United Church, The Chapel on the Hill, Oak Ridge, TN

The United Church, Chapel on the Hill is the first church constructed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee upon the initiation of this city as a part of the Manhattan Project. The original building, which was designed and built as a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 700 series U.S. Army chapel, [ [http://oakridgevisitor.com/history/pdf/OriginalTownSites.pdf Chapel on the Hill] in "Jackson Square – the original Townsite", Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors' Bureau] is still in use today.

History

Late in October 1943, the US military completed construction of the chapel near the main business district (Jackson Square) in Oak Ridge. The standard Army chapel was soon known to those who worked on the Manhattan Project as the “Chapel-on-the-Hill.” On September 30, 1943, it was dedicated for Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant worship. Once completed, the Chapel-on-the-Hill was turned over to the Oak Ridge churches - the United Church and the Roman Catholic Church, the only two then operating in Oak Ridge.

In the Chapel-on-the-Hill, the Protestant, the Catholic and the Jewish faiths held services. As the various denominations began to organize, the Chapel was used by all of them for weddings and practically every hour, day and night, was used for organ practice. The United Church had congregations in four locations and Sunday Schools in seven. More than 4,000 weddings were celebrated in this ecumenical chapel during its first 50 years.

The congregation that owns and uses the Chapel on the Hill traces its beginning to July 18, 1943, when 30 Christians from several denominations met for morning worship service in the west wing of the old town site cafeteria. Following the service, conducted by a young electrician from the Y-12 Plant, several members of the congregation remained to discuss the possibilities of holding services in the weeks ahead and of founding an interdenominational church. In meetings that followed, all agreed the new church should have a name that would include all denominations and would in no way tie it to any single denomination. The name finally decided upon was the "United Church".

A United Church Board and Board of Trustees were elected and assumed their duties on October 24, 1943.

A crisis faced the United Church in December 1946 when 5,000 Tennessee Eastman Corporation employees, including forty percent of the members of the United Church, were terminated. In addition, Rev. B. M. Larson, leader and organizer of the United Church, received a call to organize a new church. The matter was considered at board meetings, in the homes, on the street corners. The final decision to maintain the United Church was based on:
# The experience of worshiping, studying and serving with people of various denominations was enriching and challenging
# There would never be enough people in Oak Ridge from some denominations to form a strong church and these people could find a “church home” in the United Church without having to give up their own particular religious beliefs
# Those couples where the husband was from one denomination and the wife from another could find a common “church home” within the United Church—without giving up their particular denominational beliefs if they preferred to retain them

The United Church Board approved the motto, “Where People from All Denominations Meet in Their Differences, but Are One in Their Search for God.” On May 11, 1955 the United Church purchased the Chapel from the Government. The Chapel was renovated, an education building was constructed and a nursery school was established. Today, the United Church continues as a non-denominational Christian Community of Faith which embraces ecumenism. Because of the historic significance to Oak Ridge’s religious community, the Chapel-on-the-Hill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Today

The Rev. Dr. Randy Hammer suceeded the Rev. Dr. Boyd Carter in July 2008 to lead the church's ministry. Dr. Carter retired after 23 years of service and has been named minister emeritus. Dr. Hammer returned to his east Tennessee roots from service to a United Church in Albany, New York. The Church's philosophies formed by its historical roots are conducive to the growth in spirituality and philosophies of interdenominationalism, liberal Christianity, and progressive Christianity including those put forth by religious leaders such as The Right Rev. Dr. John Shelby Spong who has spoken there.

References

External links

* [http://www.thechapelonthehill.org The United Church, Chapel on the Hill]