It seems like such a long time ago since we first started meeting together in Pastor Young’s home in 1985. Like all congregations, we have had our wilderness stories and our stories of triumph and victory.
We are who we are today by the grace of a God that loves us, and the steadfast commitment of the members of RLC; several of whom have helped write its story from the beginning. God always promises us that there would be nothing that we could not handle if we would just place our faith in the Him. God has been and will always be, the reason there is a Resurrection Lutheran Church in Ooltewah,TN.
Here is our story...
The History of Resurrection Lutheran Church
In 1984, the Southeastern Synod of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) purchased 5 acres of land on Shallowford Road near Interstate 75 as a part of a plan to develop a new LCA congregation in the East Brainerd area. Shortly after the purchase, the Synod appointed a newly graduated seminarian, Pastor Wayne Young, as Mission Developer for the new congregation. Pastor Young immediately began a door to door canvassing of East Brainerd neighborhoods. The first service was held in early 1985 in Pastor Young’s home. Not long after, the new congregation, “boasting” a total membership of 11 people, began meeting in East Brainerd Elementary School. In December 1985 the membership grew to 12 when Leigh Anne Castleman, daughter of original members Mr. and Mrs. John Castleman was baptized; the very first baptism at the new Resurrection Lutheran Church (RLC)!
The school served was very functional and convenient place for worship, but the congregation was eager to worship in a more “traditional” atmosphere. We approached the Seventh Day Adventist church on Standifer Gap Road with a proposal to use their church building. In 1987 we began meeting in our first real church building!
Meanwhile, in February 1986 we had finally grown to a point where we could move from our Mission Church status to a fully certified ELCA church. Our charter was signed on February 26, 1989 by active members with Pastor Don Ciecielski now installed as our new full time Pastor.
At that time, we still did not have the financial resources to afford building a new church building. The new Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the LCA merged with two other Lutheran Church bodies in 1988) offered us an attractive compromise. We could put a relatively small “modular” building on our property for much less. It would be large enough to meet our current needs plus some additional capacity for short term growth. However, because of Hurricane Andrew, the demand for modular buildings increased dramatically, beyond production capacity; delivery of our building would be delayed.
In late 1991 we moved to a new temporary facility. Ascension Lutheran Church, in the East Ridge section of Chattanooga, graciously agreed to accommodate us in their church during our construction process.
In June 1992, our new modular church building was in place and we moved into our new church home. We rejoiced and celebrated. Our God who is always faithful, blessed us once again. The entire Congregation showed up to help with all kinds of chores. We hung drapes. We worked masonry. We worked on the roof. We planted trees and shrubs. Every member of the Church, from the oldest to the youngest pitched in and helped to make this our home.
We remained at our Shallowford Road address for about five years and saw continued steady growth in our membership. In the fall of 1993 Pastor Ciesielski became very ill, and was forced to retire. Several pastors in the area helped us get through those trying times. We also used lay leaders within our congregation to preach and conduct our weekly worship services. We grew in our discipleship. In 1995, Rev. Michael Bonham became our new full-time Pastor, along with his wife Kathy and their four sons
Although we continued to grow, by 1997 we were still not able to afford to build a more permanent structure on our property. We were however, beginning to “stretch” the seams of our modular home. And as always, again the Lord provided. The Hamilton Place Mall was, by then, fully operational. Those who could not find a place inside the mall sprawled out to the periphery. K-Mart moved to their brand new building right across the street from our Church. The price of properties in the neighborhood shot up dramatically. The opportunity to sell our existing property for a sizeable gain made us ask ourselves “do we have to be in this place?” We soon sold our property.
Cumberland Presbyterian Church located on East Brainerd Road had been holding services in their building for more than a hundred years. However, as their congregation had experienced little growth over the past few years they had reached a point where they no longer needed such a large building and even more importantly could not afford its upkeep. We reached an agreement whereby we would share their facility and help them with some of the costs. RLC needed a church building, and the Presbyterians needed help with their finances.
In the meantime, due to the significant profit made on the sale of our “mall” property we were able to purchase approximately 5 acres of land located on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road in Collegedale, Tennessee. The property included a small house. After the purchase of the property we began immediately to plan the construction of a permanent church building. We worshipped at the Presbyterian Church until the spring of 2000. We made plans to move from there when we were reasonably assured that the completion of our church in Collegedale was imminent. In the meantime we met in the basement of the residential building for our worship services. It was a little crowded. On certain Sundays, when the weather was agreeable, we conducted services out in the open, underneath the large oak tree right in front of the house in our blue jeans and T-shirts and baseball caps. The motorists passing by on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road saw this and slowed down to take a look at the spectacle!
Finally, our dream of our own permanent church home became reality. The construction of our present church building was completed in the summer of 2000, and was dedicated shortly thereafter. Again, we celebrated. We worked hard, as we did at the Shallowford Road facility a few years earlier, to make the new building our ‘home’. We praised God for having provided us with a new permanent place of worship.
But even as we were enjoying our new home we were faced again with another challenge, Pastor Mike Bonham informed us that he was being called to a new place of ministry. The Church Council assembled a Call Committee to begin the process of calling a new pastor. The Rev. Dee Donnelley, a retired ELCA Pastor in Atlanta, began conducting our worship services in April 2001. Pastor Donnelly nurtured us and served us well; helping us get through the transition to a new pastor.
Then, in December 2002, we were again blessed with the services of a new and brilliant pastor. Rev. David Webb, and his wife Judy, and daughter Gracie, moved into their new home in Collegedale after having taken up the position of full time pastor of the Resurrection Lutheran Church.
In 2006, Pastor Webb retired from full-time ministry. After Pastor Webb had left, we were blessed with the services of Rev. Clay Seneker, a retired Lutheran pastor from the Chattanooga area who filled our need for an interim pastor for three years.
In June of 2009 we, the members of Resurrection Lutheran Church, called our current pastor, Rev. Pauline Pezzino.
The congregation is excited. We’re growing. A new chapter is being written. Come join us, let's write it together!
Thanks to George Kurien for his research.
