A Day At Highland Park BC

For more than 70 years (four generations), there has been at least one member from my family on the church roll at Highland Park Baptist Church at any given time. 

By: Gilbert Purtee

I am spending some time at my little sister’s house near Chattanooga, TN.

Connie is the Headmaster of the Tennessee Temple Academy and we all attend the Highland Park Baptist Church in scenic, downtown Chattanooga.

I had the camera out and took some shots. 

First, we had a wonderful Sunday School class with coffee and donuts.  Yes, I love donuts.

Jason was our teacher for the class.  He is a young preacher boy in the seminary school at TTU.

The regular teacher was absent this morning and Jason jumped right into the position.

He said he would throw something together.  Well let me tell you, his ’spur-of-the-moment’ lesson was better than any teaching you get out of a regular Sunday School book.  I was truly blessed to be in his class.

A short walk from the Sunday School class took us into the old auditorium of the HPBC.  The newest auditorium is being restored, renovated and updated, so services are being held in the old auditorium.  This is the same building I sat in chapel back in 1978 when I was here in school.

My nephew Mark, leads the singing at HPBC.  His beautiful wife Sarah has a wonderful voice too and sings along side of him.  I think they call it the ‘Praise Team’ as there is one other lady singing along with them.

Mark is an accomplished musician, multi talented asset to the church, a father of two and an IT specialist for a prominent hospital in Chattanooga.

Sarah is a true gift to our family.  Not only is she a wonderful mother and wife, she plays the flute in two or three orchestras (I can’t keep up with all of them), she teaches music and the flute, sings like an angel and if she had wings, you would think she was an angel too.

  Dr Bouler has been at HPBC for a long, long time.  Every time I hear him preach, I think he get’s better and better.  A man who has a true burden for souls, Dr. Bouler has dedicated his life to HPBC and Tennessee Temple University.

I didn’t get the best picture of Dr. Bouler, I admit.  He is very animated and I don’t think I had the shutter speed slow enough.

If you were there Sunday morning, you would have seen my sweet sister up in the choir.

For more than 60 years, I know of my mother, my father, my sister Gyl and her husband, my sister Joy and her husband, my sister Connie (her hubby does not sing, bless his heart… lol) and myself have all been members of the Highland Park Baptist Church Choir. 

I remember watching the choir sing when I was just five or six years old.  I wanted to play the trombone just like Homer Brittan  who played in the orchestra.  The church now has a massive orchestra with a full woodwind, brass, strings and percussion sections (I love the kettle drums myself).

I hope to get more pictures as the week progresses.  I will be in Texas on March 17th to start my new job.