Hello. For those of you who may not know me, my name is Andrea Tucker and I am currently the Senior Warden of St. Marks’s. I was baptized and confirmed in St. Mark’s and have been a member here since the mid 80’s. I grew up here. This church and the people in it are my home. I was absent for several years while away to college, but have been back home in Tennessee for about five years now. I have a job in retail that I love and attend the 8 o’clock service when I have to work. When I can, I go to 10:30 service to see the rest of the congregation and hear the wonderful music.

Last year I was asked to consider being nominated to the vestry and this past December I was asked to be the Senior Warden. I was both honored and terrified at the thought of the responsibility to my church and the congregation.  But, I decided that when God asks, you answer. Change is never easy and I’m not sure that it should be. St. Mark’s has grown a lot since I was a kid (and is still growing), yet even with the increase in attendance, St. Mark’s has remained a caring, loving and safe place for people to come worship and find their path. That is probably what I love most about this church. Whether you just walked through the doors for the first time, or are returning after a long absence, you are welcomed like you have always been family or were never gone.

Everyone’s journey to God is unique. And while we all walk different paths, we all travel down the same road and can lend a hand when our neighbor falls into a great big pothole. The community of St. Mark’s has taught me that we are never alone and through others God always has a presence in our lives.

   My name is Steven Failor and this is my first year as a vestry member. I am married to Melanie Pafford-Failor and we will celebrate our 13th anniversary this year.

  We started attending St. Marks in the fall of 2002.  Prior to this we were both United Methodist and had heard about St. Marks through a website when we were doing research on labyrinths. 
Father Battle and Cary Stephenson were contacted and gave us some assistance in the building of a labyrinth at our former church. When we had completed the labyrinth we decided to visit St. Marks and the congregation made us feel so welcome that we decided to stay.
 It felt like a warm and comfortable home with a lot of caring family members.

   I am a firefighter with the city of Brentwood with 17 years of service. Melanie and I live on a mini-farm in Antioch where we have a horse, two goats, three cats and a dog. I have three great passions: my wife (she said I had better list her first), fly-fishing, and woodworking.

  I hope that I can be of service to the church and if anyone has any ideas or concerns for the vestry, I will be happy to present them to the group.  

Hello everyone.  My name is Herb Sievers.  I feel very blessed to be a member of this parish and honored to have been elected to the vestry.  

   I was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island.  I had a strong faith in God as I grew up.  I attended a small Catholic church that named: St. Martha’s.  It was, like St. Mark’s, very close knit.

   I didn’t realize it while I was attending St. Martha’s, but I was very spoiled as far as churches go.  While not big or fancy, it had a very diverse congregation and a folk group the likes of which I still have not seen. 

   I used to do the readings there and when I stood at the lectern and glanced out at the congregation, I used to think that it looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.  People of different races and backgrounds were sitting amongst each other and you just got the feeling that you were among family.  That is the feeling I get when I attend St. Mark’s.

   I did my best, during my late teens and early twenties, to run away from God, but he kept finding me.  Even when it felt like I was in Hell, I knew that God had not abandoned me; it was the other way around. 

   Well, it was a series of “coincidences” that saved my life and eventually brought me to St. Mark’s.  (Somebody once told me that a coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.)

   I was married and divorced on Long Island.  My son Danny is the product of that marriage.  In 1996, his mother took him, and his older brother Nicky, to Burns, Tennessee. 

   I had begun dating and eventually married my beautiful wife, Theresé.  I had known her since 1982.  We had always been friends and I just thought she was too good looking for me.   Like some of us, I have trouble seeing the good things that God has placed in my life.  We had our first date in 1996, after she asked me out.

   I grew very tired of seeing Danny only 2 or 3 times a year and decided to move to Tennessee.  We spent 10 months in Knoxville and enjoyed it there.  I got to see Danny every other weekend but still wanted to transfer to Nashville.

   We moved to Nashville in February, 2002.  I had been attending a spiritual church but noticed after some time that while the people were friendly enough to smile and say hello, nobody actually spoke to me beyond that.  Theresé wanted to go to an Episcopal church and I wasn’t interested at that time.

   Another “coincidence” occurred during a conversation I had with an attorney one day.  (I’m an attorney for an insurance company.)  I don’t remember how we started talking about religion, but I was telling this man that I had decided to stop attending this spiritual church and was looking for somewhere else to worship.  I told him that my wife was Episcopalian and that she hadn’t been going because she did not want to go alone.

   This gentleman attended an Episcopal church that he described as “high church.”  He said that it was at least as strict as most Catholic churches.  I was lukewarm about going there.  He asked where I lived and when I said “Antioch,” he said that there was an Episcopal church in Antioch but that it was a little too liberal for him.  I said that in spiritual matters I had become very liberal.  He told me to try St. Mark’s

   I had Danny that weekend and Theresé, Danny and I came to the 10:30 service.  I loved everything about the church: the Native American Stations of the Cross, the great choir, and most of all, the feeling of closeness I saw among the people at the service.

   Battle gave a great sermon that day, as usual.  It wasn’t until after the sermon, however, that I found the truly unique thing about St. Mark’s that made me realize that I could fit in here:  HECKLING! 

Most importantly to me, it was during the coffee hour that more people came up to myself, Theresé and Danny and truly welcomed us.  I engaged in more conversations during that first coffee hour than I had in about 4 months of attending that spiritual church I had been attending.

   During my time here, I get the idea that this is what church is supposed to be.

   It was during the announcements that Battle said something funny, as he occasionally will.  Everyone chuckled and he smiled and said: “I always wanted to be a preacher.”  Somebody yelled out: “it’s not too late!”  As we all laughed, he smiled and said: “thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  That first Christmas Eve after we had joined, we brought Danny to the service and Battle gave one of the most beautiful sermons I have ever heard.  He was talking to all of us, but it seemed as if he was looking right at Danny frequently and he put it in language that an 11 year old could understand.

   One of the readings for Ash Wednesday this year was from Isaiah, and it spoke of the fasting of which God approves:  feeding the hungry, clothing and sheltering the poor, giving comfort to the sick.

   At the latest vestry meeting, Battle told us of a flyer he had received from a church that wanted us to join in a special collection of food for Second Harvest.  This is a collection they were doing for lent.  We agreed that we would not participate in the Lenten collection of food, since we collect food for Second Harvest all year, not just during Lent. 

   Once a month, I am privileged to spend the night with a group of homeless men, and sometimes women, at St. Ignatius Catholic church on Bell Road.  It is called: “Room at the Inn.”  They have facilities big enough and with a shower and laundry, but we at St. Mark’s volunteer the second weekend of every month.

   Our weekend in February was the weekend of the 11th.  When the homeless people arrived, there were almost as many volunteers from St. Mark’s as there were homeless people.  There was more than enough good food donated and much good fellowship during the dinner and the rest of the night.  I was proud to be a member of St. Mark’s.

   St. John tells us that: “God is love, and those that abide in love abide in God, and God in them.”  I guess if I had to sum up St. Mark’s in one sentence, I would say that “love abides there.”

   I thank God for leading my family and me here to worship and love him with all of you, my St. Mark’s family.

Leslie Branch

Welcome to another edition of Meet Your Vestry.  My name is Lesley Branch.  If you don’t know me, you probably know my parents, Pat and Les Worsley.  We’ve been attending St. Mark’s since I was 5 years old, and I just can’t imagine my life without the St. Mark’s community.  St. Mark’s is more than our church – it is our family.

     When I was nominated to be a Vestry member two years ago, I was very honored to be asked.  Serving on the Vestry has provided a great opportunity for me to learn more about the workings of St. Mark’s.  My time on the Vestry has shown me that the Vestry is greatly involved in the business part of the church, but that’s just one tiny aspect of St. Mark’s.  It’s the entire congregation that makes this church such a special place.

     I’ll never forget Margie Boutwell, my first Sunday School Teacher, first communion classes with Father Kochtitzky, or EYC trips with Nancy Hopper and Tony Debboli.  Some of these names may not be familiar to you, but they are part of the history of St. Mark’s.  And they are a part of my history.  These people, and many, many others, have helped shape me into the person I am today.  It is impossible to put into words the impact St. Mark’s has made on my life. 

     It is the history and family at St. Mark’s that drives me to be a Vestry member, acolyte, nursery worker, etc.  It is my love for this church that makes me want to volunteer my time and talent.  I know many of you feel the same way.  If you have any suggestions on how to improve our little “House on the Hill”, please speak with me or any other Vestry member. 

            Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve.  I look forward to continuing serving for the rest of this year, and through 2005. 

"We at St. Mark’s, are on a journey seeking God, in you, ourselves and all creation.”

Hello. My name is Richard Hardison and I’m lucky to be on the vestry. Why? Before I came to St. Mark’s I was on a journey of my own, even though I never thought of it as such. Wasn’t sure of where I was going; truthfully, not really caring all that much. And then I stumbled upon St. Mark’s.

Well, I stumbled across my wife Carey first and then St. Mark’s and the rest is history. Elected  to serve on the vestry. Dealing with money and buildings and grounds and lions and tigers and bears...oh my! Things that make a church possible. Things I’m not sure I’m really best suited to deal with. So, having said that, I thought I would tell you what the mission statement means to me. 

What kind of journey are we on? How long will it take? Is the road well marked? What happens if we get lost along the way? Questions are the first step of any journey. “Which way do we go?” is an important step and yet you can just as easily go in the opposite direction and be totally lost, or not, right from the start. How do we know what direction to take?  We don’t, but thankfully for us God gave us a map.              

 “But I don’t know how to read a map!”

 Never fear, because we have Father Battle and he is an excellent reader of maps. We have our map and someone to read it. Ok, now we’re ready to go. Right?

Not so fast Skippy. How long is this journey going to take? I want to get there and not waste any time doing it, but I don’t want to miss anything along the way... if it doesn’t take too long…I’m sooo confused. Our mission statement

leaves a lot out, doesn’t it? We’re on this journey that doesn’t seem to have a start, or a finish, just a lot of in-between.

 Seeking God is the key for me, because it explains the journey in a way I can understand. When I was a child, my family would take a trip to the beach each summer. A long drive for a child of any age. All I could focus on was the fun we would have when we got to the beach and I wanted my fun to be “right now!” Luckily for me, my father was in charge. We took our time and stopped at every alligator farm, juice stand, souvenir shop and restroom between our home and the beach. We even stayed overnight in a motel, with pool and playground, instead of driving straight through.

 Was that the best way? I don’t know, but it was my dad’s way. He wanted us to enjoy and appreciate the whole trip, not just the destination. Time spent with baby alligators was cool. Time spent with my dad, who found the time for alligators and small boys was way cooler. Best gift I ever received. Who knows what gifts God has for us along the way if we slow down enough.

Frank Brannon

Each month a member of the Vestry is asked to give a brief profile of himself or herself. This month is my turn. This is my second time to be elected to St. Mark’s Vestry and to have the honor of helping our congregation grow as a loving, caring, sharing, and compassionate community.

     I'm originally from Michigan and graduated from Wayne State University and the University of Michigan with a joint degree. Then I went on to receive a M.Div. at the School of Theology at Drew University and a Certificate for Urban Ministry at the Divinity school at Yale. This was followed on with an M.S. in Counseling. Through the fine auspices of the United States Air Force and the United States Army, I have had the privilege of seeing and/or living in a great many places in our world. These adventures afforded me the opportunity of  experiencing many diverse cultures and people. This has led me to, truly, with the help of God,  "to seek and serve Christ in all persons... and to respect the dignity of every human being."

    Presently I co-mentor the Education for Ministry (EFM) program with Peggy Tucker and co-lead the Adult Christian Formation class with Lynn Kauppi. Our bishop has selected me to serve on the Companion Diocese Committee under the chairmanship of our Senior Warden, George Kurz. I also work as a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice and serve part-time at the Parthenon Pavilion Psychiatric Hospital.

     I'm married to Pam Carr-Brannon. We have five grown children and four grandchildren living in the Boston area, Baton Rouge, Detroit, and the wilds of Texas. Reading and enjoying new experiences are my hobbies.

Linda ClenDening

“Why are you an Episcopalian, today?”

      This question was recently posed by Lynn Kauppi in our Sunday School class.  I gave an answer that made sense to me at the time:  I’m Episcopal because St. Mark’s is Episcopal and St. Mark’s is my family.  St. Mark’s is where my boyfriend (Bob) and his sons (Will and Parker) were attending church when we started dating, so Andie (my daughter) and I attended church with them.  St. Mark’s is where Bob and I were married, by Scott Lee on June 8, 1996.  St. Mark’s is where our two children (Maryn and Connor) were baptized in 1998 and 2000.  So, when Lynn asked that question, it seemed easy for me to say that “whatever St. Mark’s is, that’s what I am”.

      However, as the week progressed past that Sunday School question, I thought deeper about it (which is usually the case with good Sunday School questions).  I realized that it’s important to me to be Episcopal and to be linked to the Diocese of Tennessee so that we can all go to Camp Gailor Maxon together, up at Monteagle.  It’s important to me to be Episcopal so that my tithing can support the outreach of St. Mark’s and the Diocese:  Second Harvest Food Bank, St. Luke’s Community Center, and Room in the Inn, to name a few.  It’s important to me to be Episcopal so that I can be linked to a Diocese in Ecuador and the church of Santiago Apostal.  It’s important to me to be part of the national Episcopal Church:  a thoughtful, opinionated group of individuals making important statements about love, about hope, and about faith.   It’s important to me to be part of the Anglican tradition of contemplative prayer.

      I’m Linda ClenDening, and I wanted to share these thoughts with you as a Vestry member.  I’m glad to have been serving St. Mark’s on the Vestry for one year, and look forward to two more years of service.  Thank you for your trust and faith in me and this St. Mark’s family.

Herb Stewart

I remember, as a small boy in Midland, Michigan, attending the Baptist Church in a town of some 16,000 people.  My sister and I would be downstairs at Sunday school while my parents were upstairs attending the service.  Several things stick in my memory such as the baptism tank behind the altar where people were submerged during the baptism ceremony.  I also recall the fact that there were at least two factions within the congregation.  I can remember one evening several people, including the Minister coming to our house, asking for my parents support against another group within the church.  (What it was about, I don’t know.)

 When I met Shirley and decided on marriage, we met with Father Williams of St. Johns  Episcopal Church in Midland, Michigan.  He advised us that we could not be married at the main altar since I was not a member of the Episcopal Church, so we were married in the Chapel, in the basement, of the Church.  Again, I was in the basement of the church.

 After we were married, I attended instruction classes and was confirmed as a member of the Church by the Bishop. 

 After we moved to Nashville, Tn. in 1966, we attended St. Bartholomew’s in Green Hills and later St. Phillips in Donelson.  In 1988 we started attending St. Marks.  We immediately fell in love with the Church and all associated with it.  Shortly thereafter, I served on the Mission Council and was Junior Warden for three years. 

 Now, as a member of the Vestry, Shirley and I still look forward to our involvement with our St. Mark’s family.  I enjoy finally being on the upper floor of the church and not in the basement.