Interim chaplain and religion teacher Rainey Segars may be behind the chapel podium more than expected this school year.
In July 2024, Head of School Albert Throckmorton announced the Reverend Miranda Cully’s departure from St. Mary’s—where she had served as head chaplain for two years—and the beginning of the school’s search for a new chaplain.
Chaplains at St. Mary’s are responsible for officiating daily chapel, leading the chapel committee and planning the Founder’s Day chapel as well as teaching seventh-grade religion and ethics in the Upper School.
Until a new head chaplain is found, Segars will hold the position. It’s not an entirely new situation for her. She has served as acting head chaplain before.
“[S]he’s the acting head chaplain now, and she was the acting head chaplain when Reverend Bush left [in 2021], and until we hired Mother Miranda [in 2022],” Throckmorton said.
As acting head chaplain, Segars will teach ethics, lead the chapel committee and plan the Founder’s Day chapel. Assistant chaplain and religion teacher Anna Wheeler will teach seventh-grade religion.
“I want St. Mary’s to flourish, and I want to be part of her flourishing,” Segars said. “I would be very happy and very interested to do whatever St. Mary’s needs me to do and to be in whatever role St. Mary’s needs me to be so that St. Mary’s and the girls can thrive.”
She may find herself in this position for a while longer, as the hiring process for a new chaplain is more difficult than it might appear at first.
The school began its search for a new chaplain in July after Cully’s departure was announced.
Hilary Robinson, Associate Head of School, is responsible for overseeing the hiring process, along with Throckmorton.
“I’m hoping that we’ll be able to hire someone before the end of the school year,” Robinson said. “That person probably will not start until August, so, hopefully, there will be a new chaplain in place [by] August 2025.”
In 2022, after the Reverend Katherine Bush left the post, it took Throckmorton and Robinson about a year to find Cully.
Candidates must fulfill very specific requirements, and meet with the approval of the diocese.
“We have to work really closely with the Diocese of West Tennessee. All of our candidates are vetted by the Bishop,” Robinson said. “They have to be an ordained Episcopal priest, and the Bishop’s office has to approve their application before we can interview them.”
Another challenge in finding a head chaplain is simply the availability of Episcopal priests. According to the Episcopal News Service, the number of Episcopal priests in America has decreased to fewer than 6,000 over the past 20 years, and they must serve 7,000 congregations.
“When we went through this interview process before we hired Mother Miranda, it took a really long time to find the person that we wanted for the job,” Robinson said. “One reason was there just weren’t a lot of Episcopal priests looking for jobs. And then secondly… it takes a special priest to want to work in a school environment and not a church environment.”
Despite the challenges, St. Mary’s continues to make progress in the hiring process.
As of now, Robinson has interviewed three candidates but hopes that more will apply. After another round of interviews, they will decide who to bring onto campus to meet with teachers and students.
“We’re early in the process…[but] we have had some good qualified candidates,” Robinson said.
MC • Sep 18, 2024 at 10:39 am
Super interesting! I wonder if the diocese is working to bring more people into the preisthood?
Eshaal Hassan • Sep 17, 2024 at 8:54 pm
Glad to know that they really care about hiring the right candidate because the chaplain has such an important role at St. Mary’s!
Emily Cole • Sep 17, 2024 at 1:15 pm
It’s so interesting to see the hiring process for this job position. It’s very well written!!
Kate Wolfkill • Sep 17, 2024 at 12:39 pm
I’m excited to see who SMS will hire!