The Staff at St. Francis

To reach any of our staff, simply click on their name to send an email or call (423) 238-7708.

Fresh off the press, our Rector, Lou, was recently interviewed by City Scope Magazine. She is featured in July's digital magazine edition within the "Choosing Purpose over Percentage" section on page 90. Read here.

The Rev. Louisa "Lou" Tucker Parsons, Rector

Lou received her Master of Divinity from the School of Theology at Sewanee in 2002, 25 years after graduating with a BA in Economics in the fourth undergraduate class of women accepted at Sewanee.

Lou’s first career was as an Orthoptist/ Ophthalmic Technologist, which included two years of post-graduate work at Emory University with a year at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta before serving as Chief of Technology for the Vanderbilt Eye Clinic. A native East Tennessean, she lived in various areas of the country including San Francisco and Hawaii before returning to Tennessee.

Since being ordained, Lou served as curate for St. James Episcopal Church in Knoxville and Assistant Rector of Grace Church in Chattanooga. She completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education at Erlanger Medical Center, served as hospital chaplain for Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, and worked five years as a Chaplain for Hospice of Chattanooga. She now serves as a Police Chaplain for the Collegedale Police Department. Lou is married to Dr. Mark Parsons and they have two adult children.

The Rev. John Rouser, Deacon