Learn More About Holy Innocents
HOLY INNOCENTS IS DEDICATED TO COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND INVOLVEMENT
Sundays 11:am - Wednesdays 6:pm
Trust
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
[Proverbs 3:5]
At Holy Innocents, we are called into a deep and steady confidence in God—a faith that rests not on our limited perspective, but on God’s boundless wisdom and love. As followers of Christ, we are invited to surrender our fears, uncertainties, and plans, trusting that God leads us faithfully even when the path is unclear.
Explore the ministries of Holy Innocents and experience a close-knit community dedicated to making God’s love visible in the world. Through service, fellowship, and shared purpose, we support one another while deepening our individual and collective relationships with God.
We are a Christian worshiping community rooted in prayer, learning, and service, shaped by the rich traditions of the Episcopal Church. We welcome all people—acknowledging that each of us is on a spiritual journey and that none of us is perfect. Together, we seek a growing, authentic relationship with God as we learn to follow Christ more faithfully. Our goal is to live as disciples, embodying Christ’s love and proclaiming the Gospel through both word and action.
As Episcopalians, we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, trusting that His life, death, and resurrection brought healing and hope to the world. Central to our faith is the conviction that God loves every person—no exceptions. The Episcopal Church carries forward a legacy of inclusion, striving to share and reflect God’s unconditional love for all humanity.
The mission of the Episcopal Church, expressed in the catechism of the Book of Common Prayer, is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” In harmony with that mission, we commit ourselves to walking the way of Jesus—cultivating loving, liberating, and life-giving relationships with God, with one another, and with the whole creation.
Father Chip Davis
The Rev. Canon Zabron A. Davis, III (Chip) has been called to serve as part-time rector of Holy Innocents. This is Chip’s second time at Holy Innocents, having served as Vicar from 1992-1997.
Chip has served at St. James’ Greenville as Curate; Trinity Church, Natchez, as Rector; St. Benedict’s, Smyrna GA (Diocese of ATL) as Parochial Vicar; and as Canon to the Ordinary in West TN. Recently, he served as the long-term supply priest at Christ Church, Holly Springs and Calvary Church, Michigan City. Currently, his wife Cathy and he are serving as the Co-Executive Directors of Gray Center and Camp Bratton-Green, where they have served since the summer of 2022.
Chip grew up in Broadmoor Baptist Church located in Jackson, MS where his parents helped found the church. He attended Mississippi College in Clinton MS where he graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration in 1969. He graduated from the Ole Miss Law School in 1975 after serving two years in the US Army. He practiced law in Oxford from 1975 to 1987.
The Davis family left Oxford in 1987 and traveled to Evanston IL. where Chip enrolled in Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and graduated in 1990. Bishop Duncan M. Gray, Jr. ordained Chip to the Diaconate in December 1989 and to the Priesthood in May 1990.
Chip and Cathleen Nelson Coers were married on May 26, 1973, after meeting on a blind date in October of 1972. Chip’s mother-in-law expected Chip to become an Episcopalian before they were married, so he was confirmed in April 1973.
During their ministry, Cathy and Chip have served as conflict resolution consultants across Province IV of The Episcopal Church. Chip and Cathy were trained at The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center in Lombard IL. and Chip completed his training with Rabbi Edwin Friedman in Bethesda Il in Family Systems Theory.
Chip and Cathy enjoy working in their yard at their home in Senatobia MS. and traveling as much as they can. Chip was an avid hunter and still enjoys spending time in the woods now watching wildlife. Fly fishing is currently his favorite outdoor activity. They have a long-haired mini-Dachshund named Ari.
Chip and Cathy have two sons, Zabe, an investigator for DA Jay Hale, and Matthew who graduated from Nursing School, posthumously in 2009. Matt died in Feb. 2009. Zabe is married to Kristin Watson, an Associate Vice President of Academic Instruction at Northwest Community College in Senatobia. Together, their blended family includes daughters Avery and Emma and son Luke.
Holy Innocents VESTRY
In The Episcopal Church, the vestry calls a rector to serve in a parish and then commits to partnering with that rector to develop and pursue God’s vision for the congregation. The vestry’s role is both spiritual and practical. Like any ministry, serving on the vestry is a calling—issued by God, confirmed and supported by the community, exercised in Jesus’ name, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we elect a vestry, we are asked to select individuals whom we believe to be called to share in the leadership of the church. The basic responsibilities of the vestry are to help define and articulate the mission of the congregation; to support the church’s mission by word and deed, to select the rector, to ensure effective organization and planning, and to manage resources and finances.