University Chaplain Tom Macfie to Step Down Next Year
Thursday, May 16, 2019
The Rev. Thomas E. Macfie Jr., University of the South chaplain and dean of All Saints’ Chapel, will complete his work as chaplain at the end of the next academic year (June, 2020). Macfie was appointed chaplain in 2006 and dean of the Chapel in 2010.
“The Episcopal Church and the University of the South have been the defining institutions of my life,” said Macfie. “I mark these years as chaplain and dean of All Saints’ Chapel as the pinnacle of my service as a priest of our church.”
Professor of Geology Bran Potter and current Regent the Rev. Patty Rhyne, T’06, will co-chair a search advisory committee to assist Vice-Chancellor John McCardell with the task of finding a successor. The Ordinances of the University state that upon the nomination of the vice-chancellor, the Trustees elect the chaplain. Over the next several weeks, McCardell will assemble a committee to work under Potter’s and Rhyne’s guidance to advise on this duty.
“Tom has served the Episcopal Church and the University of the South in invaluable ways, and his devotion to our students and the entire community has been unmatched,” said McCardell. “His care and his counsel will be greatly missed.”
Macfie has been a member of the Sewanee community for almost all of the last 43 years. He holds B.A. (1980) and M.Div. (1989) degrees from the University of the South. He served in the University’s Office of Admission from 1984 to 1986, and as rector of Otey Parish from 1997 to 2006. In addition to his work during the academic year, he has performed summer work in South Africa (1985) and Uganda (2014).
As for what the future holds, “Pamela and I have some exciting endeavors in Maine that I can best pursue by spending more time on that coast,” Macfie says. “I also have a writing project that explores the connection between friendship and nature as gifts of God.”