St. Agnes' Church, Cowan, Tennessee

06/11/2026

Students from across the nation and around the world will bring their musical talent to Cowan Center for the Arts! Join us and bring a few friends for this amazing concert!

06/11/2026

Summer Series: Bishops of the Diocese of Tennessee

Charles Todd Quintard, M.D., D.D., LL.D., was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on December 22, 1824 and attended Trinity School in New York. In 1847, Quintard received his M.D. degree from University Medical College, New York University. For a year he worked at Bellevue Hospital. He moved to Athens, Georgia, where he practiced medicine. In 1851, he became professor of physiology and pathological anatomy at the Memphis Medical College and one of the editors of the Memphis Medical Recorder. While in Memphis, he became friends with Bishop James Otey and began to study for the ordained ministry. Quintard was ordained deacon on January 1, 1855, and priest on January 6, 1856. He served as rector of the Church of the Advent, Nashville, until he was consecrated Bishop of Tennessee on October 11, 1865. He served as bishop until his death on February 15, 1898. As bishop, he was instrumental in the revival of the church in Tennessee and supported missions to the freed African Americans. He was a supporter of the Oxford Movement and was deeply interested in the educational mission of the church. Quintard was the second founder of the University of the South after the devastation of the Civil War. In March 1866, he went to Sewanee, selected locations for the buildings, and planted a cross. He was the first vice-chancellor of the University, February 14, 1867-July 12, 1872, and presided at its official opening on September 18, 1868. He made several trips to England to raise money for the University. On one of those trips he convinced a woman to give the money for a theological building resulting in the construction of St. Luke's Hall, so named because Quintard was a physician. Quintard died in Darien, Georgia. (source: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/quintard-charles-todd/)

06/09/2026

Today we begin our Summer Series on Bishops of Tennessee, leading us up to the election of our 12th Bishop of Tennessee on August 22, 2026.

The Rt. Rev. James Hervey Otey, first Bishop of Tennessee, was born January 27, 1800 in Liberty, Virginia. Otey graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1820 and then served there as a tutor for a year. In 1821 he became the principal of Harpeth Academy in Maury County, Tennessee. From 1823 until 1825, he was the principal of the Warrenton Academy, Warrenton, North Carolina. Otey studied for the ordained ministry under Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft of North Carolina. He was ordained deacon on October 16, 1825, and priest on June 17, 1827. From 1827 until 1834, he was rector of St. Paul's Church, Franklin, Tennessee, and held services in Columbia and Nashville. He helped to organize the Diocese of Tennessee and was consecrated its first bishop on January 14, 1834. He served in that position until his death on April 23, 1863. During his episcopate he served as Provisional Bishop of Mississippi and of Florida. He also served as Missionary Bishop of Arkansas, Louisiana, and the Indian Territory. Otey founded numerous schools in Tennessee. He was one of the founders of the University of the South and its first chancellor, serving from July 4, 1857, until his death. Otey's churchmanship was in the high church tradition of Bishop Ravenscroft. He stressed that the Episcopal Church was the American branch of the catholic church. He died in Memphis, Tennessee. (Source: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/otey-james-hervey/)

Photo: The Rt. Rev. James Hervey Otey

06/09/2026

June 7, 2026. Contracts define a significant part of life in today's world. We sign contracts with phone carriers, media providers, banks, and construction companies, as examples. In a contract, we seek to define and protect our own interests. Because contracts are so common in today's life, we as Christians sometimes define our relationship with God as a type of contract. But the Bible shows something far greater than we can imagine. We are in covenant. Our relationship with God is defined by relationship, promise, and blessing. Reflect with us today on our relationship with God, God's promises, and God's blessings. Take a moment also to read Genesis 12: 1-9, Romans 4: 13-25, and Matthew 9: 9-13 and 18-26.

June 7, 2026 - Welcome to St. Agnes'! Contracts define a significa...

06/08/2026

How nice! The green altar frontal you see here was in our collection at St. Agnes' for three decades. Today it adorns the altar at Christ the King Anglican Church in Blantyra, Malawi.

05/23/2026

On May 24th, the 50th day of Eastertide, the church throughout the world celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit and her calling to share the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Come and worship with us at the 11 o'clock hour. And we invite you to wear something red to represent the "tongues as of fire" mentioned in the Book of Acts.

Alleluia. The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: O come,
let us adore him. Alleluia.

04/26/2026

April 26, 2026: The church throughout the world often refers to the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide as Good Shepherd Sunday. This refers to the fact that between the Resurrections and the Day of Pentecost we take a moment to look back at Jesus' earthly ministry and see how he identified and revealed himself. It's common and appropriate for us to reflect on the symbolism of shepherds and sheep on this day, but today we're going to look at the symbol of gates and fences used in the narrative of John's gospel. Take a moment to read John 10: 1-10 and then listen to this reflection. Take a moment today also to read the 23rd Psalm and First Peter 2: 19-25.

Gates and fences

04/23/2026

April 19, 2026: The Third Sunday of Easter takes us on a road trip with two of Jesus' disciples. This is famously known as the Road to Emmaus, but we should emphasize that it is also a road away from Jerusalem. At Jerusalem the disciples witnessed the horrible events of Jesus' crucifixion and death. To them, Jerusalem become a dark and dreary place filled with haunting memories. Along the way, the disciples meet a "stranger". They walk with him, talk with him, and listen to him speak. However, when they sat down at a meal to break bread with him, they recognized the stranger as the Risen Christ. There's much we can learn and reflect on from this episode following the Resurrection. One of the greatest lessons we learn is where Jesus meets them. Jesus met them in a dark, confusing, and discouraging moment. Jesus met them when they were trying to walk away from a dreadful place. Jesus met them not in a synagogue or Temple, but in a house while they were breaking bread. Jesus meets us in times and places like these. Jesus comes to us in dark and dreary times and in routine moments when we least expect him. Take a moment to read Luke 24: 13-35 and reflect with us on where and when Christ meets us.

02/21/2026

February 22 through March 22: During the Season of Lent we encourage everyone to make extra time on Sunday mornings to join us for a Bible study.

The theme will be "Think on These Things" and is based on Paul's Letter to the Philippians.

We will gather on Sunday mornings during the 10 a.m. Sunday school hour in the parish hall.

The first class will be February 22nd and the last class will be March 22nd.

12/17/2025

St. Agnes' welcomes you to a special time of worship on Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 4 p.m.

We will celebrate The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord with a traditional evening service. After the service we will gather in the parish hall for the Werlein Memorial Christmas Reception.

"Unto us a child is born: O come, let us adore him."