New Deacon Appointed to St. Luke's

Hello St. Luke’s! I am excited to share the new of our new deacon appointment: meet Pam Evans.  Pam will be ordained to the transitional diaconate on May 7 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, and then will be with us for a year of intentional mentoring before being ordained a priest.  She will primarily be joining us on Sundays and special events as she continues to work full time during the week, and you can expect to hear her preach once a month or so as schedules allow.  Please join me in welcoming Pam, and journeying alongside of her this next year.  

Blessings, 

Jesse+ 

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Hello everyone, 

I am delighted to serve and learn as a transitional deacon with the congregation of St Luke’s and Fr. Jesse Perkins. 

I, along with two other seminarians from our diocese, Mike Johnson and Lavonnie Perry Claybon, just completed the two-year Alternate Clergy Training (ACTS) program at Sewanee. This is a hybrid online and in-person, continuous 24-month program designed for those heeding the call to a bi-vocational priesthood or diaconate.  We each completed and passed our General Ordination Exams (GOEs) in January of 2026.  Bivocational priests maintain secular work for their compensation and are non-stipendiary with the churches they serve.

I grew up on a farm in Carroll County. I followed a dream to graduate from Sewanee: The University of the South with a degree in Chemistry and then graduate from medical school at the University of Alabama Birmingham in 1995. I completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Alabama. I moved back home to begin a vocation as a full-time practicing physician specializing in Women’s Health in September of 1999. I think every part of that work is called by God as well. The operating room is a home to me with skills of service to others. I’m really good with late nights that stretch into the early morning hours. I have been blessed and honored to be the first to hold and hear a newborn’s cry so many beautiful times.  

I have also given birth to three children of my own who are all adults now.  My youngest is 21 years old and a rising Junior at the University of Georgia.  Our family has enlarged to welcome two daughters-in-law. 

I am a lifelong Girl Scout who enjoys campfires, cookies, and all things that spark magic into the lives of young women. I am a Gold Award scout who has greatly benefited from strong Adult Girl Scout mentors in West Tennessee. 

Within the church, I am also a member of the Order of the Daughters of the King. That mission of prayer and service has informed my life. The Godly Play Montessori program holds my heart. I have treasured serving as a Godly Play Storyteller. 

Along the way, this farm girl, Girl Scout, Chemistry major, OB-GYN physician and Women’s health advocate heard another call for her life. I appreciate the warm welcome you have given me as I follow this service as a deacon at St Luke’s.  

The Rev. Deacon Pam Evans