St. Alban's Episcopal Church - Chattanooga, TN - Hixson, TN - Christians joyfully and prayerfully building a caring and worshipping community.

The ministries at Saint Alban's Episcopal Church convey a sense of the joy that comes with doing God's work.

"Christians joyfully and prayerfully building a caring and worshipping community"

Staff & Clergy Bios

The Rev. Claude Y. Stewart Jr. The Rev. Claude Y. Stewart Jr

I can scarcely remember a time when Christian ministry, including preaching and teaching, was not the focus of what I felt I should do with my life. And I have been blessed to work in several places, both churches and schools, with many wonderful people over four decades.

I grew up in East Tennessee, near Knoxville. In the summer of 1962, after I graduated from Carson-Newman College, my wife and I packed up our Fairlane 500, attached a rickety trailer, and migrated from East Tennessee to New England. We spent a decade of our lives there. I received both the S.T.B. (= Master of Divinity) degree and, eventually, a doctorate (Th.D.) in theology from Harvard Divinity School. Later, I would spend a semester in Anglican Studies at General Theological Seminary in New York and, still later, a semester hanging out as a “visiting scholar” at Sewanee.

After years of teaching at Maryville College and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, I was ordained to the ministry of the Episcopal Church: Deacon in 1987 and Priest in January of 1988. I served as the Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sylva, North Carolina and then of St. Peter by-the-Lake near Charlotte. For the past decade, I have been engaged in interim ministries, while continuing, until recently, to teach part-time. I served for fourteen months as Interim Rector of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Norris during its recent interim period.

I think of the Christian life as a God-sponsored, Christ-centered call to adventure – an adventurous journey into joy involving service to others and growth into greater wholeness for all. I think of Christian ministry, yours and mine, as divinely energized enablement of the adventurous journey to which God invites us all. I think of the Book of Common Prayer and the Sacraments as godly provisions – grounded in the Great Story found in Holy Scripture, and in tradition – for structuring and strengthening our participation in the life and ministry to which God calls us. I think, in particular, of the Holy Eucharist as divinely proffered nourishment for the journey into joy and wholeness.

My prayerful hope is that this “interim” in the life of St. Alban’s Church will be not simply a time of waiting but a season in which, together, we continue to build “joyfully and prayerfully” “a caring and worshipping community” – to the glory of God and the benefit of many.

The Rev. Ed Scott, Deacon

I was born and grew up in Alabama. After completing a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Alabama, I attended graduate school at Purdue University and received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry. While at Purdue, I met, and later married, Susan McGaghie. We lived near Pittsburg, PA for 10 years while I worked at Bettis Atomic Power Lab which was operated by Westinghouse for the nuclear naval program. We and our two daughters moved to Chattanooga in 1978 when I joined the TVA nuclear power program. After 23 years in various positions at several different locations, I retired from TVA in 2002.

I began preparation for the diaconate in 1995 and was ordained in June 2001. I have been assigned to St. Alban's church since ordination. While at St. Alban's, I have served as Director of the St. Alban's Adult Day Care Center and as Parish Coordinator of the Interfaith Hospitality Network. I also assist at the Episcopal Metropolitan Ministry in downtown Chattanooga.