About St. Ann · Lancing, Tennessee
St. Ann is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in Lancing, Tennessee, in Morgan County, served from Blessed Sacrament Church in nearby Harriman as part of the Diocese of Knoxville. The community — about 45 registered families and roughly 32 people at an average Sunday Mass — gathers weekly at 8:30 AM at its simple church on Ridge Road. With roots that go back more than a century, St. Ann is one of the historic mission outposts founded from Blessed Sacrament Parish and is currently cared for by Father Michael Sweeney, who also pastors Blessed Sacrament and St. Christopher in Jamestown. Though small in numbers, the parish is notable for being the Catholic presence in an underserved rural county, partnering with Catholic Charities of East Tennessee on food outreach and continuing the faith presence that once stretched through Deer Lodge and Wartburg.
- Established
- pre-1924 (originated in Deer Lodge; community is over 100 years old)
- Patron
- St. Ann (Saint Anne), traditionally venerated as the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Michael Sweeney
- Diocese
- Diocese of Knoxville
Why belong here
St. Ann is the heart of Catholic life in Morgan County, Tennessee — a small but faithful mission parish where every family is known and Sunday Mass at 8:30 AM is the week's anchor. Worshipping here means joining a community with deep regional roots, served by the same pastor (Father Michael Sweeney) who shepherds Blessed Sacrament in Harriman and St. Christopher in Jamestown, and a parish that has stepped outward in recent years — distributing more than four tons of food through the Hope Kitchen Holiday Food Box ministry in partnership with Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, and carrying forward a tradition of prison ministry and local charitable work that goes back generations. If you live in Lancing, Wartburg, Deer Lodge, or anywhere on the Cumberland Plateau, St. Ann is your Catholic home — small, warm, and ready to welcome you.
Mass times at St. Ann
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Ann Parish
St. Ann is a small Roman Catholic mission parish in Lancing, Morgan County, Tennessee, in the Diocese of Knoxville. It is one of the mission parishes of Blessed Sacrament Church in nearby Harriman, sharing the pastoral care of Father Michael Sweeney. The parish's roots go back more than a century, with the Catholic community in Morgan County having originated in Deer Lodge, moved to Wartburg, and finally settling in Lancing. Today about 45 families are registered and an average Sunday draws around 32 worshippers to the 8:30 AM Mass.
Parish History
According to the parish's own telling, the Catholic community in the Lancing area is over 100 years old. It originally met in Deer Lodge, then relocated to Wartburg, and finally settled at its present site in Lancing. St. Ann is one of eight mission parishes that grew out of Blessed Sacrament Church in Harriman over the twentieth century, serving Catholics scattered across the Cumberland Plateau in counties including Morgan, Scott, Cumberland, Fentress, and Campbell.
- Originated in Deer Lodge
- Relocated to Wartburg
- Settled in Lancing
- Mission of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Harriman
Mass and Worship Schedule
St. Ann offers one weekly Sunday Mass in English at 8:30 AM. Confession and adoration schedules are not published online; parishioners are encouraged to call the parish office at (865) 882-9838 for current information about the sacrament of reconciliation or weekday devotional opportunities, which are typically coordinated with the cluster's main church in Harriman.
- Sunday Mass — 8:30 AM, English
Ministries and Outreach
Although small in size, St. Ann has been active in Morgan County charitable life for generations. The parish's most visible recent outreach is the Hope Kitchen Holiday Food Box distribution, launched in December 2023 in partnership with Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. Roughly 4.5 tons of non-perishable food were distributed to pre-registered local families through a drive-through event, with support from the Y-12 Federal Credit Union's FCU Gives grant and Catholic Charities staff Michelle Kitts and Paul Ritter. The parish also continues the historic ministry of Blessed Sacrament's pastors to inmates at the Morgan County State Prisons, where catechesis has produced many adult conversions.
- Hope Kitchen Holiday Food Box distribution (with Catholic Charities)
- Prison ministry to Morgan County State Prisons
- Habitat for Humanity support
- Volunteer leadership: Nancy Jurkoic, parishioner Hurst, and others
Community Service History
Sisters of St. Ann Parish played a notable role in regional education through the Morgan-Scott Project's Plateau tutoring program. From 1983 until 2006, Sisters Rita Bray and Julia Marie Jacomet directed the program, which served children in Morgan County — including those with learning disabilities — until they could be successfully integrated into the public schools.
- Sisters Rita Bray and Julia Marie Jacomet — directors of Plateau tutoring, 1983–2006
Location and Contact
St. Ann is located at 198 Ridge Road in Lancing, Tennessee 37770. Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office through Blessed Sacrament Church in Harriman at (865) 882-9838. The parish is part of the Diocese of Knoxville's cluster of mission churches rooted in Blessed Sacrament, Harriman.
- Address: 198 Ridge Road, Lancing, TN 37770
- Phone: (865) 882-9838
- Diocese of Knoxville
- Cluster parish of Blessed Sacrament, Harriman