History

Sonya and Fr. Joe Minarik

Saint Francis Episcopal Church was a latecomer as far as Norris churches are concerned. When the first group of people got together to talk about an Episcopal Church in Norris on November 30, 1949, there were already three churches in town: Norris Religious Fellowship (1934); St. Joseph Catholic Church (1934); and First Baptist Church (1947). Norris Methodist Church came to Norris in 1954 and the Catholic Church has since moved into new and larger quarters.

The central person behind the organization of St. Francis was Phelma Anderson Haslbauer, who was reared in an Episcopal orphanage in Georgia. Mrs. Haslbauer is described by many other early church members as the "matriarch of St. Francis."

She wrote the first church history in 1955. Her husband, Otto Haslbauer, when he was nearly 70 years of age, built and hung the red 80-pound wooden doors, which have become a distinctive identifying physical feature of the church. Mr. And Mrs. Haslbauer were to work diligently for St. Francis from its earliest days until age-related problems forced them to move to Georgia to be near their children. Otto died February 16, 1993; Phelma died May 17, 2000.

The Haslbauers were only the core, however, of a group of the early people who labored long and hard for St. Francis. The men of the church built the church at 158 W. Norris Road with their own hands. The building was dedicated on June 28, 1953.

Mrs. S. G. McNeeley is the remaining founding member of the original 15 who is still an active member of St. Francis. Sonny Traylor, wife of the late founding member Marion Traylor, is also still an active member.

St. Francis purchased an additional 200 feet of land alongside 158 W. Norris Road in May of 1954, and the church began to expand. A two-story addition in 1955 extended the nave (it is 80 by 20 feet) and gave the church a parish hall, offices, Sunday school rooms and a kitchen.

Adjacent to the Church is Cobb Cottage, named in memory of founding member Enid Cobb. It is used for church offices freeing up more space for Sunday school rooms, the choir, and the Norris Nursery School, a pre-school program conducted in the church basement

The Saint Francis parish directory for the year 2002 had 124 entries or households, which adds up to 281 people. Eighty-six of those are children, up through college age. Sixty-one of the 124 households are in Norris. The remainder, mostly reside in Clinton, where there is no Episcopal congregation, or in other areas of Anderson County including several families who live on Norris Lake. The parish parochial report for 2001 showed that the church had 222 communicants and average of 118 people attended church each Sunday. Fr. Joe Minarik began his ministry as Rector in January of 2007.

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