by Pam Doty, Editor

I am excited about being the editor of the East Tennessee Episcopalian. I have a vision of it becoming an instrument of sharing, so that we know and care about one another as elements of the same body-the body of Christ.

As a diocese, we need to share what we are doing and where we are. We need to know each other's missions and ministries. We need to share our joys and our sorrows. These are the things which make us one. In this fashion, our love in Christ deepens.

To celebrate our life together, we need to get to know each other. I'll go first, but I expect to hear from the rest of you.

My name is Pam Doty. I am the wife of Michael, the rector of St. Paul's in Athens, the mother of Isaac, a budding genius, and I am care giver for Pippin, the Pekingese who rules the world (or so he believes and I cannot convince him otherwise). I am a staff writer for The Daily Post-Athenian. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the newspaper business, that means I run around town covering groundbreakings, club meetings and ribbon cuttings and write stories for the lifestyles section, but I also type obituaries, letters to Santa and press releases from the garden club.

I teach a Church school class of lively (or not) young people as part of the "Journey to Adulthood" curriculum. I also assist with the acolytes, act as coffee hostess once a year, and serve on the Altar Guild, particularly at Christmas and Easter. I enjoy serving as a lay reader and lay eucharistic minister. I just completed my fourth year of Education for Ministry, and with Noble Clark (she’s an angel – that is, a messenger from God) am attempting to establish a chapter of the Order of St. Luke.

I spend a great deal of time transporting my son from one activity to another, although, these days, I'm in the passenger seat, clutching my rosary and wearing holes in the carpet where the brake should be. Isaac received his learner's permit just last week.

Now, I know you are thinking "this woman has too much on her plate!" I have to agree. My years as Superwoman are in the past. I now understand that I have limits. I have therefore made some sacrifices in order to become editor of The East Tennessee Episcopalian. I have given up housework.

Now my dear sweet husband will contend that you cannot give up what you never did in the first place, but, I believe there is much freedom from guilt in openly declaring that it is so. I feel so much better now that I am not pretending to dust all those books.

I have also given up most of the kitchen duties in our household and both husband and son are quietly celebrating. (I hear more than they think I do--I taught school for a while and my hearing is keen). Michael prepares excellent fare and I only sub when he has night meetings, although Isaac will almost always opt for a peanut butter sandwich if he suspects I might actually cook!

I am the second of five children and I grew up in North Alabama and East Tennessee. I met Michael while in high school and have been married to him for 27 years. I graduated from Carson Newman College. I have taught high school (biology, chemistry and physics) and worked for a research laboratory in the thermionic generation of electricity. I spent many years as CEO of the family zinc plating business and am familiar with metal finishing, quality control, hazardous waste management and sibling rivalry. I survived seminary. In the past several years I have run a small copy shop, creating documents for area businesses. I have been working for The Daily Post- Athenian for a couple of years where I started in composing and paste-up. I have since worked in pagination (that's using a computer for paste-up) and am now writing on a daily basis.

I enjoy what I do. Listening to people's stories and then communicating them to others gives such a sense of satisfaction. I am looking forward to hearing your stories.