Read the rector's blog:Things Seen and Unseen saintmarks.blogspot.com
The
Rev. Dr. Lydia Agnew Speller has served as rector (an old English term
for senior pastor) of Saint Mark's Church since 1993. After graduating
from Bryn Mawr College with a double major in Latin and History of
Religion, she got a D.Phil. in Theology from Oxford University in
England. After teaching school and college for several years, she was
ordained deacon in 1987 and priest in 1988. She's been married for over
30 years. She and John have twin children who graduated from college in
2008.Here's how she describes her theological outlook:
An old teacher of mine (Patrick Henry) wrote a
book called The Ironic Christian's Companion. An Ironic
Christian, as I understand it, is one who does not have all the
answers, who is willing to live faithfully with uncertainty and
ambiguity. I am one of those.
Around the time I was ordained priest, there was a profile in the New Yorker about the controversial bishop of Durham, David Jenkins. At his consecration, it reported, he said, "I face you as an ambiguous, compromised and questioning person entering upon an ambiguous office in the midst of a threatened and threatening world. I dare to do this and I even rejoice to do this because this is where God is to be found." I took it as an epigraph for my life as an ordained person. I believe that all modern people of faith live, in a way, if we are honest, with ambiguity, compromise and questions and that church should be a place where we can share our experience of feeling that way and discovering God, none the less, with us.
My theology and my
spirituality are essentially incarnational - prayerfully looking for
God in the midst of human experience, in my story and in the stories of
those I encounter. I find myself challenged and excited by contemporary
biblical scholars and the vision they offer of Jesus as the one who
preaches that wherever healing is freely given and received and people
gather at the table - without regard to barriers of race, gender,
class, purity or religion -- the reign of God is to be found.
Deacon
The Rev. Marylen Stansbery
Other Parish Leaders
Organist & Choirmaster: Robert Mullgardt
Secretary: Carol Eschbacher
Administrative Support: Carol Shahriary
Altar Guild: Kelly Lattanzi
Christian Education:
Jeff Smith, Tarassa Steele
Godly Play Teacher: Celeste Kocot
Finance: Susan Healey, Rita Diekemper
Nurture: Doug Jeffery
Trinity Lunch Coordinators: Carey Tisdal and Amiya Thompson
Outreach: The Rev.
Marylen Stansbery
