SAINT MARK'S
Episcopal Church
Albuquerque, NM

I was raised and confirmed in the Roman Catholic faith, and was received into the Episcopal Church in 1995, at St. Mark’s in Albuquerque. Although my husband Scott and I lived in Albuquerque when we were newlyweds, we were absent from the parish from 1997 to 2017 while we moved around the world for Scott’s military career. During this time, we also raised our two children Emily and John, who are now 26 and 24 years old. We were very pleased to return to St. Mark’s and find this vibrant and diverse community!

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I have always felt drawn into a closer relationship with God. In every parish we have called home throughout 32 years of marriage, I have volunteered in some capacity or another. I have attended Bible Studies, been a Lector, a Lay Eucharistic Minister, a Vestry member, a stewardship worker and a Sunday school teacher. I have so enjoyed my service at St. Mark’s, working on the  Vestry, with the stewardship team and helping with the Building Renewal effort. I also attended Convention as Senior Warden.

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Professionally, I have been an attorney for 30 years. I practice family law at Ashton Horton Mullins PC, where I enjoy using my abilities to help families in transition and crisis. I am also on the leadership board for the New Mexico State Bar Association. In my free time, I enjoy camping, hiking, reading and spending time with my wonderful partner, Scott. 

Hi friends! My husband, Aaron Cabral, and I have been coming to St Marks for a 10 years now. I had cancer and my husband was looking for a spiritual, supportive community. We found so much more than that! Over the years I’ve been a Greeter, a counter, volunteered at the front desk, Stewardship, a member of the Vestry, and Junior Warden. Currently I’m involved with the Coffee Teams Ministry, the Building Renewal Committee, and am still a little bit in the Stewardship efforts.

I deeply value what we have created at St Marks and would like to help continue our growth as we shepard the Church into the future. I love our community and its diversity, and hope that as a Vestry member, I can help protect those voices as well as be a contributing member of our congregation.
 

I was born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and was brought up in the Baptist Church. I have a Bachelor of Music degree (oboe) from the University of Tulsa and moved to New York City after graduation where I first began attending an Episcopal Church. After beginning my career as a freelance musician, I eventually began working in Human Resources and became an HR manager for the Guggenheim Museum. I moved to New Mexico in the early 2000s and worked for Albuquerque Public Schools from which I am now retired.

I began attending St. Mark’s during the pandemic in 2020, where I met my life partner Brett Braud. I currently serve as a lector and intercessor, sing bass in the choir, volunteer in the church office, and assist with coffee team 4. I’m also in my third year of the EfM (Education for Ministry) program. In my spare time, I enjoy gardening, reading, and music.

Because St. Mark’s has become such an important part of my life, it is an honor to serve on the Vestry.
 

I started attending St. Mark’s in the fall of 2023 while exploring different Episcopal churches in Albuquerque. I had been what I call a “functional atheist” for nearly 30 years after feeling there was no place in the church for me as a gay man. However, I started to regain interest in my faith a few years prior as a result of finding many affirming Christians on social media and reading various authors, especially Rachel Held Evans. I decided to start going to church again in August 2023, when my husband Aldo Arias passed away. I knew I would have to find an affirming church where I could be my full and authentic self. St. Mark’s most certainly fit that bill, but it has given me so much more than that in the 2+ years I have called it my spiritual home. I value the warmth and hospitality we have here, along with thoughtful preaching and beautiful music, liturgy and art. It is also wonderful to be at a lively, multi-generational church. Since joining St. Mark’s, I have been active with coffee hour hospitality, altar guild, the diocesan LGBTQ+ ministry, and most recently on the Capital Campaign as part of the Congregational Gifts team. In addition, I am in my second year in Education for Ministry (EFM). I also help out elsewhere as I can and as my time allows. In my professional life, I am a financial coach for a non-profit organization and counsel clients in various personal finance issues. I plan to continue and expand my involvement at St. Mark’s in the coming years, both before and after retirement.

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It is important to me to serve on the vestry at this critical time in the history of St. Mark’s, as we make major renovations to our church. I wholeheartedly support these renovations as I believe they will position St. Mark’s as a beautiful, accessible and welcoming spiritual home for many years to come.

I grew up Methodist and was confirmed into the Episcopal Church in 1999. My wife, Miranda Eastham, and I have attended St. Mark’s for the last 13 years. Even our various pets have attended church here during the annual Blessing of the Animals service! I have served God and St. Mark’s in various ways including coordinator of the Coffee Hour Hospitality Ministry for 7 years, Vestry (my term ended 5 years ago), Sr. Warden, and am now the coordinator of the Take Them A Meal ministry. I am an EFM (Education for Ministry) graduate and participate regularly in the interesting adult Christian Education classes at St. Mark’s.

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Professionally, I have a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in nursing and executive leadership. I believe my experience in hospital leadership will contribute to the work of the Vestry, particularly in this time of forward movement at St. Mark’s. If elected, I will also bring a deep sense of pastoral caring and appreciation for our St. Mark’s family. I would also work with the other members and clergy to seek God’s will for our parish through prayer, study, discussion, and action.

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Outside of church, some of my life’s joys include spending time with family and friends, beekeeping, hiking in the mountains, reading, doing art, and playing Rumikube.

I started attending St. Mark’s in 2019 with my husband, Ron Hanks. We previously attended San Gabriel the Archangel Episcopal Church in Corrales, NM, where I served as Senior Warden. Prior to becoming Senior Warden, I was San Gabriel’s treasurer. Unfortunately, the doors of San Gabriel closed, so we began visiting the Albuquerque area Episcopal churches in search of our new church home. From our first visit to St. Mark’s, we felt that this church embodied the spirit and love of San Gabriel but on a grander scale. We especially love the many outreach opportunities that are available at St. Mark’s.

I was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, but my family soon moved to New Mexico where I grew up on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock. I have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in finance. When not at work as the controller of a local building material distributor, I enjoy volunteering with the following organizations:  Oasis Tutoring Program and the Dismas House Transitional Program. Steve and Ron are the proud parents of two Miniature Schnauzers, GiGi and Juno.

I was born in Michigan and raised in the Baptist Church. In my adult life, I have attended Disciples of Christ, Congregationalist, and United Methodist churches where I have sung in church choir, volunteered in hospitality, served on Church Council, and as chair of the Board of Fellowship. My family–husband Patrick Dill and our two daughters, Serenity and Patience–moved to Albuquerque in July 2024 and began attending St. Mark’s. We are serving together on a coffee team and as greeters. This fall I began my first year in the Education for Ministry program, and I currently represent St. Mark’s on the board of directors of The Open Table Connection (an open and affirming ecumenical campus ministry serving the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College).

I earned my bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and English as well as masters and doctoral degrees in music history, and I have worked as an engineer and have taught at the college level. Currently I am teaching sixth grade math and social studies in Albuquerque Public Schools. In my free time, I enjoy reading, cooking, hiking, racquet sports, and playing with our cats, Fred and Gregory.

I began attending St. Mark’s in the fall of 2022, transferring membership from Cathedral Church of St. John. My introduction to the Episcopal Church was through a small parish (St Anne’s) while living a brief time in Reston, Virginia. After that, I returned to Albuquerque and decided to continue exploring the Episcopal Church, attracted by its liturgy and sacramental arts. I was confirmed in May 2008.

Currently, I volunteer my time, energy and problem-solving abilities for food distribution affiliated with Roadrunner Food Bank (RRFB), housed in Kaseman Hall, St. John’s Cathedral. Over the past ten years, serving at this food pantry, I have taken on expanded responsibilities to include: recruiting and orienting new volunteers, purchasing foods, securing grant money (during pandemic), and being the primary contact/orderer/receiver of food provided by RRFB.

Don’t hold it too hard against me: I haven’t been Episcopalian for that long. I was raised between the (North American) Baptist and Methodist faiths growing up. My family was always at church. Some of my most fond memories of childhood are of complex children’s performances that my hometown Baptist church put on at Mother’s Day and at Christmas. The cast of kids practiced 2-4 times a week for roughly 3 months; it was as much my camaraderie of friends as school itself was for me. Unfortunately, about the time I started high school, a challenging schism tore the church apart and my family left for the Methodist church across town. I don’t know what specifically drove my parents to leave, but I do know some of the leading clergy nearly went to prison. The whole experience left me with a strong questioning, if open and pragmatic means of examining faith and service to Christ and the church.

My wife Amanda and I spent some time church shopping around Albuquerque upon moving here in 2015 before settling on St. John’s downtown. We were there about a year before getting itchy for more. Perhaps it felt too big, maybe it was the lack of children attending with their families at the time, but we soon found ourselves walking in the door at St. Mark’s and we’ve felt at home ever since.

At St. Mark’s, our family has made enduring friendships, deepened our faith journeys, and made commitments to our church family and the community at large. Our son, Zechariah (ZZ) has made his way into a number of Sunday sermons. So has our daughter, Almerine. Both have been helping set out snacks before coffee hour for as long as they’ve understood they have first dibs at snack choice. Amanda has served on vestry herself for the past 3 years and in the meantime has helped to plan, set-up, and run a myriad of church social functions, often focused on bringing kids together. I have continuously tried to volunteer in a myriad of ways, from helping to usher with Joann and Mark when I first arrived, to assisting with running the AV Desk. I’ve enjoyed serving both practically and “at the back of the house.” I believe serving on vestry would provide me with a unique opportunity to serve the church further and provide space to contribute with skills and insight specific to my experience and background.

Professionally, I have worked in national security for 15 years. I am currently a manager for a team of Metallurgists at Sandia National Labs. My greatest reward at work is helping my team members build their own careers and develop their skill sets toward both our mission objectives and toward their own personal aspirations. In my free time, I enjoy travelling the southwest with my family, tending to my chickens, and exploring the brewery scene anywhere I happen to be.

I was raised in Lancaster, PA and graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA in 1982.  I joined the Air Force and spent 22 years moving around the world doing a variety of things, including weather, satellite development, launch and operations.  I’ve been married to Diane since 1989, and we have two college aged kids, Eric and Rachel.  We’ve been with St. Mark’s since 2008.  I like hiking, gardening, bee keeping and bird watching.

Peter Pierotti was born and raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico, graduated from UNM with a bachelor of arts degree in Communications, and a law degree from the UNM School of Law.  He was in private practice for 17 years before joining the Legal Department at the City of Albuquerque, and served as the attorney for the Aviation Department.  He is currently the Aviation Department Associate Director for Strategic Planning, serving as a senior in-house Aviation Department strategic/compliance and planning advisor, with primary focus on compliance, policies and procedures, training, employee development and evaluations, and department goals and objectives.