Emmanuel Episcopal Church, established in 1862, is located downtown in the Twin Cities of Bristol, VA/TN. It has a current membership (2005) of 558 communicants, an average Sunday attendance of about 126, and an annual budget of $300,000.

Emmanuel’s physical facilities include a Gothic nave/undercroft of rusticated native limestone, built in the 1920s, that is beautifully appointed with vibrant stained-glass windows and over 100 hand-crafted needlepoint kneelers; a two-story parish hall, dedicated in 1960, that includes a large assembly hall, a fully-equipped kitchen, Sunday school rooms, parish offices, a nursery, and a chapel; a St. Francis courtyard and columbarium. A capital fund drive a few years ago generated funds which have been used to improve the parish hall and church grounds and to renovate, modernize, and expand the church organ, a 1958 Moehler instrument, from 13 to 23 ranks.

Emmanuel’s regular cycle of worship includes two Sunday services, an 8:00 a.m. Eucharist (a Rite I said service) and a 10:30 a.m. Eucharist (a Rite II service, except in Lent, with music provided by the church organist and choir), and Holy Communion and Unction each Wednesday at noon. Additional worship services are held at various times throughout the church year, including lay-led Evening Prayer each weeknight during Lent.

Christian education at Emmanuel includes the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for children three to twelve years of age and an ever-changing array of programs and studies for the parish’s adult members.

Emmanuel’s community outreach efforts include membership in Bristol Faith in Action, a consortium of twenty-nine churches which combine their resources and coordinate their services in providing food, water, shelter, agency and counseling referrals, education and job placement for those needing such services/resources; Meals on Wheels; volunteers, two months each year, to assist in the Soup Kitchen, which serves 250 people each weekday; hosting Social Club, which provides food and fellowship for disadvantaged adults from the community one evening each month; providing a meeting place for AA and Al-Anon; and, preparing and hosting an annual Christmas-day dinner for 350-500 people from the community.

For additional information about Emmanuel parish, including pictures, see its website at www.emmanuelbristol.org.

Our Mission

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, a member of the body of Christ, affirms that the mission of this parish family is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. Recognizing that we are dependent on God’s grace, we will pursue this mission through corporate and individual worship, prayer, stewardship, and service to others.

We further affirm that we will strive to bring glory to God and to take Him and His work seriously. We pray for guidance to do whatever is needed and trust that God will enable us by the power of His Holy Spirit to do His work in our daily lives.

Current Issues and Priorities

Parishioners recently participated in an online survey and a parish forum, both of which were designed to assess Emmanuel’s current situation and to set priorities for its future ministries. The major priorities, listed in italics and in their order of importance, are:

Even though many young families have become members in the last several years, Emmanuel, like most Episcopal parishes, has an aging membership. Therefore, its first priority is to develop and implement an effective strategy to reach new people, especially young families with children, and to incorporate them into the life of the parish.
Over the past two years, the Director of Christian Formation and a small group of dedicated, hard-working parishioners have successfully implemented the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a program that is providing a rich educational experience for children three to twelve years of age. Emmanuel must now find ways to sustain this exciting program while developing equally effective programs of Christian education and spiritual formation for its teenage and adult members.
To guarantee the parish’s future financial stability and to generate the funds needed to sustain and expand its various ministries, Emmanuel must expand its stewardship program.
Because liturgy both shapes our identity as Episcopalians and sustains us in our life together in Christ, Emmanuel should continue its use of formal, traditional worship services each Sunday and on special occasions, such as the Christmas Eve Eucharist and the Easter Vigil.
Over the last several years, Emmanuel seems to be transitioning from a pastoral parish to a mixed pastoral/program parish. To affirm this transition, Emmanuel should continue to develop both parish and outreach programs that serve the needs of parishioners and the wider Bristol community alike, while it simultaneously strives to maintain its tradition as a parish with a strong pastoral relationship between the rector and its members.

Responsibilities and Duties of our Rector

Emmanuel parishioners expect their rector to be:

A strong spiritual leader and homilist who respects different viewpoints and who brings cohesiveness to the congregation by communicating the Gospel to all age levels.
A concerned educator whose commitment to Christian formation is expressed in a willingness to help develop and participate in meaningful educational programs for children, youth, and adults.
A caring, committed pastor of moral integrity who can develop and mentor a strong lay ministry program.
A skilled, knowledgeable liturgist who is endowed with a reverence for traditional Episcopal modes of worship and recognizes the central role worship plays in the ongoing life of the parish.
A good-natured, good-humored, high-energy person who is both an effective administrator in his/her oversight of church staff/volunteers and a good steward who can partner with the vestry in the wise use of parish resources.

The Twin Cities of Bristol, TN/VA

The Twin Cities of Bristol, TN/VA, with a combined population of 42,500, are located on the border shared by northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. They are situated in the middle of a 14-county area of about 600,000 people that in 1999 was the first region ever to win the All-America City award. Blessed with the natural beauty of the Holston range of the Appalachian Mountains, the region is replete with venues for outdoor activities, all within a 15-60 minute drive, that include fishing in mountain streams and on South Holston Lake and Boone Lake; whitewater rafting on the Nolachucky River; skiing at NC resorts; camping/hiking on the Appalachian Trail and in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area; and, biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail. Cultural opportunities and venues abound in the Twin Cities. These include Theatre Bristol, a community theater group, and Barter Theatre, a professional repertory company in nearby Abingdon, VA; an active ballet community with a strong heritage; an annual cycle of concerts and other events at the Paramount Theater, a beautifully-restored 1930s movie house; the Bristol International Speedway, a major venue for NASCAR racing events; and, an annual three-day “Rhythm and Roots” festival of bluegrass and country music, which celebrates Bristol designation as the “birthplace of country music.” Home to King College and Virginia Intermont College, Bristol is also only twenty minutes away from two community colleges and East Tennessee State University, all of which offer abundant educational opportunities and cultural events.

Compensation and Benefits

The person chosen as rector will receive a generous compensation/benefit package that meets or exceeds the diocesan salary scale for a Range E parish, commensurate with his/her training and experience. For details about the basic package, the terms of which are subject to further negotiation with the vestry, applicants should contact the Rev. Gene Anderson at ganderson@dioswva.org.

Emmanuel parish will assume financial responsibility for all reasonable travel and related expenses incurred by those candidates invited to Bristol for conversations with the search committee and vestry.

Selection Information

Resumes and CDO profiles are to be sent to the diocesan Transitions and Development Officer, The Rev. Gene Anderson, at ganderson@dioswva.org.