St. Elmo United Methodist Church stands at the corner of Saint Elmo Avenue and 47th Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it has long served the Saint Elmo neighborhood as a United Methodist congregation open to every person who walks through its doors. The church's own reconciliation statement affirms the dignity and worth of every human being and welcomes all into membership, participation, and leadership regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, family structure, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, political affiliation, physical or mental ability, faith history, or life experience. Saint Elmo is a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network, a designation it wears proudly as part of its identity in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church.
On Sunday mornings the rhythm is steady. At 10:00 a.m. children, youth, and adults gather for the Nurture hour, the church's name for Sunday School, and the classes wrap up at 10:50 a.m. so that everyone can move into the sanctuary for worship at 11:00 a.m. The service itself is a hybrid that blends traditional and contemporary music and worship, with a team of vocalists and musicians contributing each week. The music ministry is something the congregation takes pride in, and anyone who likes to sing or play an instrument is invited to join. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month, and it is open to everyone who wishes to take part - adults, children, members, and visitors alike.
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
The youngest worshipers are welcomed from the very first Sunday. A nursery on the level below the sanctuary (Level 2 on the elevator) is staffed for infants through Pre-K during both the Nurture hour and worship, so parents can settle in without keeping little ones restless. Older children stay in the sanctuary with their families, where they are invited forward for a children's message during the service and can pick up activity bags from a greeter if they would like something to do during the rest of the hour.
Sunday morning Nurture classes are organized by age. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers gather on Level 2, and a separate class meets for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The church also offers Vacation Bible School.
Middle school and high school students have their own space at St. Elmo. Separate Sunday morning classes for the two age groups meet on the lower level during the Nurture hour. The youth ministry describes itself as mission-focused, with students traveling each summer to serve in places like Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky, where a group of seventeen once helped a homeowner by removing and replacing vinyl siding and adding insulation. Each year the youth also attend Resurrection, a conference held in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, that gives them a chance to learn and grow outside of a typical Sunday setting.
Adults: Three Sunday Morning Classes and Short-Term Small Groups
Three adult nurture classes meet at the same hour as the children's and youth programming. The Seekers class follows the Lectionary and welcomes anyone interested in studying the scripture readings appointed for the week. The Agape class is an interactive Bible study open to all adults, with members who enjoy digging into scripture and applying its truths to daily life; the group also keeps an active Facebook page for ongoing connection. The Bradley class is another open adult Bible study.
For something outside the Sunday morning rhythm, the church hosts short-term small groups that meet on Sunday evenings for a few weeks or a couple of months at a time. These groups focus on a book or a particular subject, and the church invites members with a specific interest to start one.
A Food Pantry That Opens Every Week
Service to the wider neighborhood runs through the food pantry, which provides a well-balanced selection of food for community members in need. The pantry opens on the second Saturday and fourth Friday of every month at 11:30 a.m., with weekly pop-up distributions usually taking place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and other Fridays. The pantry runs entirely on donations and volunteers from the church and the surrounding community. On the fourth Sunday of each month, monetary donations for the pantry are collected at the altar during worship.
The church's homeless ministry has continued through difficult seasons, including during the pandemic, when volunteers partnered with the Big Chill restaurant to deliver boxed meals prepared there to a local community center feeding the homeless. Women in Mission (WIM), a ministry of care within the congregation, meets on the second Thursday of every month at 10:00 a.m.
#TiredofHate: Stories of Acceptance
Nothing tells the story of St. Elmo's welcome as clearly as its #TiredofHate campaign, a communications effort that shares individual journeys from rejection toward acceptance and belonging. Members of the congregation have written and shared their stories in their own words, and the church invites anyone interested in participating to email TiredofHate@saintelmo.org.
Jamie Hill, who grew up as a pastor's kid, wrote of being shamed into silence about her identity in another church - and of finding at St. Elmo that she was still lovable and still valued as part of God's family. La'Darius Mitchell, who as a thirteen-year-old in 2003 was invited to the church by Rusty Lowe, recalled the welcome he received from Rusty and Maureen Lowe and the rest of the congregation - a welcome he did not always find in the wider community - and his rise into leadership in the youth program and the Holston Conference Council on Youth Ministries. Danny Tullier shared a long story of building walls after losing his first love during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s and, twelve years later, walking into St. Elmo at last and finding "a community where I may celebrate with others as we walk the Gospel road together, without the fear of hate."
Linda Ray described finding, after years of being kept at arm's length in other churches, a place filled with "peace, love, hope, and creativity." Barry Condra, who grew up steeped in the Methodist tradition and knew from childhood that he was gay, told of hearing from his Sunday school teacher in the late 1990s that "that church is letting queers attend" - and of walking through the doors in 2003 and finding that God was there, love was there, acceptance was there. LaQualla Holland, Keith Walker, Sophie Lowe, and Stephanie Baker have all added their own voices to the campaign.
Visiting St. Elmo
The church sits at the corner of Saint Elmo Avenue and 47th Street in Chattanooga. A parking lot on 47th Street sits across from the back half of the church, and on-street parking is available on the surrounding side streets.
Anyone arriving ten to fifteen minutes before worship will find coffee at the coffee counter just outside the sanctuary on Level 3 of the elevator - a place where newcomers can meet people before the service begins. The church asks that visitors finish their coffee before stepping into the sanctuary, where food and drinks are not allowed.
An elevator can be reached through the back entrance off 47th Street, and a small circular drive at the back makes drop-off and pick-up easy. A ramp is also located at the front of the building for those who need it, though there is no adjacent drop-off or parking area at that entrance. Dress is whatever makes you comfortable - jeans, suits, work uniforms, dresses, and shorts all appear on Sunday mornings. "People are important here, not what they wear."
Services are livestreamed on Facebook for those who cannot attend in person. Giving can be made securely through PayPal from the church's giving page, and a prayer request form on the church's site lets anyone - member or not - submit a request, with the option to keep it confidential, share it during worship, or post it to the congregation's Facebook group.
The pastoral team is led by Pastor Walter Weikel. The mailing address is PO Box 2225, Chattanooga, TN 37409, and the office can be reached at 423-490-7039 or info@saintelmo.org.