Two parishes in the Diocese of Atlanta have installed new priests since 2025 Annual Council: Mariclair Partee Carlsen at St. James Episcopal Church in Marietta, and Mark S. Winward at Episcopal Church of the Holy Family in Jasper.

As each move forward from this milestone, they shared what they look forward to as they serve their parish. Here are their profiles.

Mariclair Partee Carlsen: Returning Home to Lead

Installed Nov. 19
St. James Episcopal Church, Marietta

Born and raised in Marietta, Mother Mariclair is a graduate of the University of Georgia, the University of Georgia School of Law, and the General Theological Seminary.

Mother Mariclair described her journey to ministry:

I discerned a call to the priesthood through my participation at the Episcopal Center at UGA as an undergraduate. While in law school I entered the formal process through a unique Diocese of Atlanta program called DYVE (Discerning Young Vocations Experience) designed for 18-24 year olds. I was made a postulant but took a few years to practice as a labor and employment attorney before heading to the General Theological Seminary. I was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in Atlanta but spent the first almost twenty years of my ordained life in Pennsylvania.

I served as a curate at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury, Pa., followed by time as Canon for Adult Spiritual Formation at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Pa., before being called as rector and chaplain of St. Mary’s, Hamilton Village, the Episcopal Church at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. During my decade at St. Mary’s, I married my husband Mitch, welcomed our daughters, Ruby and Maisie, and generally loved being a neighborhood priest on a busy, urban university campus.

I grew up in Marietta, and we decided to move back in June 2022 to be closer to my father as he aged. For our first few years back in Georgia, I worked for the Episcopal Preaching Foundation as preaching faculty and the National Coordinator of grant-funded initiatives and enjoyed having weekends off for the first time in my ordained life. During this time, we worshiped at St. Catherine’s in Marietta until I was called as rector of St. James in May of 2025. My father passed away this last February, and it was very meaningful that he was able to attend my installation here last November and see me settled into my new community.

Her calling to St. James, in her words:

I honestly wasn’t sure if I was called to be the rector of St. James when I first entered the search process—having grown up in Marietta, I wondered if it might be tough to lead a congregation where my 9th grade English teacher and 10th grade French teacher are both in the pews every Sunday, along with many others who knew me as a child and teenager. However, the Holy Spirit kept bringing me back to their parish profile, and so I decided to trust that pull.

Throughout the process with the search committee and vestry, I was consistently impressed by the joy and hope of this congregation to deepen their own spiritual lives and to widen their reach in the community. The intentional work done during their interim period by so many to cultivate their own vocations as faithful lay members of the parish was exciting, and when I arrived there was a committed group of lay worship leaders who still lead Evening Prayer every Wednesday night.

My sense of this place after a year as their rector is that this is a fundamentally generous community of believers who never turn down a chance to serve Christ, whether that call be to ministry leadership positions internally or local and international outreach and mission opportunities. As a congregation we recognize and give thanks for the many blessings we have received from past and present benefactors and strive to use all we have to be a corner of the Kingdom of God at Polk and Church Streets.

What do you look forward to as you serve this parish?

I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in our common life at St. James, Marietta, and I’m proud to lead this community as their rector.

Mark S. Winward: “New Season of Life and Ministry”

Installed Jan. 29
Episcopal Church of the Holy Family, Jasper

Before August 2025, Father Winward’s ties to the Diocese of Atlanta were limited to a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Northside Hospital in 1995 and supply ministry at Church of the Annunciation in Marietta while visiting family. Today he leads and serves in Jasper after 38 years of commissioned service as a U.S. Navy chaplain.

Ordained in 1997 with an M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary and later a Th.M. from Princeton, Rev. Winward served parishes in Virginia and Maine before 9/11, after which he returned to active duty. His 22-year Navy career included combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and senior chaplain roles at Marine Forces Special Operations Command, United States Special Operations Command, U.S. Cyber Command, and the National Security Agency. He retired at the rank of Navy Captain.

His calling to Holy Family, in his words:

Following a 22-year career on active duty as a Navy chaplain, I set out on a solo bicycle journey from San Diego to central Texas to discern where God was calling me next. Through that time of prayer and reflection, I felt a clear desire to return to parish ministry. After many years of ministry leadership at the national level, I yearned to be rooted once again in a local faith community—preaching, teaching, providing pastoral care, and sharing in the everyday lives of parishioners.

My discernment also included a commitment to my wife, KC. After 23 moves and years of living along both the East and West Coasts, I had promised that we would settle within a day’s drive of her family in Roswell. We were therefore excited to learn of the possibility of serving a parish in north Georgia. Jasper offered the kind of small-town ministry I had deeply loved while serving my last parish in Saco, Maine, before returning to active duty following the attacks of Sept. 11 to support service members during a time of war.

When KC and I came to Holy Family, we quickly fell in love with the beauty of the region, the peaceful setting, and the church itself. More importantly, we felt a connection with the people. Many members of Holy Family have come to Jasper after distinguished professional careers and bring with them a wealth of experience, wisdom, and commitment. Their journeys resonated with our own transition into a new season of life and ministry.

I believe my experience equips me well to serve what Holy Family needs in this season. Over more than 30 years of ministry, I have served in nine dioceses across the country and supervised and mentored clergy from many faith traditions. Those experiences have taught me how to lead among people with diverse backgrounds, honor the gifts they bring, and build a strong sense of shared mission.

What do you look forward to as you serve this parish?

At Holy Family, I have found a community where I can bring that breadth of leadership experience while returning to the parish ministry I love most: proclaiming the Gospel, forming disciples, caring for God’s people, and helping a faithful congregation discern where God is calling us together.