Rev. Fr. Joseph Huneycutt: So, how’ve you been? I’ve been away for a while, ever since getting the Missions and Evangelism gig a couple of years ago, Orthodixie podcasts have been pretty sparse. Why? Well, listen:

I’ve traveled every road in this here land.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man…

No, not really. Besides, that’s Johnny Cash. But in the past two years, I’ve traveled to Land O’ Lakes, Florida; Yuma, Arizona; Lafayette, Louisiana; Rapid City, South Dakota; Gillette, Wyoming; Abilene, Texas; York, Pennsylvania; and recently Tupelo, Mississippi.

Treat me like a fool, treat me mean and cruel, but love me.

Yep, Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis Aaron Presley. I’m discovering the older I get, the King is not as known to the kids today as he was, oh, back in the day. But, oh my, the old folks, they still flock to his shrines: Graceland in Memphis, and his birthplace and museum in Tupelo. In fact, I was found there on a Sunday after attending Divine Liturgy, of course. And I walked in and the lady behind the counter looked at me, and I said, “Hi, I’m here vicariously for my mom.” And she said, “Well, would you like to vicariously pay $18 for the tour?” So I said, “Of course, of course.”

I was amazed. Not by Elvis—I mean, my goodness, I grew up with Elvis—but by all the facts that I had never taken into consideration. For instance, Elvis, being born at the time he was, the country was coming out of the worst depression ever. Also it was the advent of radio, at least pop radio: people having radio in their home, and now in the automobile as we became the society on four wheels. All of this added up to a perfect environment for a young guy from Tupelo, Mississippi, to come on the scene—Elvis.

Elvis in fact made quite a few movies. I wouldn’t recommend listening to the whole routine, but Eddie Murphy, years ago, joked that Elvis was in a lot of movies, but he couldn’t act, but he could sing. And Elvis would sing anything. They would say, “Elvis, we’ve got to win this race.” And he would sing, “We’ve got to win this race…” So I do this all the time. Ever since hearing that: “We’ve got to win this race…”

The reason for my visit to Tupelo was St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Mission.

Back in August of 1977, following the rigors of high school football practice, I was leaving the practice field with my buddies when I noticed my mom and my dad sitting in our 1966 Ford pick-up truck. My mom was crying and my dad looked sad. I knew something, some tragedy, had happened. As my mind raced to think of what friend or relative it might be, my mom stopped the sobs long enough to look my way through bloodshot eyes and blurt out, “Elvis is dead! Elvis died today, son!” [Laughter] Then she resumed crying.

They were listening to the news on the radio. As I scanned the other cars in the high school parking lot, the mood could only be described as somber. All ears were tuned to their radios, and news of the singer’s death. Elvis. Truth be known, he’d seen us. That’s right, back in 1972, we saw an Elvis Presley concert in Charlotte Coliseum, and if you believe my mom’s gal-pal, Pam, who went with us, Elvis saw us. [Laughter]

I was 11 or 12 and don’t remember too much about the show except that we sat behind the stage, and every time he would look back that way, my mom’s friend, Pam, would scream, “He looked right at me! Oh my gosh! Did you see that? He looked right at me!” [Laughter] We lived about an hour’s drive from the Coliseum and Pam sat in total awestruck silence all the way home, but every now and then she would snap out of her stupor long enough to scream: “Did you see him? He looked right at me!” [Laughter]

This group of Orthodox Christians has been meeting together, praying together, eating and working together for years in Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis. Here’s a snippet of two lay leaders recording the intro to my other podcast, The 153, in Tupelo.

I’d hand the same piece of paper to you, but your name’s not Joel Berry.

Man: Yeah, you replaced Joel Berry.

Mr. Joel Berry: Hi, this is Joel Berry of St. Paul Mission, Tupelo, Mississippi, and you’re listening to The 153 on Ancient Faith Radio.

Fr. Joseph: He’s got his radio voice going there!

Mr. Berry: I do, now. Hi, this is Joel Berry of St. Paul— [Laughter]

Mr. Paul Sudduth: Hi, this is Paul Sudduth of St. Paul Mission, Tupelo, Mississippi, and you’re listening to The 153 on Ancient Faith Radio.

Over the past five years, they’ve had weekly services thanks to a priest, Fr. Don Berge, visiting from Memphis, about an hour and 20 minute drive.

[Guitar accompaniment] Oo-oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
It’s now or never…

It was just announced recently this summer that St. Paul’s Mission in Tupelo, Mississippi, is finally going to get a priest. “We’re gonna get a priest…” In fact, while speaking in Tupelo, I jokingly suggested that they had misnamed the mission. Perhaps, given the town’s famous son and the fact that there was a St. Elvis—St. Elvis, yes—they could have been called St. Elvis Orthodox Church. Now, hang on. Let that sink in a bit. St. Elvis Orthodox Church, Tupelo, Mississippi. See! See! You started to believe it. Not so crazy, huh? Well…

Don’t… (Don’t…) Don’t… (Don’t…)

Well, it was pointed out to me that once rock and roll pilgrims popped in and found out there wasn’t a velvet painting of Elvis celebrating the Last Supper above the holy doors it might not go over so well.

“We’re gonna get a priest…” How about a Father Elvis?

David of Wales was baptized by St. Elvis. That’s right. Thus, it would appear that Elvis is a legitimate baptismal name. [Laughter] Remember, Father, if you were at this conference, Bishop Basil was there, and he was telling all these priests that did not have proper saints’ names to get a saint’s name. Somebody said, “How about Elvis?” And Bishop Basil said, “No!” Somebody says, “There was a St. Elvis…” He said, “There’s not going to be a priest, Fr. Elvis!” [Laughter]

But, folks, let me just say: If an Orthodox presence can be found in Tupelo, Mississippi, there’s hope for all y’all, really.

When my wife and I converted to holy Orthodoxy 25 years ago, there weren’t that many seeker-friendly churches populating the South. This is not to disparage the communities that did exist at the time. They were busy doing what they’d always done: taking care of their own. However, due to the disintegration of right believe, the straying from the narrow path of salvation of many of the mainline Christian denominations, many, many Americans are looking for the true Church, and if you’ll pardon this long reach for analogy: just like when a poor boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, happened upon the scene at just the right time—the advent of pop radio, the automobile, new-found prosperity—this is the time, the time now, the only time that we have to share the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus to the darkening world around us.