Wade Chestnut Memorial Chapel

08/21/2026

Another long-time and much-loved friend of Chestnut Chapel, the Reverend Kathleen Walker, will be with us this Sunday! 🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏻

Service begins at 11am.
Fellowship, sips and nibbles following immediately after.

Here’s more about the amazing Reverend Walker:

The Rev. Kathleen Walker is the Canon Missioner for Black Ministries for the
Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina! She joined the staff in February 2020 to focus on the continuity and vitality of the dozen Black congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. The history of the African American tradition in North Carolina is rich and profound. It is important to weave their stories and contributions into a closer bond of inclusion with other parishes and the diocese. The goal is to ensure all predominantly Black congregations have the best opportunity to make the fullest use of the resources of their parishes, partnerships, and the diocese. Currently there are 11 active African American congregations in the diocese and one historical church that is in process of redevelopment. Canon Walker is passionate about sustaining and supporting Black communities in the context of the Episcopal church.

Canon Walker graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2018. She is currently president of the Alumni Association Executive Committee. She has dedicated many years to the cause of social and racial justice. Rev. Walker is committed to fulfilling the diocese’s priority of becoming beloved community as we work through racial reckoning, justice and healing. A long-time member of the UBE, She is president of the Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.

08/14/2026

Join us this Sunday as we welcome back The Reverend Mawethu Ncaca to Chestnut Chapel ❤️⛪️❤️

Service begins at 11…10:45 for some (IYKYK 😄 ⏰ 😎).

Community time with light refreshments immediately following the service 🍲

Want to know a bit about Rev. Ncaca? We got you:

The Rev. Mawethu Ncaca is the rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Hillsborough. He previously served as Associate Rector at St. John’s Wake Forest for three years and began his parish ministry through the ReImagining Curacies program. His prior service includes St. John’s during the pandemic, St. Titus' in Durham, and The Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill. Born and raised in South Africa, he received a Master of Philosophy in Religion and Culture from Stellenbosch University. After years in campus ministry and NGO work forging church partnerships across racial and economic lines, Mawethu relocated to the US eleven years ago with his wife and two sons. He enjoys running and soccer. St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Durham was his sponsoring parish for ordination.

08/07/2026

We’re so happy that our summer calendar is chock full of familiar faces, and this Sunday is no exception! We’ll be welcoming the Reverend Skip Walker back to the chapel. ❤️

Service at 11am. 🙏🏽
Light refreshments directly after. 😋

Here’s the scoop on Rev. Skip:

The Rev. Dr. Skip Walker is an Episcopal priest, author, jazz musician, and educator who serves as Priest-in-Charge of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Wilmington and St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Dr. Walker earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from the University of the South (Sewanee). His ministry uniquely bridges theology, preaching, and jazz, exploring how improvisation, listening, and creativity can renew proclamation in the church. Dr. Walker is the author of the upcoming book entitled Swinging in the Pulpit: Finding Your Preaching Voice Through the Spirit of Jazz (Church Publishing, February 2027), which invites preachers to embrace the improvisational spirit of jazz as a model for authentic, Spirit-led preaching. An accomplished drummer/composer, his 2022 recording Tina's Contemplation: A Reflection on the Genius of Tina Brooks reached the JazzWeek Top 25 chart. Whether preaching, teaching, performing, or speaking, Dr. Walker is passionate about helping people encounter the transformative power of the Gospel through creativity, justice, and the arts.

08/06/2026

Thank you Bishop Sarah Fisher and Kenneth S. Chestnut Sr. for shining light on our chapel and this special community 💕

08/03/2026

07/31/2026

The Bishop is coming! The Bishop is coming!! This Sunday, Bishop Sarah Fisher will be here 🙌🏽 🙏🏼 🙌🏿! Join us for 11 am service, followed by light refreshments and community time.

Bishop Fisher would like you to know that….

In no particular order, Bishop Fisher loves Jesus, the Church, 0rganization and congregational development, poetry, Holy Scripture, her family in all of its delightful and quirky forms, thrift stores, singing, practicing and teaching yoga, vegetables, laughter, playing in the kitchen and sharpie markers.

She hopes to love, in as much as it is possible, the way that Jesus loves; to serve the Church with fierce compassion and care; to learn as long as it’s possible. She seeks to see and respond to the needs of the world, specifically with an eye to racial injustice; to love those who the world casts to the margins; to use her voice to heal and never harm.

She believes that God is alive and at work in the world; that the Church is as vital and needed today as it ever has been; that God is irresistible and that Love/Love Incarnate/Resurrection/God always gets the last and best word.

Bishop Fisher is a native of Athens, Georgia and has served parishes in the Diocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Atlanta. She and her spouse and best beloved, Mandy, who is an Episcopal priest, live in New Bern, where they frequently function as human tennis ball dispensers to their two black labs, Bayton and Maggie.

07/24/2026

What a joy it is to welcome Reverend Jody Greenwood to Chestnut Chapel! Her message of hope can’t help but lift our spirits 😇

Join us this Sunday at 11am , followed by community time with a light repast 🙏🏾☀️🙏🏼

Here’s a little about Rev. Greenwood…

The Rev. Jody Greenwood serves as Rector of Church of the Servant in Wilmington, NC, where she has been since September of 2017. She is passionate about making Jesus’ good-news message accessible to all, and enjoys spending a Sunday each summer at the Wade Chestnut Memorial Chapel, so come hear a good word! A cradle-Episcopalian, Jody spent much of her life in Houston, TX, including a 20 year career in banking. In 2010 she relocated to Atlanta, GA to pursue her lifelong dream of being an ordained priest. She earned a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University and was ordained by Bishop Rob Wright in the Diocese of Atlanta. She currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee for the Diocese of East Carolina, and is also the chair of the Commission on Ministry. She is married and she and Alice have two rescue dogs, Abbey and Roxie.”

07/17/2026

We are halfway through the season! The weather is great, the island is beautiful and the Chapel is open to all 🙏🏾☀️🙏🏼 Come worship with us Sunday at 11am and stay for a light repast and community time 😋

This weekend we’re happy, as always, to welcome Reverend Nikki Mathis!! Here’s what to know about Rev. Mathis…

The Very Reverend Nikki Mathis is the Rector of St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, GA and Dean for Oconee Convocation in Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. She is currently Dean of faculty for The Episcopal Preaching Foundation; as well as author for Forward Day by Day and Sermons that Work. She shares a happy home with her husband Vincent, teenaged son, Ethan, and their exceedingly overgrown puppy, Germaine.

07/14/2026

07/10/2026

This Sunday The Reverend Hershey Mallette Stephens will be back with us! Here’s what’s to know about Reverend Stephens:

The Rev. Hershey Mallette Stephens is a native North Carolinian. Baptized and raised at St. Ambrose Church in Raleigh. She served in the Presiding Bishop’s Office of Evangelism, where she was Project Lead for the Beloved Community Storysharing Campaign. This work afforded her the joy and opportunity to hear stories of faith, race and discovery from Episcopalians of all ages and backgrounds from all over the country.
Rev. Hershey enjoys listening and learning from children and young people, dreaming up new and fresh ways to tell the story of God in Christ, and creating celebrations! Her call to engage youth and young adults around spiritual practice, Anglican identity and religious thought has led her to work in the Episcopal Church through out the United States, as well as in the broader the Anglican Communion.
She now serves as Dean of the Chapel at Saint Augustine’sUniversity, in her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. Hershey lives with her husband Rob Stephens, and their sons Jeremiah and Alan.

Hershey describes her spiritual journey as a life spiraling in control. Through the influences of sage grandparents and elders, many wise priests, loving friends and family, and spirit-filled communities both spiritual and secular she is met and guided by God’s immeasurable grace each and every day!

We hope you’ll join us in welcoming Reverend Stephens and her family this Sunday at 11am for service, followed by refreshments and fellowship in the community center 🙏🏾😊🙏🏼