Our Rector
Rev. Erin Maxfield-Steele
(She/her/hers)
Rev. Erin Maxfield-Steele joined St. John’s as Priest-in-Charge in November of 2022. Erin grew up in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and moved to Western North Carolina in 2019. She was ordained at Church of the Good Shepherd in Cashiers, and served as Priest-in-Charge of St. Georges in West Asheville before coming to Sylva.
Erin was raised Mennonite and joined the Episcopal church in her early teens. She has played music since childhood, studied English and art in college, and considers herself a life-long learner. Erin was a Bilingual Medical Interpreter (Spanish/English) before deciding to pursue her Masters.
Erin holds a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University. Her thesis, “Attending to the Spiritual Wisdom of Children,” was published in 2018 as part of the book Story, Formation, and Culture: From Theory to Practice in Ministry with Children (Pickwick Press). In 2020, Erin’s book You Made Me, a self-illustrated book of lectio divina for children, was published by Wipf and Stock. Erin holds a post-graduate degree in Anglican Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained priest in 2018.
Erin has two children, Ursa and Ellis, and one giant dog, Johann. She and her husband, Allyn, live in Sylva.
Our Parish Administration
Aeryn Knight
(he/him/they/them)
Administrative Coordinator
María de Lourdes Ramírez
(she/her/hers)
Bookkeeper
Our Children’s Ministry
Beth Jones
(she/her/hers)
Children’s Lay Minister
Our Music Ministry
Erin L. McCully
(she/her/hers)
Director of Music
Erin McCully has been a parishioner of St. John’s since around 2008, and she is grateful for the opportunity to serve the church in a musical capacity. Erin was born in North Carolina, grew up in Pennsylvania, and then moved back to North Carolina as an adult. She attended Episcopal churches throughout her childhood.
Erin has a Bachelors and a Masters degree in music education from Ithaca College and a Masters in Instructional Systems Technology from UNC Charlotte. Erin is also the Director of Instructional Development at Southwestern Community College.
Erin, her husband Ian, daughter Lia, and three cats live in Sylva.
Our Parish Leadership
Mary Anne Farrell
(she/her/hers)
Senior Warden
Mary Anne Farrell is a retired physician who spent 37 years serving Native American communities in health care. She has called Sylva home for more than 40 years and is the proud mother of five children and grandmother of eleven. Guided by a lifelong commitment to service, Mary Anne values St. John’s for its dedication to living the Gospel through loving kindness. As Senior Warden, she hopes to continue serving and supporting the church’s growing faith community.
Stephen Loper
(he/him/his)
Junior Warden
Stephen Loper was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and spent 47 years in Bluffton, South Carolina, where he worked as a woodworker before transitioning to the construction industry. He and his wife have three children and one grandson. Since retiring to Sylva three years ago, Stephen has enjoyed gardening, hiking, reading, and serving as Junior Warden at St. John’s.