Bishop Brian is pleased to announce that Mary Embler will be joining our diocesan staff as Diocesan Administrator when Kirby Purjet retires in August. But you’ll be seeing Mary at the Diocesan House before then as she and Kirby will be working together as August approaches. Mary is a Knoxville native and has been a member of Good Samaritan in Knoxville for 36 years. She is a graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in

“…Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these the kingdom of heaven belongs.” ~Matthew 19:14 (NRSV) This past Saturday evening, Susan and I attended a Vespers service at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Knoxville. We were there to celebrate the reopening of the main church, which was badly damaged in an April 2015 fire. The Vespers and rededication was led by Metropolitan Alexios, the Greek Orthodox bishop who oversees

On May 22nd, I stood along with about 20 other Episcopal deacons and priests near the banks of the Savannah River in the center of Savannah, Georgia. There was an embankment in front of us, and we were standing in front of four archways, which led into four unlit chambers – a little smaller than living rooms, that had been cut into the embankment. These chambers are known as the Cluskey Vaults, and their historical purpose in the nineteenth continues

Sermon Given at Church of the Ascension, Knoxville Seventh Sunday of Easter | June 2, 2019 Acts 16:16-34 John 17:20-26 This morning, quite deep into the season of Easter, we hear again a lesson from the Acts of Apostles. From the first day of Easter until the day of Pentecost, the Church invites us to read deeply from the Acts, to listen to the earliest stories of the infant Church. It might be wise, therefore, to pay attention to where

This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.  ~John 21:24-25 (NRSV) This past Sunday, many of us heard the gospel lesson from St. John’s Gospel where Jesus and Peter are reconciled over breakfast. Each

Sermon given on the 2nd Sunday of Easter St. John’s Cathedral, Knoxville | April 28, 2019 John 20:19-31 I would like to share a quote with you from the late British novelist and philosopher, Iris Murdoch. “Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Love, and so art and morals, is the discovery of that reality.” The only reason that I know of Murdoch’s words is because of another writer, Zadie Smith. Zadie Smith is

Sermon Given at St. John’s Cathedral, Knoxville Luke 24:1-12 This morning, let me add my welcome to you here at St. John’s Cathedral on this first day in the Easter season. The good people of St. John’s have outdone themselves in preparing for this morning’s worship and its glorious celebration. The flowers are a witness to resurrection and their fragrance fills the room. The light and the color and the vestments convey new life and eternal hope. The music, if

Sermon Given at St. Paul’s, Chattanooga | April 19, 2019 John 18:1-19:42 She was 14 years old. She was a runaway. Her name was Mary Ann. She had left home in Opa-locka, Florida. Now she was in Ohio. What exactly caused her to run away, I do not know. And the last I have read about her, she now lives in Las Vegas and works as a cashier at a casino. She may be very happy there and enjoy all

Sermon Given at St. James Episcopal Church, Knoxville | April 18 John 13:1-17, 31b-35 “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” The woman lying in front of you is about to die. That is obvious to all gathered around her. The only question is how long before she breathes her last. There is a wash cloth on her head, keeping her forehead cool. I do not know if she is aware of