EPISCOPALIANS OPEN THE TOWN'S FIRST CHURCH
"Ministering in Pulaski since 1875"
The few Episcopalians living in Pulaski County in the 1870’s were determined to
establish a church. Episcopal churches had been built in the communities of New River (St.
John’s) and Dublin (Emmanuel Christ), but these churches survived only a few years. The
Pulaski Episcopalians would gather in the homes of fellow Episcopalians for worship. In 1875, a
charter for an Episcopal Church was obtained from the Diocese of Virginia.
In 1879, Robert D. Martin, a Presbyterian (and an ancestor of current member Lydia
Jordan Hickam), gave land at Martin’s Tank (present day Pulaski) on which to build an Episcopal
Church. The church, then known as Macgill Memorial Chapel, was built on the old Draper’s
Valley Road that crossed Draper’s Mountain. Eventually the road became Valley Street in
Pulaski. The old church, since remodeled as a residence, still stands there but bears little
resemblance to the original church.
The Episcopal Church at Martin’s Tank began as something of an ecumenical movement.
The land was given by a Presbyterian, and the original six trustees of the church included two
Episcopalians, three Presbyterians, and one Methodist. They were James Macgill and R.M.
Patterson, Episcopalians; John S. Draper, Sr., L.S. Calfee, and William T. Hart, Presbyterians; and
J.B. Caddell, a Methodist.
For some years, the old church remained the only church in the village. With clergy
seldom in residence, everyone attended services without much regard to whose Order of
Worship was used.
In 1877, the Rev. George Gibbs came to serve as Rector of Macgill Chapel. He served
the parish until 1880. During the 1880’s and 1890’s, Pulaski Parish was served by a number of
priests who served for a short time and then moved on.
The congregation grew slowly during the early 1880’s, but as new industries brought in
people from England and Wales, many of the newcomers who had ties to the Anglican Church
joined the Episcopal parish in Pulaski. In 1893, under the guidance of then rector, Rev. George
Gordon Smeade, the decision was made to build a new church in the growing residential area
of the town. Land was purchased on Sixth Street, N.W. in Pulaski (site of the present Head Start
program) and building began. Unfortunately, the building of the new church coincided with the
Panic of 1893. That financial disaster delayed the project, and the building stood unused while
the vestry sought funds to complete payment to the builder. This delay lasted until confidence
was restored in the financial system.
In 1897, the debt was cleared, and on an October Saturday, a fire was lit in the furnace of the
new church in preparation for the first service the next day. Unfortunately, that fire somehow
spread and destroyed the building, a loss not only to the congregation but also to the entire
town.
The never-say-die congregation continued to worship in their little church on Valley
Street and looked forward to again having a new church building. The growing congregation
remained active and on September 27, 1908, the cornerstone of the present Christ Church was
laid by C.J. Leache, Senior Warden, the Rev. Luke H. White, Rector, and Bishop Beverely D.
Tucker.
The first service, conducted by Rev. White with a sermon delivered by Bishop Tucker, was on
March 7, 1909, with a choir comprised of members from Christ Church, Blacksburg, and the
V.P.I. Glee Club. Bishop Alfred M. Randolph consecrated Christ Church on May 13, 1913 during
the tenure of Rev. Charles A. E. Marshall.
Stories abound of parish activities during those years: parties at Claremont (the Macgill home),
picnics at Laurel Church, a country church where fried chicken was brought in washtubs lined
with homespun linen, and the proverbial 20 kinds of pies and cakes. In the winter, the owner of
the Greek Restaurant carried a steaming pot of oyster stew to the rectory each week for the
Sunday night dinner.
Christ Episcopal Church, from its beginning as the only church in town, has always taken an
active role in the community life of Pulaski. During the “Spanish Influenza” that struck in 1918,
Christ Church, under the leadership of Rev. Thomas F. Opie, organized a kitchen staff and
delivery crew to deliver broth and toast to the sick, and food to the workers. The infirmary, set
up in the Elk’s Club, was supervised and staffed by four nurses who were Christ Church
parishioners. The epidemic ended around mid-October, but our small town of 5,000 suffered
92 deaths.
During the era of Prohibition, an amusing incident occurred at Christ Church and became the
talk of the town for long afterward. Communion wine was not stored at the church, but at the
home of the altar chairwoman. On a fateful Sunday, she reached hurriedly into the cabinet and
unknowingly retrieved the wrong bottle. The rector did not recognize the bottle’s contents as
“white lightning,” but his parishioners did. Nevertheless, they partook of the Common Cup,
being devoted churchgoers.
In 1923, Christ Church, under the leadership of Rev. Jeffrey Alfriend, built a large Parish House
on Main Street (the present Allen Health Care Services Building) to provide a meeting place for
the community to use for meetings and various activities from basketball games to flower
shows and movies. There was a large gymnasium, a stage, a movie projection room, and a large
well-equipped kitchen. The Parish Hall was sold in 1926 or 1927.
In 1930, an old brick building across the alley from the church was purchased, revived, and
served as the Parish Hall until around 1936 when the American Pigment Co. opened its first
plant in Hiwassee and brought a number of Episcopal families to the area. The increase in
activities made it necessary to consider a new Parish Hall. An easement to relocate the alley
was obtained, the old Parish Hall was demolished, and the present Parish Hall was built as an
extension of the church building.
In 1950-1954, George Holmes served as rector. During his term, the Boar’s Head Dinner was
instituted. It was a social event for the men of the parish and their guests. It featured a
traditional Yule log, steaming wassail toasts, the flourish of trumpets, and the roast suckling pig,
head and all.
John Campbell served as rector from 1956-1968 during the time when the needlework project
of the Kneelers was undertaken by the women as a memorial for Hazel Raflo. In 1960 the office
wing and nursery upstairs were added and a Hospital Chaplaincy Program was established.
John was also the first rector to wear Eucharistic Vestments. In 1967, Bette Rooker became the
first woman to serve on vestry.
Hugh White served from 1968-1971. It was then that the altar was moved out from the wall
and priest and people faced each other during the Eucharist. During Hugh’s term, Christ
Church’s membership topped 200 and a third delegate to annual Council was possible. This
status remained until the mid-1970’s.
Rev. J. Gary Gloster led the parish during the 1970’s and was instrumental in establishing
Mental Health Services in the New River Valley. Lydia Hickam was the first woman Lay Reader
commissioned for Christ Church, and the first female acolytes served at the altar.
Christ Church’s Wednesday Morning Outreach Breakfast had its beginning in 1988 under the
guidance of Rev. Hillary J. Smits, who served from 1985-1990. The tiles on the Nave Roof were
also refurbished and replaced during Hillary’s term.
In the early 1990’s, during the tenure of Rev. Steven R. Weston, a special outreach ministry
team to serve the residents of the Atrium Apartments (present day Blue Grass Apartments) was
established. Christ Church “adopted” the community and provided food and fun for the
residents. Steve was also instrumental in the establishment of the Pulaski County Emergency
Needs Task Force, which continues today aiding Pulaski Country residents in need.
In 1996. Rev. Vickie L. Houk was called to be Rector of Christ Episcopal Church. Vickie was
Christ Church’s first female priest. During her tenure, an Adult Basic Education Program began
meeting in the Parish Hall. The food pantry also was expanded, and a Pastoral Care Fund began
providing emergency utility and medical care needs to residents of the community. Also during
Vickie’s tenure, the annual “Christmas in July” service began, a “Reverse Gift-Giving” service
that gathered food and funds for the food pantry and Pastoral Care Fund. Vickie also instituted
an annual “Blessing of the Animals” service in early October.
Christ Church was unable to call a full-time rector after Vickie Houk retired, but the church has
had many good supply priests and has relied on the Lay Readers to conduct Morning Prayer
services on those Sundays without priests. Currently small in number but large in faith, the
parish has continued serving the community during the Covid pandemic and has hopes for the
future, both of itself and the town of Pulaski.