The East Tennessee Episcopal community is excited to announce that The Rev. Maribeth Manoff has accepted Church of the Nativity’s call to be their Priest-in-Charge. Mother Maribeth will begin her work at Nativity on November 1, 2023. We give thanks for Fr. Robert Thompson’s good work in continuing the work and ministry of Nativity in the interim. Below are two letters that comprised Nativity’s announcement: October 1, 2023 Beloved Parish Family, The Search Team and the Vestry have good news!

On Sunday, September 17, 2023, the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee and the Chattanooga community gathered at Grace Episcopal Church, Chattanooga to celebrate the legacy of Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris, the first female and first female African-American bishop in the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church. Bishop Phoebe Roaf (pictured above), Bishop of the Diocese of West Tennessee, the first female and first female African American bishop of that diocese, was the guest homilist and celebrant. The service was accompanied

Sophia Timmerman-Pelensky, member of Church of the Good Shepherd, Knoxville, and Girl Scout from Troop 22140, traveled to Kondoa, Tanzania to visit our companions in the Diocese of Kondoa. There she experienced Tanzanian culture and witnessed the challenges that Kondoan children face. As part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Sophia is raising funds to purchase books for Kondoan children.

Episcopal teens ages 16 to 19 are invited to apply to become part of the 81st General Convention’s Official Youth Presence, a group whose members have seat and voice in the House of Deputies and can testify at hearings before and during the summer 2024 convention. The deadline to apply is Nov. 17. Up to two youth from each of the church’s nine provinces will be selected to participate in the Official Youth Presence from June 20-28, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. Youth

Licensed Lay Ministry in East Tennessee All baptized Christians are called to ministry. The Episcopal parish and its surrounding community are stocked full of opportunities to answer those calls. Some of you, however, are called to be more deeply formed for specific ministries and licensed for more confidence and credibility in the practice in your parish. The Episcopal Church in East Tennessee has dedicated staff and other resources to the discernment, formation, support, and licensing of lay ministers for more than two

Both Bishop Brian Cole, Episcopal Bishop of East Tennessee, and Bishop Kevin Stickland, Bishop of the Southeastern Synod ELCA, along with the Rev. Bob Miller, Rev. Smokey Oats, and other clergy, walked with the people of St. Barnabas Episcopal-Lutheran Worshipping Community as they secularized the building and ended the formal ministry of the community on Wednesday, July 12. Please keep the people of St. Barnabas in your prayers. Thank you to Canon Michelle Bolt for taking the photos.

On Saturday, July 15, Bishop Brian Cole and the people of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Signal Mountain and East Tennessee celebrated the ordination of the Rev. Kat Chappell to the priesthood.

 Were you aware that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is the largest legislative body outside of our National Government in DC? The one-year countdown to the 81st General Convention and the 51st Triennial Meeting of the Episcopal Church Women, taking place in the Diocese of Kentucky, begins on June 23rd! Alongside the important work towards reconciliation and equality, the convention is set to be filled with exciting events, starting with a revival hosted by Presiding Bishop Michael