Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Episcopal School.

Rainey Segars was announced as the new head chaplain after the Rev. Miranda Cully’s departure.

Sooner than expected, St. Mary’s has filled the head chaplain position that was left vacant after Mother Miranda Cully’s departure in July of this year. Rainey Segars, religion teacher and former assistant chaplain, has accepted the position.

“[Segars] will be part of a National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) cohort of lay leaders serving as school chaplains,” Head of School Albert Throckmorton wrote in an email to the St. Mary’s community. “In response to a national shortage of Episcopal clergy, NAES has created a yearlong certification program for leaders like [Segars].

That national shortage has created an opportunity for people who are not Episcopal priests to serve in chaplain roles in Episcopal schools, which in the past have required their chaplains to be ordained. 

“There are fewer active clergy than Episcopal churches,” Segars said. “One of the ways that the church can ease that pinch is not requiring their priests to also serve in school spaces. The National Association of Episcopal Schools is starting a pilot program or beta test, and I will be in the first group ever of lay people training to be school chaplains in Episcopal spaces who are not ordained.” 

Along with agreeing to be part of this program, Segars went through the school’s process for selecting a head chaplain.

“I wrote several essays on my vision for chapel, my vision for the chaplain’s role at St. Mary’s, what I love that we do, what I would take as next steps… or how things could evolve,” Segars said. “I interviewed with a team from St. Mary’s, our division heads… Father Sandy [Webb] from the church, and I interviewed with Bishop Phoebe [Raof ].”

As head chaplain, many of Segars’ responsibilities will change. 

“[My teaching responsibilities] will diminish to some degree, to make it more possible for me to take on more of a spiritual leadership role,” she said. “I’ll need to give chapel more of my time.”

Segars plans to fully engage spiritually in the community while taking on her new responsibilities as head chaplain.

“I’d like to join the Moms in Prayer and be more available with my time,” Segars said. “If people come in and say, ‘Hey, can I talk to you?’ my role will need to shift from really primarily a teaching-in-the-classroom role to a more balanced, blended spiritual leadership role.”

 Segars feels that her appointment comes at a very special time.

“As an alum, my own 20th year class reunion for Alumni Weekend is this year…This whole school year feels extra special, extra connected time for me at St. Mary’s,” Segars said. 

Segars hopes to bring St. Mary’s closer together as a community. To do this, she plans to have more teachers speak in chapel.

“A way that students want to connect to chapel and connect to St. Mary’s is by not just knowing their teachers in an academic classroom space, but hearing a story from [their] life,” Segars said.

Segars plans to create an open space in chapel where students can feel comfortable sharing about issues outside of the classroom, and where they can fully learn about who they are beyond their accomplishments in academics. 

“We really see [chapel] as a place of human development, and so we want your questions about God, your questions about friendship, your questions about loneliness, your questions about depression, your questions about why bad things happen,” Segars said. “We really want your heart, soul, emotions, questions beyond academics…We really want that to be welcome and to be an active part of you as an educated woman.”

MC Hitt contributed reporting to this story.