Marc Aubertin

with No Comments

Marc Aubertin joined the cathedral staff in January 2024 to serve in the new role of new part-time Interim Operational Improvement Coordinator, focusing on opportunities for operational improvement, particularly in the areas of facilities, information technology support, and purchasing. The design of Marc’s role is oriented to projects that will improve efficiencies, save on rising costs where possible, and streamline operational workflows in the cathedral’s support services.

Marc’s work experience is substantial, and he brings an impressive skillset to the role. He currently serves (and will continue to serve) as Seattle Central College’s Food Service Supervisor, a role in which purchasing, safety, and operational support are guided by Marc. He also has a breadth of experience with financial workflows, administrative leadership, and even served as Assistant Director of Facilities at a large church in Boston for several years. Of course, we know him as Chef Aubertin hosting parish meals on Wednesdays and other occasions, as member of the cathedral choir, liturgical minister (verger, acolyte, and assisting lay minister), and treasurer of the Cathedral Foundation.

Micah Clark

with No Comments

It is with delight that we announce Micah Clark has accepted the position of On-site Cathedral Caretaker and Security Manager. They will reside on campus in the Leffler House apartment and devote their part-time work to ensuring the campus is safe and welcoming. This is a newly-created position that involves daily campus monitoring, parking management, nightly lock-up rounds, and security support when large groups gather on campus. Micah is a native of Tennessee and has eclectic work experience ranging from elementary school student safety, urban gardening, nightclub security, homeless youth outreach, parking management, and managing a Seattle coffee shop. Please welcome Micah when you see them.

Alison Estep

with No Comments

Alison Leary Estep joins the community of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral as part of her Masters of Divinity low-residency degree program at The General Theological Seminary in New York City. Named a postulant by The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel in 2022, her sending church is St. John the Baptist in West Seattle. She describes herself as a “boomerang Episcopalian” who was raised in the denomination but moved away from it for a period of time. On April 28, 2018, Alison renewed her baptismal vows at Saint Mark’s, on Cathedral Day.

A Michigan transplant, Alison has lived in Seattle for almost thirty years, where she raised her two children and put down roots in local schools and the church community. Alison plays the violin with a West Seattle-based chamber music group affectionately called “The Lost Girls.” She has spent most of her career working in public relations and marketing, and currently leads Seattle Pacific University’s communications department. Alison has two adult children and a new granddaughter. She lives with two English cocker spaniels: one a senior citizen and the other, an exuberant puppy.

Laura Loge

with No Comments

Laura Loge is a soprano, Nordic song and chamber music specialist, mom, urban chicken farmer, and native of Montana. Between earning degrees from St. Olaf College and the New England Conservatory of Music, she spent several years in Norway and Italy where she learned to love and embrace their cultures, languages, and foods. She has self-managed her career as a soprano soloist for nearly two decades, was the Artistic Director of the Mostly Nordic Chamber Music series when it was hosted by the National Nordic Museum, is founder and president of the Northwest Edvard Grieg Society, and continues the Nordic Chamber Music series, forging a new chapter for it in multiple venues. Laura is excited to work with everyone at Saint Mark’s, bringing distinctive music to Seattle audiences in the inspiring spaces the cathedral has to offer.

Jim Van Horn

with No Comments

Jim Van Horn has attended recitals, concerts, workshops, and occasional services, at Saint Mark’s since the 1970s. Last year, after retiring from organist/choirmaster duties in various area parishes, he joined the Saint Mark’s Singers. As Music Librarian, Jim will manage the weekly flow of sheet music used by our choirs, and the general maintenance of Saint Mark’s large collection of choral music and its catalogue.

 Erik Bauer

with No Comments

Erik Bauer is the new Archivist for the Diocese of Olympia (replacing retiring archivist Diane Wells), as well as the new Saint Mark’s Cathedral Archivist. We are lucky that he will be working in the archives at Saint Mark’s one day every week, usually on Fridays. He is originally from the Chicago area, and lifelong White Sox fan. He completed a Bachelor of Special Studies in history and English from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. He moved with his wife and two cats to Salem, Massachusetts in 2010, where Erik would earn his MA in History from Salem State University and he and his wife would have a son. While living in Massachusetts, Erik was the archivist at the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody and archives manager at the Haverhill Public Library. During the pandemic Erik earned his Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Erik and his family moved to the Pacific Northwest and settled in Port Orchard in 2020.

Wendy Claire Barrie

with No Comments

Wendy has served more than 25 years in parish-based formation ministry in California, New York and Connecticut, and she has a wealth of experience with many curricula, including Godly Play and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Since March 2020, she has served as Acquisitions Editor and Christian Formation Specialist for Church Publishing, and recently guided the revision of the highly-regarded Journey to Adulthood curriculum. Wendy is a nationally-renowned speaker and teacher in the field of lifelong spiritual formation, and her latest book, The Church Post-Sunday School: How to be Intergenerational and Why It Matters, is due out next summer. She blogs and posts resources and updates at wendyclairebarrie.com

She is no stranger to Saint Mark’s, having spoken here in 2017 about home-based faith practices, drawing on her earlier book, Faith at Home: A Handbook for Cautiously Christian Parents. The topic is as timely as ever as we lean into new ways of being Church in the post-pandemic world. She and her husband Phil will move from Brooklyn, New York, to Seattle in the coming weeks while their son Peter continues his education at Bard College.

Emily Meeks

with No Comments

Emily Meeks will be joining the cathedral staff in a part-time role beginning July 1. She will serve as Special Projects Coordinator and Interim Staff Support of the 20s/30s Ministry Group, assuming the latter role when Luke Abdow moves to Chicago this summer.

Emily is no stranger to the 20s/30s group, serving as a leader on the planning team. Her charge is to continue to encourage others in the ministry to serve in leadership roles. This approach to ministry, in which a staff member supports the lay team who guide the ministry, is a model of excellence that has attracted the attention of many in the broader Church, and we want to continue to build on it. Emily has that vision and existing relationships to support this vibrant ministry.

As Special Projects Coordinator, Emily will employ her considerable gifts and skills to address particular projects from an operational design approach, using continuous improvement models to enhance our ministries in what I expect will be exciting and life-giving ways. The truth is that she has been doing this, as senior warden and cathedral leader for some time, and I am delighted she has agreed to join the staff in this capacity. This is a part-time role, averaging 6–8 hours weekly, so selected projects will be guided by me as dean.

Christopher Brown

with No Comments

Christopher has been an invaluable part of the Saint Mark’s livestream ministry since 2017, and has run a small business as a general contractor for several years. He brings experience in documentary film, audio engineering, event planning, and construction to his role as Cathedral Buildings & Grounds & AV Ministry Coordinator.

In addition, he has worked for local and international nonprofits raising awareness and funding to bring safe drinking water to people living in marginalized communities. Chris and his wife Sandy have been married 19 years and have a daughter, Elsie—who sings at Saint Mark’s with the Senior Choristers and the Evensong Choir, and a grown son, Joshua, who is in the construction business. Chris enjoys traditional Irish music and is learning to play the fiddle in his spare time.

Stephen Eddy

with No Comments

Stephen comes to Saint Mark’s with an accounting, payroll, and data processing background that includes diverse businesses such as truck sales and political campaigns. Stephen earned his accounting degree at Central Washington University. He was raised, and still lives, in Lynnwood. He is a lifelong Presbyterian, serving as a member of the Session (similar to Vestry), and is also a worship leader and musician in his congregation.

Michael Seewer

with No Comments

Michael has been a member of Saint Mark’s since 2014, and became involved in several liturgical ministries, including altar guild, verger, acolyte, thurifer, and assisting lay minister; and he also sang in the Cathedral Choir for a time. He was elected to the vestry in January of 2019, but resigned from his vestry role after accepting this new position. Michael has a passion for liturgy and hymnody, and a faith formed deeply by Anglican spirituality and tradition. Michael and his dog Fritz moved to Seattle in 2014 from Kentucky, where he was heavily involved in the parish life of his former church. He has a degree in International Studies and German from Indiana University, and was a business manager and Licensed Customs Broker for 19 years at UPS Supply Chain Solutions before accepting his new role here at Saint Mark’s.

John Stuntebeck

with No Comments

John Stuntebeck served as Interim Organist of Saint Mark’s in January and February of 2015. In addition to being a talented solo organist, John is a liturgical organist whose improvisations and accompaniments to choral and congregational song are thoughtfully wrought and elegantly executed. John began his role at Saint Mark’s in September 2015.

Erik Donner

with No Comments

Erik began at Saint Mark’s in 2012 as Accounting Associate/Database Manager, and transitioned in 2014 to Executive Assistant to the Dean/Membership Support. In January 2023 he became Cathedral Administrator.

A Seattle-area native, he has a B.A. in Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University. Erik was previously a manager in the banking industry. He and his wife Jenny joined Saint Mark’s and the Episcopal Church in 2009, and were married at the cathedral the same year.

Gregory Bloch

with No Comments

Gregory Bloch first stepped through the doors of Saint Mark’s to attend Compline on Easter Sunday 2009. He and his partner began attending regularly in 2010, and were received/confirmed at the Easter Vigil, 2011. Greg sings in the Cathedral Choir, the Evensong Choir, and the Compline Choir.

After working as an associate in the Cathedral Shop (2014–2019) and as Communications Assistant (2017–2019), he took over the role of Communications Director in February of 2019.

Jason Anderson

with No Comments

A man of diverse musical interests and talents, Dr. Jason Allen Anderson was appointed director of the Compline Choir in July 2009 and has been a member of the choir since 2004, singing baritone and countertenor. Dr. Anderson is equally at home on the stage and in the church as a performer, singer, conductor, organist, liturgist and composer. He hails from Franklin, Indiana, and is a graduate of Butler University (Indianapolis – B.M. in Music Education), Portland State University (Portland, Oregon – M.M. in Conducting), and the University of Washington (Seattle – D.M.A. in Choral Conducting). Dr. Anderson is currently Associate for Liturgical Arts and Youth Formation and Organist/Choirmaster at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Issaquah, Washington, serves on the Liturgy & Arts Commission for the (Episcopal) Diocese of Olympia, and is on the faculty for the Midsummer Musical Retreat.

Michael Kleinschmidt

with No Comments

Before coming to Saint Mark’s, Michael served as Canon for Cathedral Music at Trinity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He holds degrees from Eastman School of Music and Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Michael is an accomplished organist, having played in recital across the world, including an All-Bach concert here on the Flentrop Organ in 2012. He also has a keen appreciation for the ministry of music in children, and serves on faculty of Royal School of Church Music summer courses.

Rebekah Gilmore

with No Comments