Tennessee Christian Missionary Society History

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On August 13, 1954, Reverend George D. West announced that the Tennessee Christian Missionary Society, which is the state organization of the Disciples of Christ churches in Tennessee, purchased the 1802 Grand Ave property for its new headquarters. The TCMS began in 1894 as the result of “movements that were backlashes against the rigid denominationalism of the early 1800s. The movement’s purpose was to return to the principles of the early churches described in the New Testament.” By 1969, the TCMS outgrew the 1802 Grand Ave property, put it on the market for $30,000, and moved to 3700 Richland Avenue. The 1804 Grand Ave property remained a residential and rental property through the 1950s. Some notable residents included Marlin A. Kain, a veteran of World War I who served in the Fifty-fifth Artillery Brigade, …show more content…

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill holds a collection of Shaver’s fern specimens, who authored over a dozen articles about birds and plants in such academic journals as The Auk, The Wilson Bulletin, and the Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science. In the 1930s, 1804 Grand Ave became a meeting place for the Society of Friends. Constance Rumbough, the regional secretary for the Fellowship of Reconciliation and author of The Story and Work of the Methodist Church, resided there in the early 1940s. In the 1950s, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Baha’i purchased the building. The Baha’i Faith is a monotheistic religion that believes God sent a series of divine educators to earth for the benefit of man and that “Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, explained that the religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.” At a time when whites and blacks remained segregated in Nashville, the Baha’i’s welcomed members of all races and religions to 1804 Grand Avenue. The group

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