Valerie is the Canon Missioner for Faith Formation of the Diocese of Olympia. She comes to the Office of the Bishop from Grace Episcopal Church, Bainbridge Island, where she worked for five years coordinating their Children & Families Ministry. She is the author of a curriculum for 2nd- 4th grades, “Storytellers,” that uses children’s books as a jumping off point for discussing Christian values and scriptural teachings. She was part of the leadership team that brought Grace’s Summer Day Camp to the children of farm workers last year in collaboration with La Iglesia Episcopal de la Resurrección and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mt. Vernon.
Prior to landing in the Pacific Northwest, Valerie spent three years as the Christian Education Director at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Keller, Texas, where she initiated a weekly “Wednesday Night Live” program, which included dinner and break-out discussion groups for all ages. Before discovering a vocation in the church, she worked with public libraries throughout California helping them develop services for adults with low literacy skills, ultimately spending six years at the California State Library, managing the statewide adult literacy effort. In 2012, Valerie and her family moved to Bainbridge Island where she began writing creatively, gradually becoming a regular contributor to Bainbridge Island Magazine and the founding editor of Grace’s seasonal blog, Lenten Muse (www.lentenmuse.wordpress.com), which gathers the art, poetry, photography, and writing of Grace members to enrich and deepen the experience of Lent. In her spare time, she reads, practices yoga, and enjoys the company of her family: husband, Fred, and teenagers Ricky and Cara.
Steve was called to Saint Mark’s in 2012 after serving churches in his native state of Arkansas. He was ordained a priest in 2004. His educational degrees include Bachelor of Science from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN (1987); Doctor of Medicine degree from University of Arkansas (1991); Master of Divinity from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas ,(2004). Steve practiced medicine for more than 20 years as family doctor and hospice/palliative care specialist before turning to parish ministry full-time in 2012. He and his wife Kathy have been married for 36 years and have two adult daughters, and one grand-daughter, Ila. His recreational interests include tending a rose garden at the deanery, snow-shoeing, cooking sabbath meals with Kathy, and spotting the sun every day in Seattle (he succeeds more often than you might think!