Copyright © 2004 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee

Bishop breaks ground at Grace Point

By Sharon Rasmussen
Communication Director

A reading at the groundbreaking service for the first ‘treehouse’ dormitory at Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center Dec. 10 had everyone chuckling. Henry Lodge, a member of Bishop and Council and of the Grace Point Board of Managers, paused as he read from Genesis, “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place ...’”

That day, the waters certainly seemed gathered right here in East Tennessee after days of rain — and dark skies threatened even more.

But the sun broke through briefly as Bishop Charles vonRosenberg spoke of doing things in God’s time, kairos, and the ground yielded easily to a shovel as the site was marked for planned construction of the first new public-use building at the diocesan camp and retreat center on Watts Bar Lake near Kingston, Tenn.

It’s been a while coming. The diocese purchased the 269-acre site in May 2001, and diocesan leadership has decided to initiate construction to generate revenue while looking at ways to retire debt on the property. Designated gifts already received will construct the first “treehouse.”

According to Mary Berl, diocesan administrator, the diocese used for the down payment on Grace Point $75,000 from an unrestricted endowment fund, the Patten Trust, and the diocese took out a $1.925 million commercial loan to close the purchase. Another $134,000 was borrowed soon after to install a sewer system.

An unfortunately timed capital campaign — launched just before the events of Sept. 11, 2001 — generated only limited funding, but those dollars and proceeds from the sale of other property had reduced the commercial loan balance to $630,288 by late last year.

The Patten Trust covered survey, architect and consulting fees; taxes; interest-only payments on the commercial loan; and some operating expenses — an amount totaling $594,625. Continuing operating expenses are now being paid out of the diocesan Emergency Fund, at about $30,000 each year. The diocese also borrowed $210,000 from the Opportunity Fund to construct Sunbeam House, the camp vicar’s residence.

At its December meeting, Bishop and Council accepted a committee recommendation to pay off the commercial loan with a new loan from the Opportunity Fund. A benefit of this financing shift is that diocesan interest payments will add to dollars the Opportunity Fund can loan and grant to parishes and charitable groups.

The diocese intends to repay all of these borrowed trust moneys, Berl said.

The good news is that the center’s current facilities, though limited, are being well used, from private functions to vestry retreats to Quiet Days.

In addition, a pledge from St. Paul, Chattanooga, over a 5-year period starting in 2002 will amass $500,000 to erect a chapel on the property.

In other good news, an advisory committee is working with Albert Gooch, longtime director of Kanuga Conferences, the much-beloved Episcopal camp in Hendersonville, N.C. Gooch, who retired from Kanuga in December, will consult on financial and business plans for Grace Point, ways to maximize space in current facilities, promotion and fundraising options.

Grace Point: etdiocese.net/gracepoint