Follow this link to read sermons by The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III

A Short Biography

Father Ken comes to Christ Episcopal Church in Cleveland, NC  after finishing his Master of Divinity Degree at The University of the South; School of Theology in Sewanee, TN.  He completed his Bachelor of Science Degree in Management (Magna cum laude) at The University of North Carolina at Asheville.  Father Ken is from the Diocese of Western North Carolina, and was sponsored by Calvary Episcopal Church.  He was ordained to the transitional diaconate at the Cathedral of All Souls’ in Asheville, NC on June 9, 2007 and to the priesthood on December 21, 2007 here at Christ Church.

Father Ken is a “cradle” Episcopalian with a diverse background.  He was born and raised in the Tidewater area of Virginia in Chesapeake, and was baptized at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, VA.  He was later confirmed in that same congregation.  At St. John's, Ken served as an acolyte for many years and sang in both the youth and adult choir, he was also a youth lector.  Ken graduated from Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth, VA and attended The Citadel in Charleston, SC.  At the Citadel, he was involved with St. Alban's Chapel.  After leaving The Citadel in 1987 after two and a half years, he attended the Citadel Evening College and spent six and a half years attached to a naval command as a civilian in Charleston, SC where he was a nuclear technician (radiological controls).  He was trained and employed by Westinghouse (Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory) in a Department of Defense and Department of Energy joint training facility for naval nuclear propulsion students.  While in Charleston he was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and later The Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion.  While at Grace and Holy Communion, Ken was a choir member and Sunday School teacher.  At Holy Communion, he was the youth group leader (EYC) for 2 years.  After leaving Charleston, Father Ken then spent over 12 years traveling the southeast as a custom builder (restructuring building businesses) using modular structural components to build residential homes.  While in Western North Carolina building houses, he was an active member of Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher, NC.  At Calvary, he was a Lay Eucharistic Minister, Lector, Youth Group assistant, Acolyte Assistant, and a member of the Vestry and Finance committee.  It is from there that Fr. Ken answered the call from God (that he had been wrestling with most of his life) to the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church.

Fr. Ken is married to Kelly Saunders, and they have two children, Kyle, and Kaytlynn.  His older son, Kent, is in the United States Air Force.   The Saunders family lives in Cleveland, NC.