Who We Are

The EPISCOPAL - CATHOLIC church welcomes you!

We are SACRAMENTAL in Worship, CATHOLIC in Spirit, ORTHODOX in Faith, and PROGRESSIVE in Love.

  • Church of the Risen Christ & St. Mary Episcopal Catholic Church are independent parishes within the Episcopal - Old Catholic communion.

    Our Manual
    The Holy Bible with Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament (KJV, NRSV or ESV)

    The Book of Common Prayer

    Our Message
    Jesus Christ crucified, buried, risen and coming again!

    We believe God loves you with no exceptions! There are no conditions on the unconditional love of God.

    Our Goals
    To Worship God
    To Grow in holiness
    To Seek the Old Paths
    To share the Faith with others

  • A desire to live out our individual & collective faith in God among our community. We seek to demonstrate God's care for every person in real and practical ways, inviting those we meet to discover a personal relationship with Christ, grow as His disciple, and join us in impacting our community with knowledge and love of God found only in Christ Jesus

  • To Inspire, Experience and Share the Reality of Christ through Word and Sacrament.

    Further, our mission is to spread the word of the Holy Scriptures, offer the sacraments and provide the church to those that seek it, and can't find it elsewhere. We do not (and will not) spend our time doing debate. This simply is not practical. We share Jesus and the love that God has for ALL people. We are a vibrant community steeped in tradition, bringing the concepts and precepts of the Ancient Apostolic Churches to our modern age. We are open, Christ centered, Scripture based, non-judgmental and non-political.

  • Praise & Worship - A life lived and given back in worship of God

    Liturgical & Sacramental Worship - The value of holy & historical worship

    Preaching & Teaching Scripture - Biblical teaching from the Word of God

    Evangelism & Outreach - Sharing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ

    Missions & Missionary Work - Being salt & light wherever God calls

    The uniqueness of each person - Every person matters to God

    Diligent pursuit of a personal relationship with Christ - Endeavoring to run the race set before us.

    The Trinity - God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit as confessed in the Nicene Creed

    Demonstrating Christ's love & compassion -Bearing others burdens & the hope found in God

    Fellowship - Joining and enjoying the community of Faith

  • Episcopal meaning governed by Bishops of valid Apostolic succession (or Orders). Bishops are successors to the Apostles and, among other secular and ecclesiastical duties, confirm new members to the Church. The Faith teaches and we believe that children are covered by Baptismal grace. At the age of discretion, children are given Catechism and Confirmation instruction, after which they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation conferred by a Bishop and their first communion. We do this as a balance between catholic and reformed teaching and is Scripturally based, partly on St. Paul's words in I Corinthians 11:29, "discerning the Lord's body."

    Although we are episcopal, we are not in communion nor have any affiliation with The Episcopal Church, USA or The Protestant Episcopal Church in North America (The Episcopal Church or “TEC”).

  • Catholic yet not Roman. The Church is universal, holding earnestly the Faith for all time for all people and part of the historic Undivided Church, tracing its teachings and ministry to the early Apostolic Church instituted by Jesus Christ, the Seven Ecumenical Councils, and the unanimous consensus of the Church Fathers.

  • While the Church is one, it adapts itself to differing cultures and circumstances. We believe in the freedom of individual churches, dioceses and provinces to respond to the needs of the particular people they serve. Independence does not mean that a parish or diocese or any other level of church government has the right to change the Faith.  Each congregation owns its own property. Neither the bishops nor the conventions of this Church make political decisions for the people of the Church. Christians are bound to make their political decisions and exercise their rights in the light of the Gospel.

  • A traditional parish of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ. In our worship, we profess the orthodox Christian Faith by joyfully proclaiming the timeless Gospel of our Saviour and celebrating the seven Holy Sacraments as received in the canonical Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Fathers. In our services, we use a liturgy based on the Book of Common Prayer, which contains prayers and affirmations of Faith dating to the beginning of Christianity and the traditional Anglican liturgy. This liturgy has been continuously used in parishes since it was first published in 1549 Book of Common Prayer.

  • We are a part of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

    Our Communion
    The Episcopal—Catholic Free Communion

    The Table of Christ: An Interdependent Sacramental Communion

    Our Province
    The Episcopal Free Fellowship

    Our Diocese
    The Diocese of St. Patrick

  • The story of the Church of the Risen Christ is one of faith and growth. The parish founded in 2009 as St. Francis Old Catholic Church started with very little. After many years of praying, planning, fundraising, and the generosity of many other churches donating, the parish is growing into a thriving faith community.
    2009 - The Old Catholic Church started an independent mission in Memphis, TN. The Rev. Fr. Tommy Shepperd founded and served as the parish’s first Priest.

    2019 - The parish closed public services due to the pandemic. Post-Pandemic times made the church struggle to reopen. As a result, the church went entirely online.

    2023 - Fr. Tommy was called to serve another parish and Rev. Fr. Justin L. Gates was called to serve as the parish’s second Priest.

    2024 - The Parish was a mission of the Free Anglican Mission Society. M. Caleb Hayes was licensed as the parish’s first lay reader. The mission parish was moved and replanted in Trenton, TN. With the move, the parish reorganized and renamed the church as the Church of the Risen Christ. The decision was made to retain the history of the parish as St. Francis by naming the chapel in his honor. A new patron saint was being prayed about.

    2025 - The Parish unanimously voted to leave the Free Anglican Mission Society and unite with the Episcopal-Catholic Communion, in the Diocese of St. Patrick, province of the Episcopal Free Fellowship of America. Thus, allowing the parish to return to its Old Catholic roots. The Rev. Fr. Justin L. Gates was incardinated. M. Caleb Hayes was ordained into the Holy Order of Deacons, becoming the parish’s first permanent deacon. A new Patron Saint for the parish was named. St. Mary Magdalene was chosen.

    COMING SOON is the Memphis Mission. St. Mary Episcopal Catholic Church will soon be in the greater Memphis area.

  • From our earliest days, the Church of the Risen Christ (formally St. Francis Old Catholic Church) has carried a story of faith, resilience, and renewal. Founded in 2009 under the patronage of St. Francis of Assisi, our community was built upon Francis’s vision of humility, simplicity, and love for all creation. His spirit of welcome and compassion remains a living part of our heritage.

    In 2024, through prayer and discernment, our parish embraced a new chapter of life. We placed ourselves under the patronage of St. Mary Magdalene, the first witness of the Resurrection and the Apostle to the Apostles. Once misunderstood and rejected, Mary was chosen by Christ to proclaim the Good News to the world. She embodies our mission as a parish of hope, restoration, and bold witness to the Risen Lord.

    To honor our history and preserve our roots, our chapel remains dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. Here, we remember the simplicity of the Gospel and the call to love without boundaries.

    Together, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Francis remind us that our parish is both rooted in tradition and renewed in resurrection.

  • St. Mary Magdalene (Feast Day: July 22)
    The Apostle to the Apostles. Once misunderstood and rejected yet chosen by Christ as the first witness of the Resurrection. She represents new beginnings and dignity restored.

    Who she was: 
    A close follower of Jesus, often misunderstood in history. She was freed by Christ (Luke 8:2 mentions seven demons cast out of her) and became one of His most faithful disciples.

    Why she matters:

    • Wrongly branded for centuries as a prostitute, she symbolizes the experience of being mislabeled, misunderstood, or excluded.

    • She stood by Christ when nearly everyone else abandoned Him—present at the Crucifixion, the Burial, and the Resurrection.

    • Christ entrusted her first with the Good News of the Resurrection, making her the “Apostle to the Apostles.”

    Patronage themes:
    Repentance, new beginnings, dignity restored, steadfast discipleship, evangelization.

    For our parish: 
    She embodies the Church for the rejected—someone written off by others but lifted up by Christ to a place of honor and witness.