A change of space

ABBY ANN RAMSEY Managing Editor

Tyson House, a campus ministry at UT that incorporates both Lutheran and Episcopal denominations of Christianity, has had a building on Melrose Avenue for over 50 years. Now, as the building faces costly renovation needs, it could be sold to the university, leaving the community with uncertainties about the future of their physical space.

According to an email sent out to Tyson House community members from full-time chaplain Fr. RJ Powell, the ministry had been looking to renovate sections of the house, which is owned by St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral. What they came to find out, however, was that the renovations would be more intensive than they initially expected, as they were told that the building was not up to occupancy standards.

Tyson House works in conjunction with the Diocese of East Tennessee, TEC and the Southeastern Synod, ECLA, each representing the Episcopalian and Lutheran denominations, respectively. They, along with building owner St. John’s Cathedral, discussed options for the Tyson House moving forward.

Eventually, a plan was presented to sell the Tyson House property. As per Tyson House’s original deed, “the funds acquired from such sale must be used for campus ministry at UT Knoxville,” according to Powell’s email.

The Tyson House ministry is known for being one of a few protestant campus ministries that is openly-affirming of the LGBTQ community, joined by UKirk and the Wesley Foundation. Not only does Tyson House specify online that they welcome students of all sexualities, but a pride flag also sits atop their building.

For Lucas Fiet, a 2021 UT graduate who is now in seminary at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, that acceptance is what drew him to the ministry as a trans student seeking a faith community. He was raised evangelical but always felt like that couldn’t mesh with his sexuality, especially in the south.

“I literally did not know that there were options, that it was possible to be a Christian who was affirming or queer,” Fiet said. “I never encountered that in my life.”

Fiet got involved with Tyson House his sophomore year at UT and ended up being a resident in the house the next two years. After he graduated, he served as an intern at Tyson House.

He said that part of the appeal Tyson House has not just to LGBTQ students, but to many others, is the way that it introduces people to new ways of thinking about protestantism.

“A pattern I’ve seen there is a lot of people in the south grew up evangelical and have not been exposed to mainline christianity, mainline protestants that are affirming,” Fiet said. “People might see some appeal in having a tradition that’s far enough away from what they grew up with but familiar enough and comfortable.”

Nolan Wells, a current Tyson House resident and a junior geology major, also mentioned that the way Tyson House integrates different denominations and serves as a welcoming space is vital to the community.

“I think admittedly there’s a small overlap between LGBTQ spaces and religion, especially in Tennessee,” Wells said. “But it is something that drew me to the palace, to Tyson House, and I think something will be lost if we don’t have a physical space.”

Ben Gouffon, a junior double majoring in sociology and religious studies and head resident of Tyson House, said that having a ministry like this is vital for protestant Christians, especially in the south.

Gouffon referenced conservative, antiLGBTQ lawmakers’ use of Christian ideology in their arguments as reason for Tyson House playing an important role on campus for Christian students who might disagree.

“Talking to other christians often makes me feel lonely within my own faith community and Tyson House makes me feel the opposite of that — that there is an alternative thought that exists,” Gouffon said.

Gouffon said another vital role that Tyson House plays is offering students involved with the ministry a place to live through their residency program. Tyson House offers students affordable rent prices in exchange for them assisting in services and tasks around the building.

As Tyson House residents might have to leave the building as soon as this May, Gouffon is concerned about affording another place to live or even being able to find one at all with Knoxville’s increasingly crowded and expensive housing options.

“To be frank, I’m having to find something that will be triple what I’m paying now,” Gouffon said.

The residency program, like the other aspects of the ministry, also offers a more welcoming housing option for LGBTQ students. Fiet said that when he came to campus, UT did not offer satisfactory on-campus housing options. He lived in an apartment off campus until he discovered the residency program.

“Tyson House was really the only realistic opportunity I had on campus to live as a trans person,” Fiet said.

When it comes to looking to the future though, people involved in the Tyson House ministry don’t see the sale of the building as anywhere near the end of the ministry.

Fiet emphasized that lots of the work of Tyson House occurs outside of the physical space anyways. He said that just because that space might be gone, they will still continue doing volunteer work, showing up to Knox Pride Festival and being a resource for the community.

In terms of keeping the ministry going strong, Fiet explained that the main thing Tyson House must find a way to hold on to is Sunday services, meals and the discussions that happen afterwards. According to him, those conversations are one of the most important parts of the ministry, as they get a chance to help students grapple with religious questions and find ways of understanding Christianity that might differ from the Chrisian traditions they grew up in.

“I think the main thing I would be concerned about is where is that going to happen?” Fiet said. “As long as that is happening, I feel like this is still a continuation of what I experienced.”

Finding space on campus at a time when the student population is at an all-time high can be tricky. But several campus ministries and organizations don’t have a physical building or room, yet manage to hold events and flourish.

Gouffon said a benefit of being part of UT’s religious community is the relationships Tyson House has been able to foster with other religious organizations like UKirk, the Wesley Foundation, the Muslim Student Association and Hillel. For one thing, it’s given the ministry a chance to show the community that faith traditions do not have to be isolated from one another.

“We’ve been a resource for having commu- nication and relationships with other student organizations,” Gouffon said. “That kind of represents something that a lot of people don’t think exists… to have that space where that type of energy is available, I feel is really important and pretty upsetting that it won’t be around anymore.”

While the physical space might not be around much longer, those relationships, according to Gouffon and Fiet, do aid in giving Tyson House connections to other spaces on campus that they might be able to use to keep those vital parts of the ministry going.

And although the residency program provides an affirming on-campus housing option, Fiet said that just having the ministry alive itself can help LGBTQ students meet one another and help each other figure out housing from there.

“It facilitates those kinds of connections that then lead to better situations on a campus where there are not many great situations for queer people,” Fiet said.

Residents of Tyson House said the sellers of the building have been unclear about what’s to come. The physical future of Tyson House might feel uncertain as residents don’t know when they’ll have to leave or where they’ll end up, but Tyson House community members are certain that the work they do is not going away any time soon.

“It’s undergoing a lot of change, and that’s scary but it’s undergone a lot of change in the past… My hope is that 10 years from now, we can look back and this can be a major pivot but one that leads to really good stuff,” Fiet said. “The community knows that this is a good thing, and I don’t think they’re gonna let it just fade into nothing.”

Tyson House staff and the Diocese of East Tennessee did not respond to an interview request for this article.