In the mid 1950s Frederika Sargeant, a cradle Episcopalian transplanted from Vermont, sought to launch a parish in Burnsville. The group named themselves St. Thomas and gathered on Sunday nights in members’ homes for Evening Prayer. Although that group survived only a few years, we adopted their name because they were our beginning. In 1993 a group of Burnsville residents active in Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Mars Hill, with the blessing and encouragement of Bishop Bob Johnson, started to build St. Thomas anew in the only Western North Carolina county without an Episcopal church. Maggie and Dave Zurbrick, Jean Schindel, Rev. Barry Kramer, and Deacon Bill Thomsen accepted leadership roles in the creation of our mission. They worked, prayed, handled the logistics, and produced our first service on Mothers’ Day, May 1993, at the American Legion Hall on Robertson Street. More than 40 well-wishers and potential members joined in celebrating the Eucharist that day. We grew slowly, our membership composed primarily of retirees moving from other areas of the country, to live in these beautiful mountains. We were blessed with committed and enthusiastic leadership from Rev. J. Barry Kramer, our first priest-in-charge, and David Zurbrick, who chaired our Bishop’s Committee. A lot of energy and caring were poured into the pioneering days of St. Thomas by all the members of our congregation.

By November 1996, having achieved the required membership of 40 confirmed, pledging persons, we advanced from mission status to the status of parish at the Diocesan Convention. We were pleased, proud, and very excited about our future. From our beginning, the parish has been truly committed to outreach. We regularly give 20 percent of our annual income to local nonprofit organizations and to support the work of the diocese. We also developed an ongoing relationship with an Episcopal school and a health clinic in Honduras, and we supported three mission trips to provide medical services in La Ceiba, Honduras. Looking to the future, in 1996 we began to search for land for our own building plot within the city limits that could someday be the site of our own sacred space. The opportunity to purchase four and a half hillside acres came our way. Thanks to the great generosity of Barbara Walters, and help from the diocese, our tiny congregation was able to acquire the site. It would be ten years before construction would begin.

In the meantime, the American Legion Hall continued to be home for St. Thomas. We were gifted with an antique altar and an excellent piano, both of which we mounted on casters. Every Sunday we rolled them out, set up chairs and tables, held the service, took things down and rolled away our “sanctuary.” We built a sacristy cupboard in the ladies’ room. In 1998 we remodeled the basement of the American Legion Hall so that we had a St. Thomas nursery, a classroom, and an office space.

In 1997 Barry Kramer returned to his work with the deaf parishioners in the diocese. Our vestry approached the diocese and requested a subsidy to make it possible for us to engage a full-time priest.

They agreed to assist us for a three-year period, and we called the Rev. Thomas Niehaus to become our first full-time rector. Tom and his wife, Julie, provided leadership for St. Thomas for seven years until Tom’s retirement in 2004. During Tom’ s tenure, we launched a wide range of education programs for children, youth, and adults. We began to participate as a church in community events: we built floats for the Christmas parade, fielded a regular Habitat for Humanity team, and staffed water stations for the March of Dimes run. We held community suppers to fund the Manna Food Bank and the winter fuel fund, both of which serve those in need in our hometown. Tom also spearheaded ecumenical activities with Burnsville’s mainline churches. We have been, and continue to be , a lively and committed group that does the Lord’ s work -- both in our community and in the world—out of roportion to our small numbers.

In early 2005, following an exploratory study on sharing clergy with Trinity Episcopal Church in
Spruce Pine, it became clear the our two church families would do better to remain separate. We forged ahead and, following the rector search process, called the Rev. Augusta Anderson to be our new part-time rector. Augusta, the mother of a growing band of children, brought energy and focus to our congregation, along with spiritual leadership. She shared our vision of a church building of our own, and encouraged us to move forward and make our sacred space a reality. Under the inspiring and determined leadership of Joann Collins, our building campaign was launched in the spring of 2005. Building on a $100,000 base, which we had been accumulating for many years, we set $375,000 as our target. Our small parish family gave with extraordinary generosity, generating over $250,000, and the diocese provided a combination gift and loan totaling $50,000. But while we were fundraising, construction costs were escalating rapidly; grading estimates came in at more than double our budget. Stopped in our tracks, we revisited options and prayed with all our might. Joann encouraged us to write friends, family, foundations, and other parishes in the diocese to invite them to support our dream. And they did. An anonymous donor blessed us with a gift of $100,000; other friends sent us nearly another $100,000, making it possible for us to break ground in the spring of 2006. Parishioner Robbie Robertson took on the giant task of Project Manager.

He coordinated the work of builders and volunteers with extraordinary patience and grace. Our members offered their time and skills to help hold costs down, providing hundreds of volunteer hours painting, tiling, staining, landscaping, overseeing the grading, designing the interior, and selecting the furnishings. Total cost of our handsome, holy space came in at $600,000.

On December 21, 2006, our wonderful church home was consecrated with a standing room only crowd. Visitors from a group of Christian congregations in Burnsville presented us with a Bible. Bishop Porter Taylor led the service of celebration and dedication. We rejoiced and gave thanks to God and all the benefactors who contributed to bringing this sacred space into being. The old adage “if you build it, they will come” has proved to be true. In 2007 our congregation has
experienced a fine new growth spurt. Our annual stewardship campaign this fall produced a new high in both pledgers and pledged dollars. We reached out to our Latino community by offering both English as a Second Language classes to mothers needing childcare during class, and a First Communion class to prepare young people for confirmation. The Episcopal Church Women gifted us with a generous grant to help finish our downstairs and create education and meeting rooms. Parents have organized and launched Godly Play as our curriculum for our youngest members.

In early summer 2007, Augusta Anderson retired to prepare for her fourth child and devote full-time attention to her family. Since then, we have focused on the work of searching for a new rector, with many parishioners actively involved in all facets of the process. We are being very ably led during this period by our interim clergy, the Rev. Robert Reese, and his wife, Jeanette, who is our deacon. Collectively, we are looking forward to new leadership for St. Thomas, confident that we will continue to grow as a Christ-centered congregation, reaching out in love to serve one another, our community, and our world.