass the baskets for the collection,
or run up and down the only aisle, or sit in the windows -and
at the end of the service, as the congregation unites in singing
The Little Brown Church in the Wildwood, they come forward to
tug on the rope that rings the church bell, telling all on the
mountain and in the world that the Little Brown Church is alive
and well. Nature itself participates: the birds are caroling
in the leafy branches outside; the horses and ponies tethered
to the trees, neigh and nicker; and the friendly dogs trot in
and out and up and down the aisle, happily wagging their tails.
The whole of creation seems to join in!
Memories built here last lifetimes. Whether it be in the cool
fresh green and gold of early June, or the brassy heat of July,
or as the leaves begin to turn in late August, the Little Brown
Church is a precious symbol of faith in God, family, and Things
Eternal. This book tells its life story ...up to now! |
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- About the author:
- Karen
Paul Stone lives with her husband, Charlie, in the little Town
of Walden, Tennessee. She has been documenting history since
1965 when she completed her first oral history project. A student
of the well known folklorist, Dr. William Hugh Jansen at the
University of Kentucky, she recorded stories on Place Names
of Walden's Ridge.
- Beginning
in 1971, she operated the typesetting and composition departments
of Ashland Press and of Transylvania Printing Company in Lexington,
KY. There she collaborated with authors in graphic design, composition
and editing to produce books, guides, maps, and art prints of
historical interest.
- She
has collaborated on several memoirs. Recent books she has authored
include: Educating for Eternity - A History of Boyd-Buchanan
School and Walden's Ridge - Early Years of the Community.
Ongoing projects are: The WaitList - Dark Truth of the
Organ Procurement Business and Alheimer's Alters All -
Three Women Cope with Caregiving Stress.
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Waldenhouse Publishers, Inc., 100
Clegg St., Signal Mountain, TN 37377
423-886-2721 888-222-8228 Email
Us
This website is the copyrighted
property of Waldenhouse Publishers, Inc., 2004 All rights reserved
for issues with this site contact Charles Stone at Waldenhouse
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