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The Rev. Timothy Holder will preach his final sermon as pastor at St. Thomas Episcopal Church Sunday. The Elizabethton native has served as the church’s priest, missioner and pastor for the past 10 years. There will be a celebration of his ministry at 12:30 p.m.

Ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church Dec. 17, 1997, at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Ala., Holder was formerly active in state and national politics. He has served parishes in Birmingham, the South Bronx of New York, New Jersey and now, his last pastorate in his hometown.

“Looking back, my journey before returning home in 2015 prepared me to be who I am today. I find it inexpressible at times, my heart filling with gratitude and great love for such a blessed life and vocation. The church and my congregations have given me untold friendship and mercies in ways I could never have imagined,” Rev. Holder shared.

Rev. Holder, a 1977 graduate of Happy Valley High School in Elizabethton, served as a page in the United States House of Representatives in his junior year, 1971. Holder received a Doctor of Ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary along with a graduate certificate in Appalachian studies from East Tennessee State University in 2021. He is a 1997 graduate of Harvard Divinity School and the University of the South at Sewanee in 1977.

The reverend is the son of the late John and Ruth Scott Holder, who were natives of Elizabethton. John was a lover of gospel singing and most sports, and Ruth was a caring and loving nurse. His sister and brother-in-law are Mike and Diane Houser of Elizabethton.

During Holder’s time at St. Thomas, his ministry has been rich with opportunities, one being the integration of Appalachian music into the Anglican liturgy. The resonance of the two traditions has helped revitalize the parish. But introducing new programs in the church was not new to Holder, who, while in New York, spearheaded a liturgy infused with hip-hop, a project that drew teens and young adults to his Bronx parish.

Meanwhile, the Elizabethton parish’s membership base has grown, largely thanks to Latinos in Elizabethton, because St. Thomas is a bilingual congregation.

Holder attributed St. Thomas’ revitalization to the Episcopal Church’s welcoming ethos and the authenticity of Appalachian music.

The pastor-priest has published and spoken widely. His work with and among young generations in the South Bronx of New York and across the country is celebrated in the book Disciples of the Street: The Promise of a HipHop Church (Church Publishing, 2006). Holder was awarded the “First Decade Outstanding Alumnus Award” by Harvard Divinity School celebrating his work in Birmingham and New York in 2005 and is a 2005 recipient of the “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award” by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, a 108-person-capacity church built by enslaved persons during the Civil War, was formerly the Southern Methodist Church.

“Here at St. Thomas, families work very hard and pray faithfully to stay together and care for one another,” Holder said. “Their faith inspires. Their faith is not simply a Sunday morning proposition.”

As he prepares for retirement, Rev. Holder plans to continue his work with the Hispanic community, promote Appalachian music and culture, and finish his upcoming book, Street and Altar: Stories and Theologies. Though retiring from his role at St. Thomas, Rev. Holder will remain an active and engaged resident of the Northeast Tennessee community.