Clergy & Staff

Rev. Erin Maxfield-Steele, Rector

(she/her/hers)

Rev. Erin Maxfield-Steele joined St. John's as Priest-in-Charge in November of 2022. Erin grew up in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and moved to Western North Carolina in 2019. She was ordained at Church of the Good Shepherd in Cashiers, and served as Priest-in-Charge of St. Georges in West Asheville before coming to Sylva.

Erin was raised Mennonite and joined the Episcopal church in her early teens. She has played music since childhood, studied English and art in college, and considers herself a life-long learner. Erin was a Bilingual Medical Interpreter (Spanish/English) before deciding to pursue her Masters.

Erin holds a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University. Her thesis, "Attending to the Spiritual Wisdom of Children," was published in 2018 as part of the book Story, Formation, and Culture: From Theory to Practice in Ministry with Children (Pickwick Press). In 2020, Erin's book You Made Me, a self-illustrated book of lectio divina for children, was published by Wipf and Stock. Erin holds a post-graduate degree in Anglican Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained priest in 2018.

Erin has two children, Ursa and Ellis, and one giant dog, Johann. She and her husband, Allyn, live in Sylva.

 

Contact:

Phone: (828) 586-8358 

Email: priestsaintjohnssylva@gmail.com

Parish Administration

Jan Staffelbach, Parish Administrator

(she/her/hers)

A person with long blonde hair in front of a red brick wall, wearing a teal floral-patterned shirt.

Contact:

Phone: (828) 586-8358

Email: saintjohnssylva@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aeryn Knight, Administrative Coordinator

(he/him/they/them)

Person with red hair and glasses in a garden with topiary and hills in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Bryan Burkett, Bookkeeper

Children & Family Ministry

Beth Jones, Children's Lay Minister

(she/her/hers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toby Lawrence, Children's Ministry Assistant

(he/him/his)

 

Music Ministry

Dr. Lyn Ellen Burkett, Organist

(she/her/hers)

A woman with brown hair smiles warmly at the camera, wearing a beige cardigan over a dark top, set against a textured gray background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erin L. McCully, Choir Director

(she/her/hers)

Erin McCully has been a parishioner of St. John's since around 2008, and she is grateful for the opportunity to serve the church in a musical capacity. Erin was born in North Carolina, grew up in Pennsylvania, and then moved back to North Carolina as an adult. She attended Episcopal churches throughout her childhood. 

Erin has a Bachelors and a Masters degree in music education from Ithaca College and a Masters in Instructional Systems Technology from UNC Charlotte. Erin is also the Director of Instructional Development at Southwestern Community College. 

 

Erin, her husband Ian, daughter Lia, and four cats live in Sylva.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parish Leadership

Cyndie Faircloth-Smith, Senior Warden

(she/her/hers)

Cynthia is a devoted wife, proud grandmother of three, and loving mom to a lively bunch of dachshunds. A retired English instructor, she now serves as Senior Warden while also wearing many hats—as ECW president, altar guild member, and church scheduler.

 

Helen Jones, Junior Warden

 (she/her/hers)

A woman with short hair and glasses smiles warmly. She wears a blue sweater over a pink top

Helen is a proud wife, mother of three, grandmother of seven, and great-grandmother of one. A retired biomedical engineer, she brings thoughtfulness and dedication to her role as Junior Warden. Helen is also active in the choir and the garden group, where she shares both her voice and her green thumb.