Right underneath its logo on the St. Paul's Episcopal Church website is the phrase "Our doors are always open."
Quite literally, its sanctuary doors are. The nearly 200-year-old church, the oldest in Franklin, has kept its sanctuary open to the public all day, every day since 1831. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, while churches across Tennessee closed their doors and broadcast sermons online, St. Paul's has maintained its open-door legacy.
The Rev. Rusty McCown said though the topic of closing the sanctuary did come up in vestry meetings, the church made the decision to keep the sanctuary open during the pandemic because it anticipated the community may need the sanctuary even more at this time.
"It’s a respite for people to come in," McCown said. "We've always had tourists who come in town who like to come in and see the church, as well as people who like to pray and meditate. Especially during this time of the pandemic, people need that."
While the sanctuary doors remained open, St. Paul's took all of its services online on March 15, when stay-at-home orders were enacted across the country. He explained that the church made this decision based on gathering size.
"We knew one or two people might come into the sanctuary, but there would be no gatherings," McCown said. "There were no funerals, no weddings, or anything of the like, but people could still come in on a solo basis."
To prevent the potential of coronavirus spread, the church is cleaned by a professional cleaning service once a week, Church Administrator Shannon Buttrey said.
She said the church has received many notes of gratitude from congregants and community members in response to its open-door policy.
"We’ll get letters from people thanking us, saying that they came at 10 o'clock at night, or firefighters that have had a bad night and have been able to come into the sanctuary and pray during the evening. They really appreciate it," Buttrey said.
Buttrey said St. Paul's expected to see an increase in the flow of traffic into the sanctuary after closing weekly church services, but said if anything, traffic has decreased.
Over the years, several homeless people have stayed overnight in the sanctuary. The church also operates a food pantry, with nonperishable items available for pickup by anyone who needs them. Both have continued during the pandemic, though Buttrey said she's seen a decrease in food pantry usage and has not gotten any requests since the pandemic began.
"We actually have not seen a big change, ironically," Buttrey said. "We thought we would. But we have not seen an increase in flow, I think because people are not outside as often."
The church began offering in-person services June 7 for the first time since March 15, with an online reservation system for attendants to let the church know whether they will attend in person or continue to stream the service from home. Buttrey said cleanings increased to twice weekly or more.
Hymnals and any books or commonly touched objects were removed, and congregants were required to wear masks and have their temperatures taken before entering the church. Pews were marked off for social distancing with an overflow room to ensure everyone who wanted to attend in person was able to.
Other church ministries, like women's groups and Bible studies, remain online. The church will offer virtual Vacation Bible School for children this summer.
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June 22, 2020 at 05:17PM
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Franklin church has kept doors open for almost 200 years. Coronavirus didn't change that - The Tennessean
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