The Most Rev. Dr. John S. Erbelding serves as pastor to the chapel’s nondenominational congregation. In 2008 he celebrated his
twelfth year as Bishop to the Southeast for the Traditional Episcopal Church and was elevated to Archbishop of the Diocese of the
Holy Spirit which includes the Anglican Church of Georgia with missionary development in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.
His
pastoral duties started with his first sermon given at eighteen years of age in a Baptist church in Brooklyn, New York, and God has
guided his footsteps in his service ever since.
In addition to his pastoral duties, Archbishop + John has served as a law enforcement
critical incident responder since 1957 with the New York City Police and Fire Departments, then to Stowe, Vermont, in 1976 where
he was active at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, Vermont. This was followed by twenty years in Coral Springs,
Florida, where he served as chief chaplain to the Coral Springs Police Department with currently fifty-one years of counseling experience.
With the formation of the chaplain’s program in the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1990, he was selected to serve as an FBI chaplain
working in the Employee Assistance Program out of the Miami office and still is active with the Bureau.
During the period of
his Florida service, he was appointed chaplain to the 10-13 organization which is made up of retired New York City police officers
living in south Florida where he served until his relocation to Dillard, Georgia, to continue his duties as Bishop to the Southeast.
In
Georgia he serves as a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains, Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Chaplains,
Northeast Traffic Enforcement Chaplain, and chief chaplain to the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office with the additional assignment as
critical incident negotiator.
Having spent his life in service to men and women in law enforcement of all denominations, he finds
his position as the nondenominational pastor of the Chapel of Sky Valley fulfilling.
Meet the Pastor