The History of St. Philip - Davieshire

The Rt. Rev. W. Fred Gates, Jr., Suffragan Bishop of Tennessee, presided at the first service of St. Philip Church on Sunday afternoon, December 8, 1974, at the J. B. Griffin
Memorial Chapel in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Brunswick, Tn. 

Three weeks later, December 29, 1974, Mrs. Ellen Davies Rodgers donated ten (10) acres for a church to be built on land that was a part of Davies Plantation.   On January 24, 1976, St. Philip Episcopal Church was accepted as an Organized Mission at the 144th Convention of the Diocese of Tennessee.   “Miss Ellen”, as she was affectionately known, would later give more land and most of the means for the construction of the church building. The late Rev. H. Gordon Bernard became Vicar of St. Philip in July,1980. Ground was broken for the new church that same year on September 14, with more than 300 people attending on an afternoon when the temperature soared to 103 degrees. Both Bishop William E. Sanders and Suffragan Bishop Gates took part in the consecration service for the new church on Sunday, November 1, 1981, (All Saints’ Day). St. Philip became the first congregation admitted to parish status in the newly created Diocese of West Tennessee on January 20, 1984, under the Rt. Rev. Alex D. Dickson. 

Fr. Bernard served as Rector until his retirement in July of 1988. 


The Rev. John Sterling came to St. Philip in the fall of that same year and served until his retirement in April of 1994. 

On April 25, 1994, the Rev. Joseph N. Davis began his duties as the third Rector of St. Philip. After thirteen years, in June, 2007, Fr. Davis left to accept a call
to the Church of the Resurrection in Franklin, Tennessee. 

In August, 2008, the Search Committee and Vestry of St. Philip concluded their nationally advertised search for its’ fourth Rector when they called Fr. Terry Street. 

Fr. Terry came to us from St. John’s Episcopal Church and Barth House. It was with a unanimous vote by the Search Committee and a separate unanimous vote by the full Vestry that Fr. Terry was called. Fr. Terry and his wife Edie began their ministry at St. Philip on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 with formal installation to follow on November 20th. 

In just of a quarter of a century, St. Philip has grown from "six warm souls" in a cemetery chapel to a busy parish of approximately 200 members. St. Philip has may lay ministries, including an energetic men's club, an active women's organization which meets monthly and is very involved in several outreach programs, and a vigorous youth program. In 2007, St. Philip became the new home of the Good Shepherd Center for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which serves the entire diocese. We have a vital Christian education program for children and adults, and an overflowing nursery as well as a new "state of the art" playground. While intentionally remaining a traditional parish, we seek to proclaim the good news of Christ to all people in our community.

At the ground breaking ceremony in 1980, Miss Ellen said of the land that she had given for the church, "Many types of rewarding crops have been planted on this good land for more than a century by my family. Today we plant the Cross and by the grace of faith, pray for an abundant harvest. As we attempt to build upon the faithful deeds of those who have gone before us, may we serve our Lord so that his harvest may always increase."