Shopper Blog: Despite divisions, Methodist conference marks 200 years with focus on mission

BEARDEN

Despite divisions, Methodist conference marks 200 years with focus on mission

John Shearer, Shopper News

The United Methodist Church has been in the news locally and beyond in recent months over divisions regarding the church’s General Conference vote accepting LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings.

But amid this split and ongoing debate that has had people and churches wanting to leave or stay, the Holston Conference that covers Knoxville area United Methodist churches has also had some good news. It has turned 200 years old this year.

And as United Methodist minister the Rev. Charles Maynard recently said, these happy and soul-searching moments for the conference are connected more than one might realize.

“We were divided over slavery and divided over other things through the years, and sometimes we don’t get along with each other, but we still have the same mission – to make disciples for Jesus Christ,” he said in a recent phone interview. “And that’s what we celebrate. We are still doing that over 200 years later.”

Maynard, one of the pastors at the large Cokesbury United Methodist Church in West Knoxville and a coordinator of the conference’s bicentennial celebration, said Knoxville is very closely connected with the conference’s history. And that includes its very beginning.

He said that as Methodism was growing in the region and a decision was made to create a new conference, the first session was held at the home of Hugh Lawson White, the son of pioneer James White, near downtown.

Although a Methodist church that became Church Street United Methodist Church was located nearby just east of downtown on what became known as Methodist Hill, it proved unsuitable for an important meeting. So, Hugh L. White, a future U.S. senator whose family was affiliated with the Presbyterian church, let Bishop Robert Roberts and the group use his home as a Christian gesture of goodwill.

“He loaned his house to the bishop and the ministers because the Methodist church was too small and unheated at the end of November,” said Maynard, who has also been known locally for his storytelling passion and advocacy for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The conference was called Holston Conference because many Methodist conferences were named after nearby rivers, he said, adding that the conference stretched throughout East Tennessee and beyond as reflected by the connecting watershed.

He added that Knoxville was said to be along the Holston River at that time and that the Tennessee River’s beginning until 1890 was described as being where the Little Tennessee River flows into it at Lenoir City. With all this water, ministers also obviously did not have to travel far to get water for baptisms as the church grew!

As part of the conference’s 200 ^th celebration, Maynard said they are also trying to bring attention to the conference’s historical archives now housed at Tennessee Wesleyan University’s library in Athens.

Maynard’s committee heading the celebration has also had some archival pieces and books for display as part of a traveling exhibit. At the recent Holston Annual Conference in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, such items as a minister’s saddlebags from the days of horseback-riding circuit ministers were displayed, as were some minister’s vintage coats. Maynard said one coat belonged to Marvin Kincheloe, whom he remembered as an older pastor when he was just getting started in ministry several decades ago.

Perhaps the most interesting item was displayed simply through the words of Maynard during a talk at Annual Conference. He said that Morristown College’s founder had thought of a way to help support the Methodist school for formerly enslaved Black people and their children, so the college wrote around the world simply asking for pieces of wood.

The school got all kinds of wood, and the college made a table from it that was auctioned off twice for funds for the school at the Methodist General Conference in 1912. The table featured Methodism founder John Wesley’s words, “The World Is My Parish.” It was later given back to the school and has been in the hands of a Morristown preservation group since the college’s closing.

Maynard ended the story by quoting a bishop who was present in 1912, “May all who ever sit at this table be permitted to sit around the table of our Lord in heaven.”

Maynard added that the Holston Conference has also been active in other areas of civil rights, including gladly welcoming their first Black bishop, L. Scott Allen, in 1968, a time when full racial acceptance was still difficult.

Throughout the bumps and challenges, including the recent rift over the LGBTQ issue and people’s interpretation of its biblical implications, the Holston Conference has tried to remain true to its mission, Maynard added.

“The Methodists have been here for 200 years trying to do God’s work in this area and beyond,” he said.

KARNS

Karns is growing. Here's how newcomers can get involved

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

It’s no secret the Karns community is growing. Infrastructure and traffic problems notwithstanding, Karns is still a somewhat pastoral community where neighbors know one another.

Those new to the Karns area will find dozens of interesting activities. For those wishing to become part of the fabric of the community, there are myriad clubs that have a high impact on the quality of life of Karns.

But first, a word about the underpass.

For generations, the underpass has been the location for a Karns tradition of positive messages, birthday wishes, and prom proposals. It is one lane, so each must take their turn. And remember, it floods when raining. But it is a charming if not somewhat inconvenient fixture of Karns.

Karns Lions Club (KarnsLionsClub.com) is the definition of good neighbor. Not only does the club work to provide eyeglasses to those in need all over the globe, but the club built the Karns Community Pool in 1969 at a cost of $100,000. Many Lions members secured personal loans to help build the pool. The pool, with its renovations to make it ADA accessible with ramps and rails, provides teens with a summer job, a place to hold parties, and most assuredly a place to beat the heat. It is at 6618 Beaver Ridge Road.

The Lions Club also built an ADA accessible playground where kids with special needs can be like any other kid playing and having fun.

Looking for a place to hold a party? The Lions Club has a pavilion; the pool is available after hours.

The Community Club ( www.Karnscommunityclub.info ) has two facilities – the Community Center at 7708 Oak Ridge Highway and the Youth Center Building in the Lions Club Complex.

The Community Club meets the first Tuesday of the month at the Community Center. This organization lends a helping hand to the community at large and to other clubs’ events.

For outdoor lovers, there’s the Beaver Creek Kayak Club (find them on Facebook), which is charged with keeping Beaver Creek “Clean, Clear, and Cared for.” The 44-mile blue water trail is clear from Aubrey’s Landing in Powell to Charlie’s Launch in Karns. That’s a pleasant three-hour trek. It is the intention of BCKC to clear the entire blue way. The club holds cleanup events and an annual flotilla that brings hundreds of kayak enthusiasts. The event is well organized with volunteers launching the kayaks from ADA accessible docks.

Want to really have some fun? Join the Fair Board (KarnsFair.org). Karns is home to the longest running fair in Tennessee. With vendors galore, a country store, food trucks, games for the kids, and live music, the fair is truly the place to go to meet your Karns neighbors. The fair holds a pageant for all ages the week prior to the big event that feeds into the Tennessee Valley Fair, then a statewide competition. Both events are right around the corner with the pageant scheduled for July 13 at 5 p.m. at Beaver Ridge United Methodist Church and the fair scheduled for July 20 at 10 a.m. at Karns High School.

For additional ways to make Karns your hometown, Google:

• Forever His, an ADA camp held at Karns Church of Christ.
• Grace Boom Bash is a sizable festival culminating in a breathtaking fireworks display held at Grace Baptist Church.
• Don’t miss the Friday night lights at Karns High School. Football is a way of life in Knoxville.
• Karns Christmas Parade
• The Historic Cherokee Caverns

This list is by no means complete, but it’s enough to get a new resident started in their new life with new friends to last a lifetime.

NORTH KNOXVILLE

Northgate Plaza may get an upgrade, but not anytime soon

Jack Coker, Shopper News

You may know it as where The Concourse held its final concerts, or if you’re old enough, where the “Big K” Kmart, White Store and Winn-Dixie were.

Northgate Plaza, the large shopping strip mall at 4434 North Broadway, opened in the mid-1960s to much fanfare, but now lies mostly vacant. The United Way of Greater Knoxville, who was gifted the complex in the 1970s to support its charitable mission, is looking to change that.

Northgate Plaza was the brainchild of W. Barney Wiggins of Chattanooga and William Eugene Monday Jr., who eventually gained complete ownership of the complex. Bob Monday Jr. is the grandfather of Bob Monday IV, with whom much of Knoxville is familiar since he carried on his family’s real estate business.

This was a very large development and included rerouting a large portion of First Creek into a new bed around the property. On Nov. 15, 1977, Monday Jr. signed a Deed of Gift, conveying ownership of the development to the United Way of Greater Knoxville “to provide a permanent income for good, worthwhile, humanitarian, Christian causes.” Monday Jr. also donated 1501 Kirby Road to the United Way for similar purposes in 1986; it’s used by City Hills Church.

The plaza secured a consistent revenue stream to support the United Way’s operations. Interestingly, according to the deed of gift, if the property is not used for charitable purposes, “the Chancery Court of Knoxville … may appoint any five citizens of Knoxville of good standing, and known to be doers of charitable works” to become new administers of the property.

As time has passed, the once sparkling new, auto-oriented shopping plaza has become a behemoth of a problem. The aging structure has lost its appeal to the big-box tenants it needs to survive.

The United Way decided that it is time for an upgrade. On June 24 and 25, the organization held open-house meetings for the community to give their input. Each attendee was given a booklet to fill out while viewing five different stations that focused on not only what type of businesses or housing people want to see on the site, but what form it should be in.

While the results of the meetings have yet to be published, the trajectory of the project seems to be moving toward the mixed-use variety with middle housing, public squares, and local retailers. (Middle housing is defined as structures with multiple units that sit on a single-family lot. These can be duplexes, triplexes, townhomes or really anything that's larger than a single-family home, but smaller than a high-rise apartment.)

The meeting was led by the East Tennessee Community Design Center (ETCDC), the oldest continuously running design center in the country, according to Duane Grieve, architect and executive director.

“I was real pleased with last night. We had over 50 folks. Between the (Vols’ national championship) ballgame and the parade, I’m real happy with the turnout,” Grieve said.

ETCDC aims to make East Tennessee a better place by bringing professional design and planning assistance to communities and organizations lacking resources to acquire those services. Their past projects have included collaborative redesigns and improvement plans for Sutherland Avenue, MLK Jr. Avenue, and the Burlington area.

“One thing we want to make clear is we can’t do anything until 2030,” Grieve pointed out. However, he also highlighted that the United Way and the Mondays who still own a portion of the project area “are 100% behind” the project.

This endeavor has real potential to bring much needed goods and services to Knoxville’s more urban neighborhoods. It’s definitely a project to keep your eye on.

BEARDEN

After a winning year, CAK runner sets a course for national service

John Shearer, Shopper News

When recent Christian Academy of Knoxville graduate Joshua Cross had an opportunity to compete in the Nike Outdoor Nationals track meet in June at the famous Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, he peered into the trackside tower where Oregon greats are honored.

It was a first-floor view that mirrored the somewhat humbling experience of having to compete against the nation’s best runners after also dealing with an injury from stepping on an elevated track rail.

But in May he had more of a view from the top − of the podium at least − while winning three races at the Tennessee state Division II-A track meet in Murfreesboro and finishing fourth in another. And both views have given him inspiration as he continues his track and cross country career this fall at Division III Wheaton College near Chicago.

For Cross, the sometimes-challenging sport in which he has competed for several years is an overall fun and meaningful activity for him for multiple reasons. “I enjoy the team aspect, which is more in cross country but also in the relay,” he said over the phone. “We all have to run our best for us to win. We are all counting on each other.”

But track also has spiritual meaning for him, he added. “As a Christian, it is a form of worship in how I interact with other runners and teammates,” he said. “It’s a way I can glorify God and show His love.”

After slowly improving at the region and state levels as he went through the different grades and after having two top four finishes last year, Cross finally broke through this year under head coach Corey Rathbone with several wins.

At Middle Tennessee State University’s Dean Hayes Stadium on May 22, he started off the day with a morning win in the 3,200-meter run in a time of 9 minutes, 55 seconds. After a rest of several hours, he and teammates Andrew Mansfield, Graham Lloyd, and Talan Sturdevan won the 4-by-800 relay in a time of 8:19.01.

He also had another first-place finish in the 1,600 in 4:25.21. Despite being a little tired and feeling like he was having to compete in his own decathlon with a full day of events, he was able to muster a fourth-place finish in the 800 in 2:01.38 to close out his rewarding day.

“I was pretty pleased,” he said when summing up his day. “I was hoping to win all four races, but I think that was a pretty lofty goal. But I was happy.”

The 800 is a unique race known for drawing everyone from sprinters to more traditional long-distance runners, and he knows some of his 800 competitors had not competed in as many races as he had. But he said he has no regrets.

The son of CAK cross country and assistant track coach Doug Cross − who is leaving his position to focus on his regular full-time job − said it took a lot of work to get to that level. And that included a few long runs on his own as he tried to get a base number of miles each week as part of his training.

“Joshua really decided to step up his training the summer before his senior year, and the work eventually paid off,” his father said.

Besides the medals, getting to later take part in some higher profile meets has also been part of the rewards. He said competing at Hayward Field, where the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials have also recently taken place, was a lot of fun. That included getting to warm up and get ready both on an adjoining track and on one underneath the stadium, just like the Olympians.

“It was a really cool experience to be on that track,” he said.

While that rebuilt stadium is full of history, he has always been interested in history in general and the stories that go with the subject. That and an interest in global affairs will result in him likely studying international relations along with computer science at Wheaton.

He had some opportunities to run at larger Division II colleges but thought the academics at Wheaton combined with track were better overall with his goals and plans. His brother, Ryan, also studied international relations there, and his father ran track there.

He is hoping to serve his country by working for the National Security Administration, the State Department or the FBI. He had thought about going into Army ROTC but realized his slender runner’s frame might be better used in another area.

Cross hopes to keep battling away as a runner, though, and see how far he can go.

HALLS

Jewelry artist shares skills discovered through intuition

Al Lesar, Shopper News

While working in the hotel hospitality business, Francesca Faucette was told by two intuitive friends (who didn’t know each other) that she was destined to be an artist.

“I couldn’t draw or paint a bit,” the Fountain City resident said. “I didn’t know what they were talking about.”

Fast forward a bit when Faucette ran into one of those friends on the street.

“He asked me how my art was going,” Faucette said. “I said, ‘You’re the psychic, you tell me.’ He said my life was in a box in my closet.”

That box had brushes, paint and other art supplies, along with materials needed to make jewelry.

Faucette stumbled onto an online video that showed how wire-wrapped jewelry was made. She was beyond intrigued. She had to know more. Faucette watched more videos, but couldn’t work out an opportunity to learn in person.

“I was at a rock shop in Gatlinburg and saw the wire-wrapped bracelet that I loved,” she said.

Finding the artist in her

Faucette said the owner of the shop had made the bracelet. However, the owner was retired.

“I contacted the owner to see if she could teach me,” Faucette said. “She made sure I was serious. She said I would have to come six straight days to learn.

“I said I wanted that to change my life.”

It did. Faucette said she had so much fun those six days that she stayed for a seventh. It prepared her to follow a friend out of the hospitality industry and into the world of art shows.

“In 2001, we went to juried shows around the Southeast,” Faucette said. “With jewelry, you had to have something completely different. I went with polymer clay and it was great.

“I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years, trying to find different things to do.”

Faucette spent her early years in East Tennessee, worked in the Carolinas for a while and then was in Nashville until she moved to Fountain City a couple years ago.

She has the Studio Navarri online presence and is conducting classes out of her private studio.

Fitting the level of student

Flexibility is a big part of what makes Faucette’s class sessions so popular. She can fashion her classes for beginners, then upgrade them for advanced students easily.

Faucette offers beginners one three-hour session, usually for $75. It is available for up to eight people. She supplies all the tools and materials.

“When someone leaves a class, they leave with a piece of jewelry,” she said. “These classes are very informal. I try to bring snacks, and we have a lot of fun.”

Faucette also offers advanced classes. Those can include soldering as well as other complicated techniques that take a level of expertise. Work with sterling silver and gemstones can be part of the class. Those are usually held over a weekend and cost $175.

“What I hope to do is get the students to a point where they can put their own flair or personality into the piece they’re working on,” Faucette said.

For more information, or to register for classes, go to: www.studionavarri.com .

KARNS

Happy 95th birthday, Al Fiori

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

June 23 was a milestone day for radio personality Al Anthony Fiori. He celebrated his 95th birthday with about 50 of his closest friends, family, and industry professionals who came from as far away as New York to honor him.

The party was kicked up a notch when a Knoxville Shagging dance club appeared and wanted to dance with Fiori. At 95, he danced with no fewer than 14 people as well as his wife, Mari.

If “Al Anthony” sounds familiar, it’s because Fiori is the last bastion of old-time rock and roll radio from the 1950s. He dropped “Fiori” to bill himself as Al Anthony. He said it was a more appealing name given the political climate at the time.

Fiori was a well-known DJ for KAFY 550 AM in Bakersfield, California, during the 1950s and later at KFXM 590 AM in San Bernardino, California.

He remains a sharp-witted storyteller, recalling his contribution to the fabric of today’s music by introducing Sonny to Cher and taking a chance on many newcomers who became big names.

“I like to think that I have touched everyone on the planet because I was instrumental in the popularity of many, many artists introducing them to the West Coast music scene. I’m talking about the Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, the Beatles, and so many more I can’t count,” said Fiori. “It was the dawn of rock and roll and I got to play a part in that.”

According to Fiori’s Wikipedia page, in late fall of 1958 and early winter of 1959, Anthony was the top-rated DJ in the United States, by share of rated audience, not by market size.

Fiori was the king of the evening during his 95th birthday party when he told stories of his glory days.

One memorable time was when he transported a live tiger station mascot who did his business in the back of Fiori’s rented auto. He tried masking the smell with perfume but had to deliver the tiger to its destination holding his head out of the window to breathe. He then delivered the car back to the dealership. Fiori parked the vehicle in the back lot where no one found it for about 10 days. The vehicle had to be burned to the frame; it was a total loss.

Fiori remains in the entertainment industry to this day, appearing in commercials and short films such as “Apostate” and “Dust,” which can be found on YouTube. He won the best actor award for “Dust.” He was even honored by Don Dare for his service in the Korean War.

Fiori is a sharp witted 95-year-old who will tell you to follow your dreams and never give up.

NORTH KNOXVILLE

Austin-East band camp is near and it's hot! Here's how to help

Jack Coker, Shopper News

If you take away only one thing from this story, let it be this: Austin-East needs food and water donations STAT.

Austin-East’s annual band camp is right around the corner, and with record breaking temperatures the need is greater than ever.

“Our biggest needs are water and Gatorade,” said Alyx Blumenstock, the director of bands. “We go through, on average, 10 cases of water a day. This is going to be one of the hottest summers we’ve had in a long time, so we want to make sure they are as hydrated as possible.”

The band is also looking for food donations. “Snack wise, we always welcome fresh fruits and vegetables, and anything that’s individually wrapped like boxes of chips and fruit bars,” Blumenstock said.

The camp’s first week will run July 15-19 for eight hours a day, and the second week from the 22nd to the 27th for four hours a day. Each day begins with physical conditioning led by ROTC instructors, followed by working on theirsynchronized movement, sectionals, and group rehearsal on the field.

The band is on a tight schedule this year in particular. “Our homecoming is a month earlier this year, so we have to have our show done by the end of camp. We will only have two football games before homecoming,” Blumenstock said.

Donations can be dropped off 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. July 15 at the school. If a donor needs to coordinate a different time or place, they can schedule the drop-off details with Alyx Blumenstock by texting (423) 520-6752 or emailing alyx.blumenstock@knoxschools.org.

SOUTH KNOXVILLE

Kern’s passport promotion lets you eat your way around the world

Eric Woods, Shopper News

Kern’s Food Hall is home to a diverse selection of food that originated from various parts of the world. It features Asian, Indian, African, Cuban and Italian cuisines with more options coming soon.

To promote them, Kern’s Food Hall will be holding an event called “Taste of Kern’s,” which they called “an international culinary experience.” The event will last six weeks, starting July 6 and ending Aug. 17.

To receive a passport, customers can go to a central location in Kern’s or visit any of the participating vendors:

• Ava Pizzeria
• Monday Night Proofing Co.
• Hemingway Cuban Kitchen
• Hey Bear Boba Tea
• Kandilige Spicy Food
• Ooh LaLa Kitchen
• Won Kitchen
• Zukku Sushi.

Those who fill out each page of their passport will receive a mug from Monday Night Brewing and will have a chance to win a Yeti cooler in a raffle.

Phillip and Suzanne Young at Vella Crew Studios have been at the forefront of the project.

“It just kind of made sense,” Phillip Young said. “We've already got this very large demographic, and we're getting Egyptian food, French food, so those are coming. They're not here yet, but it's going to be a very culturally diverse food experience.”

Customers don’t have to get a stamp from each vendor to fill out their passport. However, that seems to be the goal of the event: to try new things.

“People are going to be like, ‘Look at all these different places that I've been to over the summer, and didn't even have to leave the state,’” Phillip Young said. “With that, maybe you haven't tried this particular place, but you want to put a stamp in your passport. So, you're gonna try it.”

The vision is to expand the event. As a collective, Kerns has made it a mission to have something for everyone, regardless of who walks through their doors.

“The food hall is very intentional,” Phillip Young said. “We don't want to have similar things. If somebody's making a burger, we don't want somebody else to be making a burger. So we want that diversity. So it'll play to basically everybody, once everything is completely open – and even now there is something for everyone here. And we've got the outdoor lawn space, we've got ice cream for the kids. You want it, we have it.”

A separate goal is to continue nurturing the community of vendors and customers. With Knoxville being a college town, Kern’s hopes to be a staple for watching Tennessee games and hanging out.

“By building the community, it just makes each vendor in here stronger,” Suzanne Young said. “Most of them are small businesses, so that’s building these business and making it family style.

“We'd like to be at the forefront of people's minds. Hey, we're gonna go out and get something to eat ... someplace where everybody can go and get something, and it will have a really cool atmosphere.”

Learn more about “The Taste of Kern’s” at https://kernsfoodhall.com/taste-of-kerns-your-passport-to-international-cuisine/ .

OPINION

The problem is in my head, not on it

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

I look at myself in the mirror and frown. I put my hair behind my ears then pull it out again. I fluff it. I smooth it. I spray it with hairspray. My husband watches in silent amusement.

“What are you doing and why is it making you so unhappy?” he finally asks.

“I hate my hair,” I say, in frustration.

“It looks fine to me,” he replies, sincerely. “What’s wrong with it?”

He doesn’t realize that’s a loaded question. I spend the next 10 minutes telling him more about my hair than he’s ever wanted to know.

“I part my hair on the side, but the full side is on the wrong side of the part. See?” I ask, grabbing my hair to show him something he can’t see and has no interest in knowing.

“And I get these puffy balls right below my ears that drive me crazy. When I ask my hairdresser to thin them out, I end up looking like the Long Island Medium. But without the ability to talk to spirits.”

He laughs because he doesn’t know what else to do. Then he rushes out of the bathroom to escape the conversation.

But I’m not done dissecting my hair issues. I have an appointment at the salon, and I need a plan.

I Google “short hairstyles for women over 50” but it seems disingenuous, so I try again. I search “Short haircuts for women over 60” and study the images.

All the haircuts look the same. All the women in the photos look too made-up and too dressed-up. None of them look like the kind of people who hike in the rain or use paper plates at dinnertime.

I text Jordan a photo of a woman with sculpted features and perfect hair. “What do you think about this haircut?” I ask.

“Great!” she answers. But I can’t tell if she means it or if she’s just too busy to discuss my hair worries. I tuck the picture away to show my hairdresser in the morning.

When I get to the salon the next day, I show the photo to Audrey, the lovely woman who cuts my hair every five weeks.

“We can do that,” she says with an agreeable smile.

While she’s snipping my ends, I complain about my weird part and my cowlick. I bemoan my hair balls and my untamed curls. Audrey is nice enough to act interested even though we have the same conversation every time.

When she’s done working her magic, I smile. “It looks great! So much better!” I resist giving her a grateful hug.

When I get in the car, I look in the mirror. I look more like Pat Benatar than the Long Island Medium and decide that’s the good thing.

I think about all the conversations I’ve had about my hair during the week. I think about the nights I stayed up late, studying hairstyles and searching new flatirons. And I have an epiphany.

In a moment of deep introspection, I realize I spend way too much time thinking about things that don’t matter at all. No one sees the hair balls that frustrate me each morning. No one thinks about my part or wonders about my cowlick.

The problem is all in my head, not on my head. I make a solemn vow to focus on more important issues going forward, issues like world hunger and women’s rights.

It’s a vow I aim to keep. For about five weeks. Or until those awful hair balls make another appearance.

Leslie Snow may be reached at snowcolumn@aol.com .

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Shopper Blog: Despite divisions, Methodist conference marks 200 years with focus on mission