Altar Frontals - For a small congregation, St. Agnes' has an enormous collection of beautiful altar frontals. The Epiphany and Pentecost frontals were a gift from All Saints Episcopal Church in Gastonia, NC, while a long-term St. Agnes' parishioner, Mrs. Kathleen Black, made the Advent and Easter frontals. The silk "Agnus Dei" altar frontals were a gift from the Elizabeth Haynes Trust. In 2004, an older collection of altar frontals at St. Agnes' was given to St. Mary's Mission in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Annual Fish Fry - Throughout the 70's, 80's, and early 90's, St. Agnes' was host to the Annual Fish Fry, a church picnic that turned into the largest annual block party in the history of Cowan! Proceeds from the fish fry helped furnish the kitchen in the parish hall and helped fund some significant building repairs and improvements. After a hiatus of more than 10-years, the Annual Fish Fry was revived in the summer of 2004.
Banners - The beautiful collection of banners at St. Agnes' were also the handiwork of Mrs. Kathleen Black.
Baptismal Font - The beautiful stone baptismal font, just inside the front door of the nave, is somewhat of a mystery to us. During a church repair project in the 1980's (notice that we do not recall the exact year), the font was found disassembled under the church. It was cleaned, re-assembled and put back in its proper place; however, none of the present members know when it was purchased, where it came from, how or why it ended up in storage! We do know that in the earliest days of the congregation, baptisms took place in Boiling Fork Creek, just a short walk from the church.
Bell Tower - During a church renovation project in the mid-1970's, a trio of bells were found under the floor of the nave. The church decided to sell two of the bells and use the proceeds to build a bell tower for the third bell. In 1980, the 500-pound bell was reconditioned and placed atop a new metal tower beside the parish hall where it proudly stands today.
Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist - One of the most meaningful traditions at St. Agnes' is the Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist, held every year on December 24th at an announced time after sundown. In the 1970's, the entire congregation would go into the parish hall, after the service, and have a tree trimming party with homemade Christmas goodies and a small gift for every child in the congregation. Since the mid-1990's, the tradition has been for the entire congregation to put together baskets of food and gifts which are delivered that very same evening to families and individuals with sad circumstances. As a follow-up, covered plate meals are delivered every December 25th at 12 noon to individuals who are physically unable to cook their own Christmas Dinner.
Copper Cross on the Roof - Sometime in the 1930's, a group of Government Revenue Agents confiscated an illegal moonshine still going up the side of Sewanee Mountain. A group of seminarians obtained the copper kettle and fashioned it into a cross for St. Agnes' to place on the roof of the nave. The story of this gift was featured a few years later in "Ripley's Believe It or Not". In 2004, the copper cross was refurbished and given a specially designed box platform.
Cowan Christmas Parade - The Cowan Christmas Parade has been an annual tradition in the community since 1964, and St. Agnes' has traditionally had a presence for the better part of that time. In some years, St. Agnes' entered a float with a wooden scale model of the church. In more recent years, St. Agnes' parishioners and seminarians have carried an enormous banner while a "free hand" passes out cards inviting the public to our Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist.
Cowan Ministerial Association - The Cowan Community is unique among many small Southern towns because we have had an association of ministers and churches since the early 1960's, well before "ecumenical ministries" were widely accepted. St. Agnes' is an original sponsor of the Ministerial Association. On special occasions, such as Thanksgiving, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter, we participate in shared worship services with our bretheren from other churches in the community. The other churches in the Association are Cowan Fellowship Church (Methodist and Presbyterian congregations), Cumberland Presbyterian Church, First Baptist Church, First Church of the Nazarene, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church and New Hope Church of God in Christ.
Miss Elizabeth Haynes - Miss Elizabeth played the organ at St. Agnes for more than a decade. She is considered by many to be the "First Lady of Music" in Franklin County. Besides playing the church organ, Miss Elizabeth was a music instructor for hundreds of Franklin Countians over a span of decades. She was also a major contributor to the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Library - St. Agnes' has a small church library located in the parish hall that was donated in loving memory of Mrs. Agnes W. Pearson.
The Nave - The main building at St. Agnes', commonly referred to as "the nave", was delivered to Cowan by railroad in 1899 and re-constructed by a group of Cowan citizens. It was originally located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and evidently was abandoned after a damaging windstorm. The Sisters of St. Agnes' Chapel in New York City paid the railroad waybill for the delivery. The congregation was named in honor of the sisters for their generous contribution.
Organ - The electric Hammond organ in the Nave was a gift to the church in memory of Mr. Brent Warner and Ruddy Craven of Houston, Texas.
Parish Hall - The L-shaped building beside the Nave is the church parish hall. In 1901, Father Stirling Claiborne obtained two small storage barns in the vicinity of the church and dragged them over to the church property where they were connected and remodeled to serve as a "Mission School Building". The building served as a Parochial School from 1903 until 1918 and may have also served as a boarding house for visiting priests. The building was rented out as a private residence between 1950 and 1954. Today, the Parish Hall houses a modern kitchen, large dining and fellowship room, and a children's Sunday school room.
St. Saviour's Mission - Diocesan records from the year 1897 refer to the congregation in Cowan as St. Saviour's Mission. Some area scholars speculated that this name may have been a misspelling or a misinterpretation of the name "Xavier", but it seems more so that the name is simply a direct reference to Jesus Christ.
Woodcrafts - the collection of beautiful woodcrafts at St. Agnes', including the cross behind the altar, the altar desk, and the Pascal candle base, are all gifts from Mr. Fred Brown, a long-time St. Agnes' parishioner who lives just three doors up the street from the church. (In fact, Mr. Brown says that the Pascal candle base was built from a recycled bedpost!)
