Current Parish & Institutional Opportunities

St. Peter’s seeks a priest-in-charge that has a heart for both the Gospel and the people of God. The priest-in-charge will be eligible for appointment as Rector following a period of mutual discernment not to exceed three years.

At St. Peter’s, we aim to embody the love of Christ through a vibrant church, which averages approximately 100 in Sunday attendance, and through a 234-student school which serves children from pre-school through fifth grade. We hope our priest-in-charge will expand our understanding of God through scripture, education and inspiring messages.

We have two Sunday morning services that are distinct in their style and tone. The 7:30 service is a contemplative Rite I service. The 10:30 service is more traditional and includes a professional choir director that leads a choir of 12 to 15 members. Adults and youth are encouraged to participate in all facets of the service in both settings. The 10:30 service is also live streamed for those who would like to watch from home. In addition, there are two chapel services each week for all school children.

As a congregation, we value community engagement to assist and include parishioners and our neighbors. We offer a variety of small groups and Christian Formation programs for all ages generally during the 9:30 hour between services each Sunday.  Other outreach and prayer groups and ministries meet throughout the week both in person and online. Other community organizations such as the Boy Scouts, NA and AA also use our facilities on evenings throughout the week.

St. Peter’s desires a leader who will foster growth by empowering current parishioners and by reaching out to engage members of the community at-large. As a parish, we look forward to and value what new perspectives will bring to our church.

Expressions of interest will be accepted through April 15, 2024 and should be sent to The Ven. Canon JerryAskew (jaskew@dioet.org) along with a CV, updated OTM profile and links to at least two sermons for review by the search committee.

St. Martin of Tours is now receiving names for the position of full-time priest in charge.

Parish Profile

Thank you for your interest in our church, St Martin of Tours.  It is a pleasure to introduce you to our parish and its people.

We are a parish that cares deeply for one another and for the community around us. Formed as a mission by Grace Church in 1960, we were originally in a rural part of Chattanooga, but as urban sprawl began to develop some ten years later, we find ourselves now in a thriving and desirable part of town, with easy access to hospitals, shopping, and dining. Ours is a family friendly area consisting of good schools, plentiful jobs, and a competitive real estate market.  Chattanooga, in general, has become a top destination for those looking for a quality environment to raise a family, enjoy retirement, or just take advantage of the many offerings of cultural and outdoor activities.

The personality of our parish is most often described as very generous in support of one another and the needs of the community.  We value time spent with one another, whether that is worshipping together, interacting in small groups, or sharing a meal.  We feel it is important to be welcoming to all who come to worship with us, showing love and respect to each individual.  We yearn for a deepening spirituality that will allow us to attend more fully to the pastoral needs of our parish families and allow us to be responsive to new ways we can serve one another and the community around us.

Easter Sunday night 2020, soon after the pandemic began, we experienced an EF3 tornado that tore through the East Brainerd community and severely impacted our church and surrounding properties.  Through all the destruction and fear associated with this event, the only thing left untouched on our property was a hand carved crucifix rising some 40 feet out of the ground.  It became a symbol of hope and the everlasting presence of God in our church and in the homes and businesses around us.  We came together as a parish, organizing workdays and cleanups, feeding volunteers, and offering assistance to those impacted.  The heart of our parish – connecting with others in warm and nurturing ways – strengthened our bonds with parishioners and those outside our parish and left us with new insights to the goodness of all of God’s people.

The morning after the tornado, I received a phone call from our Bishop, Brian Cole, inquiring about the people of our parish and our church property. Bishop Cole continued to stay in contact with us throughout the restoration of our church and property.  Receiving this support from our Bishop and diocese in general created a strong and trusting relationship.  Additionally, the help and support we received from area churches and people in the community was heartwarming and inspired us to better define our church’s outreach program.  Neighboring churches sent teams of volunteers to assist with our tornado cleanup and while we were certainly involved in community outreach at the time of the tornado, we began to understand the need to expand what we were doing. We realized the need for a better-defined focus and purpose for our outreach ministry. Thus, we have formed a community outreach committee and expanded the community outreach vision for St. Martin’s along with a dedicated budget for each focus area. This experience allowed us to gain valuable insight into the strength and stability of our parish and community.

As a result of the pandemic and the challenges of restoring our property after the tornado, we realized we were very adaptable to the changing times dictated by events beyond our control.  Our parish was quick to embrace the hybrid church model, assembling when virus loads permitted and embracing online service videos when necessary.  We established small chat groups online so parishioners could stay connected.  We quickly figured out Zoom and have to admit it is a valuable tool in today’s world. Enhanced electronic communication was absolutely necessary in 2020 and proves to be just as important in 2023.

Changing times have also provided us with a chance to slow down a bit and examine opportunities for other ways we might do church better.  We realize parishioners expect detailed, electronic communication on a regular basis.  In order to provide that, we needed to expand our resources by adjusting staff responsibilities.  Expectations of a changing church culture led us to acknowledge we needed better defined procedures and policies that assured compliance with canonical requirements.  This precipitated a study to identify those areas where we might need to improve business methods and procedures and guarantee we are engaging in best practices.

Providing an environment for sustainable church growth is an important desire for the people of St Martin’s.  Knowing that what we are doing now is something that can be built on for years to come is especially significant.  We have a thriving preschool that we have been in relationship with for over 40 years. Our preschool provides a wonderful opportunity for the parish to be involved in the lives of some 75 children each week. Through weekly chapel programs, the children gather in the nave and hear a Christian message stressing that God is Love. We see this relationship between the church and the preschool as an opportunity to introduce young families to our church and hopefully, to bring them into our church as part of our parish family. We recognize the need to have a strong and vibrant youth and teen program that provides spiritual growth opportunities and encourages the development of a Christian life. In order to accomplish this more fully, we look forward to enhancing the current offerings and expanding our youth music opportunities.

In early January, our Vestry met in a retreat and members were asked to identify what we felt were the top four developmental goals of our parish. I think it surprised all of us that we had such clarity and singleness of spirit in defining what we felt was most important for the future of St Martin of Tours. The core values we identified are:

• Develop a deeper spirituality
• Community outreach
• Collaborate with our Preschool to bring young families into our parish
• Maintain and establish canonical procedures to assure best practices

Three weeks after the Vestry retreat, we held our Annual Parish Meeting and these goals were presented to our parish. Each goal was explained in detail and examples were given to show some ways each could be accomplished. Parish members were encouraged to ask questions and share their opinion to determine if what we had learned about ourselves in the vestry retreat rang true for the entire parish.  We also discussed that intertwined with these developmental goals are the primary core values of our parish.  It’s important to remember who we are and where we come from when we talk about where we want to go.  It is also important that we are able to communicate these core values through the development of our goals.  With that in mind, we will continue to value:

• Relationships with one another
• Inclusion of all
• Flexibility in adapting to changing times
• Long term impact

Listening to one another and sharing our hopes and dreams for the future led our parish to agree that working toward these goals with these values in place was the best path forward.  It was a gratifying and humbling experience to see God’s hand bringing us all together with a common purpose and unity of spirit.

We feel St Martin of Tours is a parish eager to be all that God has planned for us to be.  After 17 years of debt burden, we are now debt free and poised to move forward into the next chapter of our church’s life.  Each Sunday morning, we pray in chorus with the children:

Good morning, God,
This is your day.
I am your child,
Please show me your way.

We are excited to discern God’s way and see where He will lead the parish of St. Martin of Tours.

Expressions of interest will be accepted through April 15, 2024 and should be sent to The Ven. Canon JerryAskew (jaskew@dioet.org) along with a CV, updated OTM profile and links to at least two sermons for review by the search committee.

The Position

The Episcopal School of Knoxville seeks a dynamic and approachable Episcopal priest to be its next School Chaplain. Reporting to the Head of School and serving on the senior administrative team, the Chaplain oversees and promotes the spiritual culture of the school, leads the school in daily chapel, integrates the religious instruction, and oversees the service-learning program. As an ambassador of the school’s mission and Episcopal identity, the Chaplain is a warm and welcoming figure who embraces the diverse backgrounds within the school family, as well as the school’s vision for excellence in Faith, Knowledge, and Culture.

The Chaplain exhibits energy and excitement for spiritual nourishment throughout the educational program. Chapel is celebrated daily with three services: Lower School (8:00); JK (8:45); and Middle School (10:30). All students and faculty attend one of the three 15-min services, and families and friends are a welcomed addition at our community time for song, lessons, and prayer. Eucharist is celebrated monthly, and special services including, Blessing of the Pets (a community favorite), All Saints’ Day, Christmas (of course), MLK Day, Kindness Week, Ash Wednesday, and Holy Week, all add to the life culture of the school. The Chaplain orchestrates the calendar of services and religious observations throughout the year.

The Chaplain oversees the religious curriculum and participates in religious instruction. Connecting the teaching of the Old and New Testaments to the values and social dynamics promoted at the school, the religious instruction is a good support for the school’s culture for community. Since it’s beginning, the school has been grounded in the teachings and practices of Tribes Learning Communities and Artistry for Learning. This offers a wonderful and practical opportunity for students to apply and understand the teachings of the Episcopal faith in a real-world environment.

ESK is a firm believer in community stewardship to prepare young “citizens of the world and children of God”. The Chaplain coordinates the service-learning program and helps orchestrate community partnerships and service projects, both direct and indirect, at each grade level.

Finally, our Chaplain leads the school community in pastoral care and supports an “open door” for students, their families, faculty, and staff to seek assistance and support in their spiritual growth and attention. The Chaplaincy is a fulltime position based on the 10-month employee calendar (summers off) and is accompanied by a competitive benefits package including medical insurance, contribution to the Church Pension Fund, and discounted tuition.

The Successful Candidate will:

• Possess a love and understanding for children of all ages
• Demonstrate outstanding listening and communication skills
• Possess an advanced degree in divinity
• Embrace the principles that distinguish Episcopal education as articulated by the National Association of Episcopal Schools
• Serve as a transitional Deacon or Ordained Priest in the Episcopal Church

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To Apply

Candidates should provide:

• Letter of interest with qualifications for this position
• Complete resume with previous positions and responsibilities
• Statement of Educational Philosophy
• Five references with contact information

Please send materials and direct any questions to:

Dr. Jack Talmadge, Head of School
The Episcopal School of Knoxville
950 Episcopal School Way
Knoxville, TN 37932

(865) 777-9032
talmadge@esknoxville.org