Parish Staff
The Sacred Heart Cathedral staff is dedicated to help you with your questions and serve you in any way they can. The office is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday–Friday. Call on them if they can be of assistance. The dedication and hard work of our staff makes Sacred Heart parish a truly unique place. If there is no answer, please leave a message so your call can be returned. If you have a sacramental emergency, call 865.588.0249 and select option 2. Our answering service will locate a priest.
Business Office
• Cindy Briggs, CPA, Parish Accountant, 865.558.4105,CBriggs@shcknox.org. Cindy is responsible for accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting for the Parish. Her duties include preparation of month-end and year-end financial reports for the Parish Finance Board and School Board, preparation and monitoring of the budget, and compliance with government and diocesan reporting.
• Rubianna Gonzalez, Receptionist, 865.588.0249, rgonzalez@shcknox.org. Rubianna is at the reception desk Monday-Friday from 9am – 5pm. She answers incoming calls, greets visitors, handles parish mailings, Mass cards, Sacred Heart Dollars, event scheduling, and other parishioner needs. Rubianna is fluent in Spanish. If you need to schedule the Church or other Sacred Heart venue for an event, or would like to provide information in the bulletin, contact Rubianna.
• Judy Polinsky, Office Manager, 865.558.4103, jpolinsky@shcknox.org. Judy is responsible for the organization and coordination of office operations. She assists the pastor with correspondence and appointments, maintains contributions and invoices, and general office duties.
Ministries
• Kathleen Edwards, Director of Youth Ministry and Young Adults, 865.558.4133, kedwards@shcknox.org. Kathleen fosters a comprehensive Youth (grades 6-12), College, and Young Adult (ages 20’s & 30’s) Ministry. She initiates, facilitates, develops and maintains various youth and young adult programs in collaboration with other parish staff members. She is also in charge of high school confirmation.
o Wendy Gilhula, Youth Ministry Assistant, 865.558.8348, wgilhula@shcknox.org.
• Geri Sutter, Coordinator of Volunteer Ministries, 865.558.4117, gsutter@shcknox.org. Geri’s role is to provide coordination of the many volunteer ministries at Sacred Heart. She also assists with the development of new ministries.
Facilities
• Tom Greer, Facilities Administrator, 865.558.4108, tgreer@shcknox.org. Under the direction of our Pastor, Tom oversees the comprehensive maintenance and operations of our parish buildings. Tom also oversees all event planning needs on campus.
o Doug Caiazza, Facilities Coordinator, 865.680.6933, dcaiazza@shcknox.org. Doug assists with event planning, operations, inventory, and general maintenance of our parish.
o Tom Quinones, Housekeeping Supervisor, 865.558.4106, tquinones@shcknox.org.
o Kevin Filicky, Director of Food Services, 865.558.4123, kfilicky@shcknox.org.
Religious Education
• Brigid Johnson, Director of Religious Education, 865.584.4528, bjohnson@shcknox.org. Brigid directs the Religious Education program on Sunday mornings. She is also responsible for catechist formation and certification, whole community catechesis, adult faith formation, Spanish for ministers, sacramental preparation and RCIA.
o Wendy Gilhula, DRE Assistant, 865.558.8348, wgilhula@shcknox.org.
Music
• Faerie Pabich, Director of Liturgy & Music, 865.558.4145, fpabich@shcknox.org. Faerie coordinates the development of all liturgical ministers for our parish, and is responsible for leading the planning of our liturgical celebrations, including weekly Masses, special feasts and celebrations, weddings and funerals. She also directs the development of and provides support to all our cantors and music ministers. Faerie directs the musicians at our 9am Mass which incorporates musical styles across a broad range of compositions. She also leads the planning and directs the music for diocesan celebrations.
• Shelly Letendre, Contemporary Choir Director, 865.694.0770, ts3@comcast.net. Shelly selects and directs the music at our Sunday, 11:00am Mass, which combines a variety of musical instruments and voices in a contemporary music style. As members of our Sacred Heart music ministry team, this group joins with other music ministers to provide music for special celebrations and events.
• Robert McCarter, Organist, 865.558.4110, rmccarter@shcknox.org. Robert is the keyboardist for Saturday evening Mass, 7:30am Mass and 9am Mass on the weekends. He also plays for the 8:05am school Masses. He is available for weddings and funerals and teaches piano at SHCS.
School Staff
Sedonna Prater, Sacred Heart Cathedral School Principal, 865.588.0415, sprater@shcknox.org. Mrs. Prater holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and has twenty-five years’ experience in education with the last fifteen years in Catholic school education. Mrs. Prater joined the Sacred Heart Cathedral School faculty in 1997 as an eighth grade teacher, moving to Vice Principal from 1999-2003 and then Principal in 2004. Debbie Jackson, 865.292.4163, djackson@shcknox.org, serves as Administrative Assistant.
Matt McCleary, Dean of Student Affairs, 865.588.0415, mmccleary@shcknox.org. Matt is Sacred Heart Cathedral School’s Dean of Student Affairs, assisting the principal and counseling students. Krystyn Maxa, 865.558.4100, kmaxa@shcknox.org, serves as School Counselor.
Joni Punch, Admissions and Development Director, 865.558.4136, jpunch@shcknox.org. Joni is the ‘face’ of SHCS, helping families enroll, as well as, organizing events to benefit the Sacred Heart Endowment Fund, which ensures the future of Catholic education for our young people.
Pam Rhoades, Communications Director, 865.558.4016, prhoades@shcknox.org. Pam oversees communications for the parish and the school including websites, newsletters, email updates, photo archives, press releases, advertisements, brochures and social media communication.
Denise Scott, Business Manager, 865.558.4101, dscott@shcknox.org. Denise manages the business office at SHCS.
Candi Smith, Preschool Coordinator, 865.558.4129, csmith@shcknox.org. “Miss Candi” is responsible for Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Preschool. It is a year-round school for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.
Chris Gilliland, Director of Young Folks, 865.584.8882, cgilliland@shcknox.org. “Mr. Chris” oversees the year-round Young Folks program.