A Church Older Than the Name on the Map
Erin Presbyterian Church sits at 200 Lockett Road in the Bearden neighborhood of West Knoxville, just off Kingston Pike. It is the oldest continuing church in West Knoxville, organized in September 1877 and still worshipping in the same general part of the city where its first members built their sanctuary more than a century and a half ago. The congregation of roughly 300 members worships each Sunday morning in a deliberate blend of traditional Reformed liturgy and contemporary music, choosing what its pastor calls "the more difficult path" of holding both in a single family of faith rather than splitting into separate services.
The Bearden neighborhood takes its name from the area once called "Erin," a label given by the many Scots-Irish settlers who arrived in the 1700s and 1800s. According to local historian Jack Neely, Erin Presbyterian is the only remaining institution that still carries the original Erin community name. The current building has been the congregation's home since 1955, with major renovations and additions completed in 2012.
The Erin Story, From Cooper's Deed to Today's Session
Before there was an Erin Presbyterian Church, there was no church of any kind in the Erin community. In the early 1870s, residents funded and built the first house of worship between Kingston Pike and the railroad tracks near Northshore Drive. In 1874, Mrs. Mary Jane Cooper - widow of General Joseph Cooper - deeded the land to the Presbyterian Church of the United States for one dollar, with the stipulation that other denominations could use the building when it was not in use by the Presbyterians. The four trustees listed on that deed were Joseph A. Cooper, John W. Nave, William F. Crippen, and James W. Ventries. The congregation was officially organized in September 1877.
The second Erin church building was erected in 1903 at 6200 Kingston Pike, where Rose Mortuary/Mann Chapel now stands. An old Erin Cemetery remains in that area. The third and current building was constructed at the Lockett Road location in 1955. Erin has been Presbyterian continuously since its founding and is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination of about 10,000 congregations and nearly two million members that traces its roots to John Calvin, John Knox, and the Scots-Irish immigrants who established churches as they moved across the country.
Erin also belongs to the Bearden-Sequoyah United Ministries, a local community of churches that gathers for ecumenical services and projects throughout the year. The congregation's vision statement expresses the heart of its identity: "Unified in Christ, we actively seek to create harmony in a diverse community through compassion, mutual respect, and love."
Sunday in the Sanctuary
Sunday worship runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon. Rather than separating worshipers into traditional and contemporary services, Erin chooses to weave both styles together. The bulletin each week includes prayers, scripture readings, a sermon, prayers of the people, and music that draws from both the Reformed liturgical tradition and current praise songs. Communion (the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper) is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and at special liturgical times during the year.
Pastor Joseph W. Taber IV, who joined Erin in August 2025, comes from a background shaped by Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, where he met his wife Leah, and by Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, where he earned his Master of Divinity in 2013. Before Erin, he served on staff at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in South Carolina, as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Lowell, North Carolina, and most recently as pastor of Culpeper Presbyterian Church in Virginia. He and Leah have one son, William, and a cat named Zipporah. Pastor Joseph is available by appointment Sunday through Thursday for anyone who would like to talk.
In his Statement of Faith, Pastor Joseph writes that "God would rather we have a good question than the right answer," grounding his ministry in the conviction that wrestling with God draws people closer than arriving at the right doctrine. He believes the primary mission of the Church is to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to teach people how to live differently in response to that good news.
Children, Youth, and the Family Life Center
Erin takes seriously the calling to walk with children and youth from birth through high school. The Family Life Center on the lower level of the education wing - near the playground - houses much of this work.
A professionally staffed nursery opens at 9:30 am and welcomes children up through age four during the Sunday School hour. After children turn four they are invited into the church's graded programming. Sunday School runs from 9:30 to 10:30 am, August through May. Children's Sunday School, for grades K through 5, uses the PC(USA) Feasting on the Word curriculum, based on the Revised Common Lectionary, so lessons generally coordinate with the scripture readings and sermon in worship each week. A combined Youth Sunday School class for middle and high schoolers studies the same lectionary texts with activities and discussions tailored to the teenage perspective.
Two adult classes round out the Sunday School hour. Strong Foundations, led by Rev. Anne McKee, currently studies the core principles of Presbyterianism, drawing on the curriculum "Why Presbyterians are Like That" by Rev. John Williams of Austin College, with a planned move into the Presbyterian Creeds and Confessions. Hard Sayings, led by John House, is currently studying "Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories: Reflections on the Life of Christ" by Debie Thomas.
During worship itself, Planet Worship invites children in kindergarten through fifth grade to attend the first half of the service with their parents and then be dismissed to the Family Life Center for a program specifically designed to teach why and how Erin worships. The 2024-25 theme was "What We Believe," with lessons on the symbols of faith, grace, prayer, God's Word, the Sacraments of Communion and Baptism, the Trinity, and the Apostles' Creed. On Sundays when Planet Worship does not meet, children worship with the whole congregation for the entire service, with activity bags designed for each service and a "Time with Families and Children" when kids and adults come forward together to think about the scripture of the day.
On the second Wednesday of each month from September through May, Pioneer Club gives children in grades K through 5 a hands-on activity night from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, with crafts, games, science fun, and culinary creations. The Pioneer Rangers theme this year explores the National Parks one park at a time. Pioneer Club is led by Family Ministries Leader Joy Bornhoeft.
Each summer, Vacation Bible School runs for four days from 9:30 am to noon and welcomes children age 4 through rising fifth grade, with middle and high school youth serving as junior assistants. Recent themes have used international settings to introduce children to the Bible.
The youth ministry of Erin continues through twelfth grade. On Sunday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, the combined Middle and High School Youth Group meets to explore what it means to follow Christ in today's complex world. The group includes time for fun, outreach projects, serious study, lock-ins, and retreats throughout the year. It is led by Youth Group Leader Chloe Levering, a Knoxville native, recent University of Tennessee graduate, and lifelong Erin attender.
Music and the Creative Arts
Erin's musical life is intergenerational and ecumenical in style. The Choir performs a wide variety of music, from classical to contemporary, and rehearses Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, August through May. No formal vocal training is required - only a willingness to learn and an eagerness to lift one's voice in praise. The choir welcomes all ages, from high school students to senior adults. Joe Jaynes has directed the Choir since January 2000. He began his musical career at Erin singing in the alto section in 1974 and has been involved with the choir in various capacities ever since. He also serves as Technical Director and webmaster.
The Joyful Sounds Handbell Ensemble rehearses each Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and plays seven times a year during Sunday morning worship and special services. The ensemble uses four octaves of Schulmerich handbells and three octaves of Malmark chimes, and is open to anyone middle school age and older. It is directed by Nancy Berry, who has served as Erin's organist/accompanist since May 1992 and previously worked as a paralegal in the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for 25 years.
The Erin Express Praise and Worship Band rehearses Sunday afternoons at 5:00 pm with the aim of adding praise and worship music to the Sunday worship experience. Musicians and singers of all stripes are welcome to join.
Creative Expressions has been part of Erin's identity since 1995 and currently includes Sonshine Company, a children's musical theater workshop for grades 1 through 5 that rehearses Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and produces a spring show, and Journey 7, an advanced theatre skills program for grades 6 through 12 under the direction of Matt Lyscas that meets Wednesday nights from 6:20 to 7:30 pm. Past programs have included the Dayspring Dance Ensemble (liturgical dance for grades 6-12) and Erin Youth Players (musical theater for grades 7-12). Erin is also a creative partner with The WordPlayers, Knoxville's renowned Christian theater company.
Discipleship, Bible Study, and Presbyterian Women
The Discipleship ministry oversees Sunday School, the youth group, children's church, Pioneer Club, and Vacation Bible School, along with two seasonal Bible studies each year. Presbyterian Women meets twice a year for an in-depth Bible study, typically lasting five to six weeks. Each gathering begins with coffee, treats, fellowship, and prayer. Past studies have included Taste and See, Matthew 5, Abide Bible Study: Scripture Engagement Practices, Lenten studies on hymns and symbols of Lent, and a recent study of Allison Allen's "Hidden: Finding Delight in Your Life with Christ."
The Discipleship team also publishes weekly Daily Bible Readings that follow the lectionary texts and explore how each passage connects to daily living, written by Office Administrator April Cyr.
Fellowship and the Art of Being Known
Erin uses the phrase "Big enough to make a difference, small enough to know your name" to describe itself, and the Fellowship ministry exists to make that phrase true. Dinner events include a mid-summer cookout, a festive Christmas potluck dinner, and the Brandon Breakfast on Easter Sunday morning. Breadbreakers, hosted six to eight times per year in members' homes, offers a potluck dinner setting where newcomers can meet people outside the walls of the church building. Presbyterian Women adds Bible studies and occasional outings to the fellowship calendar.
Outreach: Twenty Mission Partners and Counting
Erin's Outreach Team supports more than twenty organizations that help those in need in Knoxville, in East Tennessee, and around the world. Locally, these include FISH Hospitality Pantries (where Erin members serve quarterly on Saturday mornings, helping serve roughly 200 to 250 families per visit), Compassion Closet (which provides supplies to foster families receiving children on short notice), Compassion Coalition, Florence Crittenton Agency, Helen Ross McNabb Center, Interfaith Health Clinic, John Knox Center, Mobile Meals of Knoxville, Serenity Shelter, Sunset Gap Community Center in Cocke County, Volunteer Ministry Center, and Bridge Refugee Services.
Erin also supports the Presbyterian campus ministries at UT Chattanooga (Hope House), UT Knoxville (UKirk Knoxville), and Maryville College, and sends contributions to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Presbyterian Shared Mission.
Beyond Knoxville, Erin partners with New Hope for Guatemala, founded in 1999 by Andrew Loveall, who has worked for more than two decades to establish schools, clinics, and mentoring programs in partnership with Guatemala's Ministry of Education in five towns (Antigua, San Antonio, El Rodeo, El Tesoro, and Chuchuca). Erin also partners with Presbyterian mission co-workers Dan and Elizabeth Turk in Madagascar, the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon, and the Morgan Scott Project, which serves Morgan and Scott Counties in East Tennessee where 29 percent of residents live in poverty.
Erin participates in the four annual PC(USA) offerings: the Peace and Global Witness Offering in October, the Joy Offering in December, the One Great Hour of Sharing in April, and the Pentecost Offering in June. The congregation joined Justice Knox in 2021, a coalition of local congregations working to address root causes of community issues; the current focus is economic inequality in low-income neighborhoods.
Erin has also committed to the Matthew 25 initiative, a PC(USA) partnership focused on three areas: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. An annual Angel Tree at Christmas provides gifts for children served by Sunset Gap Community Center - 62 gifts for 14 children in the most recent year.
The Outreach Team meets the second Sunday of each month after worship in the Outreach room and welcomes newcomers.
Bridge Builders: Learning Across Difference
Bridge Builders is Erin's adult education series on difficult public issues, led by members Kim Jaynes, Cynthia House, and Kellan Sarles. The series is free and open to all, regardless of church or faith tradition. Each season takes a single complex topic and explores it through eight weekly Zoom sessions with presenters from the Knoxville community and beyond. Recent seasons have included:
- Immigration and the Christian Response (Fall 2025)
- America: One Nation under God, Indivisible? (Fall 2024)
- Searching Scripture to Understand the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Spring 2024)
- Public Education in the United States (Fall 2023)
- No Place Called Home on homelessness (Winter 2023)
- Finding Courage in Fearful Times (Fall 2022)
- Applying a Micah Lens to Contemporary Issues on antisemitism, gender, and the environment (Winter 2022)
Bridge Builders also publishes a weekly "Minute with Bridge Builders," a one-page reflection and action step that has covered topics including civility, the benefits of dialogue, empathy, microaffirmations, the definitions of racism and systemic racism, implicit bias, environmental racism, the history of slavery, the Constitution's three-fifths compromise, segregated churches, the GI Bill, the judicial system, colonialism, Manifest Destiny, the Indian Removal Act, and the Trail of Tears.
Governance: The Session
The word "Presbyterian" means "governed by elders," and Erin's nine-member Session is responsible for the spiritual and practical leadership of the congregation. Elders are elected by the congregation for staggered three-year terms; the pastor serves as Moderator. Each elder typically serves on one of the ministry teams, and members of the church are encouraged to serve on ministry teams as well, regardless of whether they are elders.
The current elders include Tony Denny, John House, and Suzanne Lawrence (Class of 2026); Nathan Barber, Mike Cate, and David Eggers (Class of 2027); and Kim Jaynes, Kim Pennington, and Kellan Sarles (Class of 2028). Class years run from July 1 through June 30. The Nominating Team, composed of at-large members and outgoing elders, discerns the slate of candidates each year.
Beliefs in Brief
Erin describes itself as "one family of faith under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, seeking to live that out in a richness of personal expression." As members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the congregation affirms the denomination's confession that God comes to us with grace and love in the person of Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose for us so that we might have eternal and abundant life in him. The church is sent to continue Christ's mission of teaching the truth, feeding the hungry, healing the broken, and welcoming strangers. God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within the congregation, giving the energy, intelligence, imagination, and love to be Christ's faithful disciples in the world.
Erin's mission is to belong to the diverse family in Christ, to love and accept all as God's children, to become disciples who embody and share the gospel, and to serve the church and the world beyond.
Stewardship, the Legacy Fund, and Daily Life
The Stewardship Team oversees the financial management of the church and helps members identify how to invest their time and talents. The team meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Erin maintains a Legacy Fund that secures the church's financial future through bequests and estate planning, with gifts that may be designated for specific purposes or for the general Legacy account used by the Session for long-term goals.
Members and visitors can support the church's ministry through pledges, online giving via the SimpleChurch Giving payment portal, and by serving on ministry teams. Donations may be one-time or recurring.
The Beacon, Erin's monthly newsletter, is published year-round and archived online. It is one of several ways the congregation stays in touch with one another between Sundays. Worship services are livestreamed on Vimeo, with recordings available afterward for those unable to attend in real time. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Weddings, Memorials, and Sharing the Building
Erin hosts weddings and memorial services in the sanctuary and shares its facilities with community groups for meetings, classes, and gatherings. A short Facility Use Request form is available for outside groups that wish to reserve space, and policies and guidelines for weddings and memorial services are published for those planning services. A Memorial Service Preference Form helps members record their wishes for their own services in advance.
The Property Team meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 pm and welcomes anyone with skills in maintenance, project management, or organization who would like to help keep the building safe and welcoming.
Joining the Erin Family
A few times each year, Pastor Joseph holds a series of gatherings for prospective members so they can get to know Erin better. Those who decide to make Erin their church home meet with the Session either to transfer their membership from another church, to reaffirm their faith, or to profess their faith. New members are received joyfully whenever the time is right. Visitors are warmly welcomed - the church's motto is, after all, that it is big enough to make a difference and small enough to know your name.