In October 2003, six people gathered in a home for worship and conversation about the possibility of starting a new church. Sharing the conviction that more than a church with rigid answers, people need a safe place to ask questions, the six spoke in terms of a church prepared to confront the issues and concerns of the day and committed to interpreting the Christian life as a journey of faith. At a second meeting on November 12, the group decided to go forward with gathering a church and chose the name Ekklesia, the New Testament Greek word for church, signifying the gathered people or more literally, those called out.
The group extended an invitation to Larry and Carolyn Dipboye to join the venture; and on Sunday afternoon, January 4, 2004, the Dipboyes and Rodney Parrish conducted the congregation's first public worship service in the sanctuary of the First Christian Church with about forty people in attendance. The Dipboyes accepted ongoing responsibility for preaching, pastoral care, and education; and Rodney Parrish focused on worship music.
The church developed under the guidance of a Steering Committee that included the original six, plus the Dipboyes. The congregation continued to meet for Sunday afternoon worship at First Christian Church and gathered periodically in homes following the service. Following an Ash Wednesday service at the home of the Dipboyes, the church began to meet regularly in homes on Wednesday evenings for meals, prayer and continued conversation.
After meeting for several months, the congregation made several landmark decisions. We located a suitable building and celebrated our first worship service at 100-C Adams Lane on Sunday, August 15. We agreed upon the name Grace Covenant Church of Oak Ridge and drew up founding documents–our Covenant of Grace and Constitution and Bylaws–to articulate our original vision of a socially inclusive church with an open, inquiring faith. In keeping with that vision, we chose an interdenominational affiliation with the International Council of Community Churches and the Alliance of Baptists.
The church continues to reside at 100 Adams Lane. A quiet, attractive space, far enough removed from the busy Oak Ridge Turnpike to offer a peaceful setting, it has served us well in our years of formation. Having spoken of ourselves from the beginning as being temporarily tabernacled in each of the locations in which we have met, the congregation of Grace Covenant is committed to maintaining an identity that resides not in a physical location but in the deep bonds of friendship and service that unite us in Christ.
Perhaps it is because we are still so young as a congregation that Grace Covenant Church steps into the future very much aware that we are a work in progress. Whether, however, our fellowship is 6 years of age or 106 years of age, we are committed to maintaining our character as "an unfinished people of faith." As we acknowledge in our Covenant, we have not come together "in absolute knowledge or possession of the truth, but as pilgrims assisting one another on the journey." We welcome you to join us in what we are experiencing as the journey of a lifetime.
