New City Resources

Dear Friends,

Shalom to you and yours from Knoxville’s Old City. Without a whole lot of fanfare, New City entered its seventh season of ministry July 4th. Thanks for supporting us as you do. Please know that we could not do what we do without your involvement.

The Cafe continues every Thursday-Saturday night with special events occurring somewhat regularly now on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Recently, we hosted a reception for student-workers involved in Operation Backyard. In June, Doug Floyd facilitated a showing of Andre Rubelevâ’s Passion, a strange but stirring film by famed Russian director, Nicolae Tarkovsky, concerning war and betrayal, beauty and redemption. In August, over a pot-luck dinner coordinated by our own Sunny Penner (kitchen manager), we viewed Jesus of Montreal (a clever Canadian contemporization of Christ’s life, 1989). It is especially enjoyable to watch these films on a super large screen through on our newly donated video projector!

The Consortium is developing in a healthy fashion as well. After a hugely successful launch year, RegentCollege (Vancouver) has committed to another year of partnership with us. We are presently assembling a new group of students for our second Marketplace Cohort, and we still have a few seats available in the new group! Father Stephen Freeman, founding priest at St. Anne Orthodox Church (Oak Ridge, TN), will lead a series on the Gospel in Dostoyevsky starting in September. In addition to these on-site initiatives, New City coordinates numerous church and para-church entities under the auspices of the New City Consortium.

While what New City does through the Cafe and the Consortium is important, who we are is of equal significance. Accordingly, it was with a measure of sadness in July that we said goodbye to Chris Tappan, our manager. Chris came to us just out of UT and, after two years of ministry at New City, is now pursuing an MBA at Eastern Seminary (Philadelphia). In Christ’s departure, however, we see evidence of God’s gracious provision in Mark Vowell’s eagerness to assume a greater level of leadership at the Cafe. Mark is a long-time friend, long-term board member, and a gifted musician. Helping Mark with the shepherding and cultivation of the singer-songwriter night every Thursday is Rick Huemmer. These men are godly servants, and we are tremendously blessed to have them both at this time. Sunny remains in charge of New City’s kitchen and always seems to invent some incredibly delicious (and affordable!) special each weekend for the many guests who come to us as strangers, guests, and friends.

As the Executive Director, I am quite spoiled with this staff. When I figure in our board of directors and our faithful volunteers, I am deeply humbled by the Lord’s abiding presence in this project. He clearly cares greatly about his people and those that come to the Old City for something real and meaningful. Hope to see you soon.

Kenny Woodhull

Dear New City Friends,

Another year of ministry in the Old City comes to an end.  My reflections run the gamut from a deep sense of blessing through the provision of our new location to a lingering sadness over the sudden death of a dear friend. 

Early last summer-after the unexpected purchase of 102 S Central, our home since 1998–we were not sure where New City was going to be.  As a board of directors we discussed, prayed, researched, and negotiated through a variety of options .  Our sense of God’s pleasure in the project had never been stronger.   Yet we had neither the means nor the desire to pay 30% more for a rented building that could no longer serve our long-term vision.  All roads kept leading us back to the strategic significance of the Old City and the evident fruit from five years of ministry. But how? Where? And when?  Our new landlord wanted us out of the building by the end of June.  

Enter God’s intervention (I have no other way of explaining it) through the exhorbitant and sacrificial benevolence of His people in Knoxville.  At a time, when every non-profit everywhere was struggling to meet financial obligations and people were scrambling to stabilize investment losses, two married (anonymous) couples bucked the system and provided New City with sufficient resources and pledges to help us secure a new home!  And not only did we get a building, but combined with other gifts, large and small, we have been given the opportunity to birth the New City Consortium, a city-wide educational network purposed to equip God’s people (head, heart, & hands) for life and ministry.  For your part in this project (past, present, & future), we say “thank you.” 

It is clearly a work of the Lord built upon the perseverance of a core, the radical obedience of a few, and an adventurous spirit among many.

And now a sobering dimension of our reality : in the very process of our re-birth, one among New City’s core lost his struggle and left this life in October.  From the time we first opened on the corner, David Egerton was a special part of the community .  An artist and friend of God, David read and wrote for hours at the Cafe.  We have a few of the many photographs he took now on display in the performance space.  The images reveal a penetrating awareness of things ignored and unnoticed- perhaps even a bit like their creator .  I think many of us miss David more than we can articulate, more than we can even know.

And so my Lord Jesus uses this experience of death to remind me that as great as our new building is it is merely a shell for the cultivation of authentic friendships and a  deeper experience with God.  Everything we do on site at New Citycontributes to these eternal purposes –whether steaming cappuccinos, singing from up front, chatting over coffee, or leading a theological discussion upstairs.  

Thank you for your part in this project with us.  Please remember us in yourprayers, your tithes , and your reflections on your service to The King.

Kenny Woodhull for New City

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your on-going prayers and support during what has been for us a remarkable season of adventure and transition.

A couple of months ago, we were not sure where New City Ministries would continue its work.

Today, through the Lord’s gracious provision and the involvement of His people, we are moving into a fabulous new site in the Old City, 116 S Central, just four doors down from our previous location.

Once renovations are completed, in addition to our standard fare of quality music every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, we will be home to a state of the art recording studio and a community-wide study center.

To whom much is given, much is required.

Grand Opening is set for Friday, Sept 6.

Please come join us for this special celebration. And please come help us in the meantime with our move-in. Skilled and unskilled labor is needed. Call 544.0100 if you can help.

For more than four years now Christians from around the city have shone the light of Christ in Knoxville’s Old City. July 4th marked our four year anniversary. Through a variety of artists, speakers, and initiatives, God’s people have established a witness in one of our city’s most struggling districts.

Thank you for your part in making this vision a visible reality through the ministry of New City Café.

When New City first began in 1998, people expressed reservation and concern about the suitability of the Old City for this project. Today, more than 100 volunteers from an array of Christian traditions contribute more than 400 hours of service-ministry every month in the Old City!

During the school year, Fulton Young Life meets at the Café every Monday night. A couple college ministries now utilize the space every Sunday and Wednesday evening. Thursday remains protected as our singer-songwriter night/open mic. Friday and Saturday night, we host local, regional, and nationally known christian artists–all of whom are committed to sowing seeds and painting pictures through music and dialogue for the furtherance of the Gospel.

At various times during the year, we offer workshops and issue-specific seminars. This Fall, author-pastor Doug Banister will lead a three week series on “The Emerging Church” with New City. Dr. Paul Stevens (Regent College) is scheduled for a workshop on marketplace integration February 2003.

And so while some consider the Old City only as a struggling business district, through the efforts of New City, we see it emerging as a strategic location for Christian ministry.

For your partnership in this pioneering mission, we say thank you. None of what we do is possible without support from the community. We are not a church, nor are we a part of any particular church or denomination. Rather, we are an extension of every church in Knoxville, an inter-denominational gathering place for all God’s people and a neutral site for ministry aimed at Christians and non-Christians, seeking to bridge the gap between skepticism and belief.