Published: June 11, 2006 10:51 pm      

Princess Chapel adding new stage to its ‘community park’

Princess — A church with a stage? Sure. At the very least for Christmas plays.

But, an outside stage? With raftered roof and everything?

Why not, says Clell Lucas, pastor at Princess Chapel, standing next to a 1,500-square-foot hardwood platform.

“We’d been pulling in trucks in the past, and the singers had to get up on a greasy flatbed,” he said, listing just one reason.

The church, known far and wide as the one that flies a giant American flag, hosts an annual Fourth of July gathering.

Besides, the church unveiled its community park last year, a trail- and swingset-laden area spread out across part of 26 acres Princess Chapel is devoting to area residents and church members.

And the stage, nestled beneath the trees here, is the centerpiece of the park’s second phase. It will become a full amphitheater by month’s end, Lucas said.

All of it, from the stage to swings, the red, white and blue picnic tables, a granite memorial, a softball field and planned soccer fields and tennis courts, are for the community, said his brother, Clay Lucas.

“You haven’t seen half of it,” he said, watching Friday as carpenters hoisted trusses in place, free of charge.

“We’ve got trails around here, where you can walk a mile and a half without getting on the blacktop,” he said.

As part all the development, the church needed restrooms in the park, as well as a covered shelter — the stage — in case of rain, Clell Lucas said.

“If you’re having a picnic, there’ll be a place to be in the dry,” he said. “We wanted to do this for everybody, open to other churches. What we wanted to do was involve all of them.”

Rose Hill Christian could use a planned field for their soccer team, for example, he added.

And really, it’s just so needed, in this location that will serve both rural Boyd and Carter counties’ families, Lucas said.

“We don’t have anything on this end of the county, do we?” he said. “It just made sense.”

It’s giving back.

“This is what it is ... everybody working together, just everybody working together.”

And coming together, like at the Fourth of July celebration again this year.

It’s the weekend before, July 1, starting at noon. A 4 p.m. veteran’s salute is planned, as well as singing by The Galloways, the Waugh Family, Shirley King, Front Page, John Stevens, His Own and The Gospel Harmony Boys — all from the new stage.

A new stage that will soon get its new roof. Red sheet metal to match Princess Chapel’s.

Why red?

“We love the Lord, that’s why we keep working on this,” Lucas said. “The blood (of Christ) covers us all ...”

ALLEN BLAIR can be reached at ablair@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2657.