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
Jan Staffelbach
(she/her/hers)
Parish Administrator
Aeryn Knight
(he/him/they/them)
Administrative Coordinator
Our Children’s Ministry
Beth Jones
(she/her/hers)
Children’s Lay Minister
Toby Lawrence
(he/him/his)
Children’s Ministry Assistant
Our Music Ministry
Dr. Lyn Ellen Burkett
(she/her/hers)
Organist
Dr. Lyn Ellen Burkett has been a faculty member at Western Carolina University’s School of Music since 2014. Before teaching at WCU, she taught at UNC Asheville and at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. She holds a Ph.D. in music theory from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Ithaca College. Lyn has played for church services for the last forty years, accompanying Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Episcopal congregations in worship. She has played at churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina since 2012. An accomplished pianist and harpsichordist, she specializes in performing 20th– and 21st-century repertoire. In her spare time, Lyn enjoys working in traditional fiber arts, spinning and dyeing yarn. She lives in Sylva with her husband, Bryan, and their dog, Kibbee.
Erin L. McCully
(she/her/hers)
Choir Director
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 four cats live in Sylva.
Our Parish Leadership
Cyndie Faircloth-Smith
(she/her/hers)
Senior Warden
Helen Jones
(she/her/hers)
Junior Warden