Hello and welcome to our website!

 

I came to St. Mark’s after many years of serving as a priest in a variety of ministries including parish ministry, campus ministry, academic ministry and retreat ministry.  I am a seasoned liturgist, sacred musician and theologian with degrees from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, the University of Minnesota where I earned a PhD and the Aquinas Institute of Theology.  I have served in the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).

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My background in teaching includes Providence College, the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University (Chicago) and the New England College of Business and Finance where I was also Dean of Academic Affairs and achieved the rank of Full Professor.

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I came to St. Mark’s from having served as Rector of Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, MA, a historic and diverse parish blocks from Harvard University and MIT.  While in Cambridge and the Boston area, I treasured my work in forging partnerships with the Muslim community, the South Asian community, the Quaker community, shelters for women and children, and working with the City of Cambridge.  I am a strong anti-gun violence advocate, a promoter of peace and justice and a supporter of climate change legislation. 

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I am committed to parish ministry in an urban setting where diversity is at the core of the parish. I am committed to ministry that involves singles, families, children, and parishioners of all ages.  I relish visiting the sick and the older members of the congregation.  One of my goals is to advance the ministry of St. Mark’s both within the parish and in the broader Grand Rapids community.

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I am committed to social, economic, racial, and climate justice and am committed to people of all ages with diverse backgrounds, orientations and beliefs. I am committed to the great liturgical and preaching traditions of the Episcopal Church, to interdenominational and interfaith work and to my work with the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley State University.

 

In my ministry in and through St. Mark’s, I have worked to foster and establish partnerships with Degage Ministries and the Islamic Center of Grand Rapids as well as the numerous social service agencies which the parish supports.  I strongly support our Breakfast Café ministry and other programs seeking to bring help to those in need. 

 

If any of these things spark an interest in anything we are about at St. Mark’s, please, come and visit us.  To contact me, please call the Parish Office at (616) 456-1684.  I would very much look forward to meeting you.  Blessings and peace to you! ~ Christian+