Our Rector
The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III serves as the Rector of St. James. Before being called to Tennessee, he served congregations in Maryland and North Carolina.
Fr. Ken was born and raised in Tidewater, Virginia, and is a lifelong Episcopalian with a diverse background. He graduated from Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1985 and was a cadet at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, through his junior year (Class of 1989). Due to hearing loss, a military career was not an option for him.
Fr. Saunders has a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Congregational Development from the Bexley Hall – Seabury Western Theological Seminary Federation in Chicago, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Organizational Management from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
Before ordination, Ken was a Health Physics and Radiological Controls Technician with Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, attached to the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) in Charleston, South Carolina. In this role, he assisted in establishing the Moored Training Ship (MTS) project, a nuclear submarine prototype, in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Following his service with Bettis, he spent over a decade in general management and consulting for residential construction companies.
He specializes in organizational systems, pastoral and relational ministry, and covenantal leadership and behavior. Building on his recent research, he has developed best practices for church human resources that are rooted in the baptismal covenant.
In addition to his parish ministry with St. James, Fr. Ken serves as a Core Group Facilitator for the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program at Bexley Seabury Seminary, where he helps fellow priests draw on their experience and research to strengthen the wider Church. He also serves as the missioner for the Breaking Bread Ecumenical Ministry at Tusculum University.
He and his wife of 36 years, Kelly, live in Greeneville with their two cats, Harley and Li’l Bit. They have three grown children: Kent (married to Sophia), Kyle (married to Kara), and Kaytlynn (married to Ben), as well as one grandchild (Jace) and two step-grandchildren (Zosia & Quillen).
Rooted in a deep faith in Jesus Christ, Fr. Ken is devoted to God, family, community, and country. He enjoys the outdoors, traveling, and spending time with family and friends, and is known for being warm, welcoming, and approachable.
e-mail Fr. Ken
Worship Services
Fr. Ken’s Sermon Blog
Reflection blog (Sabbatical, Pilgrimage, and Travel)
Gospel-Based Disciple (Seasonal Scripture Reflections)
Living the Questions of Faith
Our Bishop
The Right Reverend Brian L. Cole, Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. Brian Lee Cole was ordained and consecrated as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee on December 2, 2017. He was elected June 28, 2017, during the electing portion of the 33rd Annual Convention of the diocese, succeeding the Rt. Rev. George Dibrell Young, who retired on December 2, 2017. (See Bishop Cole’s Official Website)
Bishop Cole is responsible for 50 parishes and worshiping communities in East Tennessee and Northern Georgia under his pastoral and administrative care. The bishop’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, pastoral visits to each congregation, preaching, celebrating the Holy Eucharist, and confirming individuals into The Episcopal Church in the apostolic tradition by laying on hands.
As a bishop, he ordains priests and deacons and joins in the ordination of other church bishops. In these rites, the Church remains in continuity with the apostles’ early Church through the laying on of hands.
Bishop Cole presides over the annual diocesan convention and has administrative responsibility and ecclesiastical authority over all diocesan activities.
