The Little-Known Church Hiding In Tennessee That Is An Absolute Work Of Art
By Meghan Kraft|Published February 09, 2022
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Meghan Kraft
Author
Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.
The town of Rugby, Tennessee has one of the most fascinating histories in the state. The small Victorian village is located between Knoxville and Crossville, atop the famed Cumberland Plateau. The town was an experiment of sorts, an attempt to create a Utopian society in the American South. The town was dedicated and founded by Thomas Hughes, a British author, and social philosopher, and his dream for the area was that it would become an agriculturally-focused, Christian society that operated outside of the class distinctions found in his home country of Britain. Christ Church Episcopal has operated in the town of Rugby almost since its inception, and it remains an active church to this day.
The first vestry for Christ Church Episcopal in Rugby was established by Bishop Charles Todd Quintard, the Second Bishop of Tennessee. In fact, the afternoon that the Rugby Colony held its opening ceremonies, Methodist minister Joseph Blacklock was invited to serve as a lay reader. He eventually became the first resident priest in the parish. It’s fascinating to think that the church began in tandem with the town of Rugby!
Before the actual church building was constructed, the congregation began worship services on the second floor of the local schoolhouse. Christ Church eventually became one of the foundational points of worship in the town and a focus for local community life. The church building as it can be visited today was eventually built in 1887.
Here you can see a photograph of the church and its congregants in 1951. It doesn’t look like much has changed, does it? If you fleshed out the photograph with a little bit of color, you’d never know this was taken so long ago!
Inside you’ll find that the original interior has been well maintained and preserved. The church benefits the town of Rugby by fostering a faith-filled community that serves through worship and local fellowship.
You would have a clear view of the front of the church, pictured here, if you were seated amidst the congregation on Sunday morning at Christ Church Episcopal. Services are held every Sunday at 11 a.m. EST, and it is followed by both refreshments and fellowship in the parish hall. You'll be treated like a part of the community from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave, and it makes the church truly one of a kind.
Make sure you keep an eye out for the stained-glass windows that dot the building. When the light shines through the glass into the sanctuary it makes the entire space look shimmery and bright. The church is the center of the Rugby community, small as it may be, and the beauty of the historic space only adds to the experience.
If you visit Rugby, you’ll find quite a few Victorian buildings and homes throughout the town, but it’s the church that really looks like it’s been taken straight from a fairy tale. The "utopian" experiment in Rugby was an eventual failure, and the town that peaked at 350 residents dwindled to roughly 70. If you visit on a Sunday morning you’ll join roughly 25 other folks as they begin the week with worship.
What a beautiful church! Did you know that Christ Church Episcopal in Rugby, Tennessee was so magical? You can learn more about it either at its official website here or Facebook page.
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