A Christmas story from the Holy Bible and hymns and songs from rich traditions of the Episcopal and Anglican Church along with Bluegrass and Country Traditions will ring out at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Elizabethton, Tennessee, on Wednesday, December 22.  Thomm Jutz, a celebrated songwriter and singer and recipient of the 2021 Songwriter of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, will lead worship with Bishop Brian Cole, leader of the Episcopal Church in East Tennessee, and Father Timothy Holder, priest and pastor, St. Thomas.

“Thomm and Mike Compton, two amazing, beloved musicians, have even written a song celebrating the work and mission of St. Thomas,” states Father Holder.  “We are humbled and overjoyed by their gift of song and statement of faith in, The Abundance of Creation Don’t Stop on the County Line,” says Holder, “which expresses powerfully God’s Love and unending care for all humanity and creation, yes, right here at home in beautiful Appalachia.”  The Abundance of Creation Don’t Stop on the County Line will be premiered during Wednesday evening’s worship.

Senior Warden, Carol Brodeur, invites the community to join at St. Thomas Wednesday for the parish’s Appalachian Christmas Lessons and Carols beginning at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday.  “Come join in the celebration, appreciation, and Love at the coming of the Holy Child, Jesus, at Christmas.  We are proud to have Thomm with us, honoring the community with song and his great and generous talent,” Brodeur commented.

St.Thomas has begun a tradition in recent years the celebration of the spirit and people of all Appalachia through the varieties and traditions of music present all over the region.  This includes the wealth and vibrancy of talent from young and old, traditional and not, popular and old ballad, rejoice and lament, and even bilingually in English and Spanish.  St. Thomas has grown in recent years to serve Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, and Washington Counties.

CDC (Center for Disease Control) protocols are observed for everyone’s safety and well-being: registration at stthomaselizabethton@gmail.com, masks, and reasonable distance.  The public is also invited to tune in to St. Thomas’ “Appalachian Christmas Lessons and Carols” live on wmctradio.net AM 1390 & FM 102.9 THE MOUNTAIN LIVE, Worldwide Bluegrass at 6:00 p.m.  Information about St. Thomas’ Appalachian Celebrations is available at “St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Elizabethton, Tennessee” and “Celebrating the Music of Appalachia in Episcopal/Anglican Tradition” on Facebook.