Saint Mark’s Vestry

Cheryl Boop, Senior Warden

SeniorWarden@saintmarkscolumbus.org

Cheryl Boop has been making her voice heard since arriving at Saint Mark’s in 2013 by singing in the choir. And she has taken leadership roles by serving on the vestry and the Stewardship Committee. As a result, she said, “I believe I have a good understanding of our church, the current state and where we parishioners want to see us be down the road. Saint Mark’s is very important to me, and I am excited about who we are and what we can become! Our vestry is full of wonderful people who all have the same goal – but have very different viewpoints about how to achieve it. The wardens have the awesome responsibility to keep the big picture in mind while attending to the everyday issues affecting the church and congregation. “I have experience in my national and state professional organizations in leadership positions similar to Senior Warden, and I look forward to using my skills and experience at Saint Mark’s. I love the people of Saint Mark’s. I’m reminded of the children’s song with the words ‘The Church is not a building, the Church is not a steeple, the Church is not a meeting place, the Church is the people.’ The caring, honest, giving congregation — the incredible music program; the forward-thinking vestry; and the energetic, fun, thoughtful, and creative priest — this is what I love about Saint Mark’s.”

Kevin Fix, Junior Warden

JuniorWarden@saintmarkscolumbus.org

Kevin Fix said he wants to help Saint Mark’s grow into its future. “I love this parish, and Sunday worship and fellowship are an important part of my life and faith. I believe Saint Mark’s is having a positive impact on the community at large and has a bright future ahead. So many people have contributed to where we are today, and I simply want to do my part. “Saint Mark’s is a very welcoming and inclusive community. It is a comfortable place with deeply rooted traditions, but a place that also challenges me to pursue faith and discipleship in ways I have not done before.” He serves as a verger and a trustee for the parish’s Endowment Fund, plus helps out with St. John’s Street Church and with Marksmen events. Kevin has served on community boards in Upper Arlington and he thinks those experiences will help him as Junior Warden.

Anna, Youth Warden

Anna sang in the Canterbury Choir for eight years until she aged out of the group. She has participated in the parish youth group and has served as an acolyte. “I would like to be a youth warden because I value Saint Mark’s and I would like to be active in the vestry. I have been in leadership positions in (high-school) theater before and I enjoy them. (Anna is a 10th-grader.) My brother was a previous youth warden, and I think I would do a good job of representing the youth because I’ve been involved with Saint Mark’s since I was five,” she said.
Anna said she enjoys being part of Saint Mark’s. “I like the community of people at Saint Marks, I like how many opportunities there are for youth here, and all the ways that youth can get involved in worship. I enjoy being able to participate in services, and I also really like the hymns.”

Dwight Anstaett

Dwight served on the vestry from 2015 to 2018. He joined Saint Mark’s in 1987 and he and his wife, Elizabeth, were married in the church that year. He served on the rector search committee that led to the hiring of our previous rector Paul St. Germain. “I would like to serve (on vestry) again because I want to find a positive way to serve the church and get more involved with its members, its clergy and vestry leadership. “I believe my previous experience will be invaluable. I am familiar with the important roles and responsibilities of a vestry member. If elected, I look forward to working with Reverend Zust and the other members.”

 

Martha Belury

Like many active people, Martha Belury can find room for another project, such as serving on the vestry. She has served previously on vestries at Saint Mark’s and at the Episcopal campus ministry of Purdue University.

“Saint Mark’s is part of my living and part of my community, from fellowship to worship to refreshment. As a member of our parish, it’s my turn to give back,” she said about wanting to return to the vestry. She also has served as a chalice bearer, on the Stephen ministry team and as a teacher with Children and Youth Formation.

Martha enjoys Saint Mark’s because of “the people, the worship traditions and God. My sons, Mathias and Andrew, were choristers, members of the youth group and grew up in Saint Marks. My sons are now young adults. I am praying that at some point, they, too, find a church with the red doors.”

Martha is a professor of nutrition at Ohio State University, where she teaches, mentors graduate students and runs a nutritional physiology lab; she is president-elect of the American Society for Nutrition, the oldest and largest nutrition-research society in the world. In her spare time, she and her husband, Jim, bike on trails in Ohio and surrounding states.

Michael Bowman

Michael serves as a Saint Mark’s usher and is looking for other areas of the parish to participate in. “At my previous church, All Saints in New Albany, I helped to coordinate the Sunday School program and other children’s events, served on the Altar Guild, and helped with the Outreach Committee,” he said. “I am currently in discernment to potentially be ordained a deacon and joining the vestry will provide a great opportunity to get a greater understanding of all the activity going on at Saint Mark’s and what goes on in operating a parish. While all aspects of Saint Mark’s have been fantastic, perhaps the best part has been the great people that call it their parish home and the great sense of community that they create. The ‘church’ properly refers to the people, those ‘called out,’ and I hope as a member of the vestry to continue to cultivate and grow this resource.”

Steve Brindza

Steve made an observation about Saint Mark’s: “The parish can be whatever you need it to be to strengthen your own walk in faith. This church allows one to feel appreciated and recognizes contributions big and small.” Steve contributes to the parish in diverse ways: an usher for the 8 a.m. service, a parish website designer “in the early days of the Rev. Paul St. Germain” and a baker of breads for the Labor Day bake sale. In addition, “I’ve also been shown the best, optimal way to work the giant coffee maker by both Mark Drew and David Boop.
“Vestry is a significant area of service with Saint Mark’s, and my prior stint in 2010-2012 helped me get through both an expected downsizing and a happy term in business school. Saint Mark’s expects good utilization of time and talents from the parishioners, and now that I am in a job where my hours are more controlled by me, I can devote some time toward edifying and building up the church community and the church building itself. Additionally, I look at financial data daily, so revenue/ expenditure/budget sheets make sense to me. Steve says he has pride “in our historical/liturgical church. I’ve had several visitors tell me how good the music is; how poetic the texts are; and how nice the people and facilities are. And most have never known this building had so much Christian love within. I try to get the word out.”

Betsy Gillespie

Betsy Gillespie might be most recognizable in her Saint Mark’s Choir robes. Now she’d like to become more active in the congregation.

“Serving on the Rector Search Committee helped me deepen my engagement with Saint Mark’s and learn more about its community. After the work of the committee ended I found myself wanting to continue my service. I have served on nonprofit boards and work in the non-profit sector, and I feel that experience will be relevant to vestry service,” she said.

Betsy is charitable giving director at Friendship Village of Dublin and has worked in philanthropy since 2007. She holds a music degree, has been a teaching artist in opera and has served as a school music teacher. She participates in the Contemplative Prayer group and supports her daughter’s participation on the Canterbury Choir.

“Saint Mark’s has become a second home for me and my children (Madalyn, 10 and Gabriel, 5). We love this community and feel loved and supported within it. It’s especially meaningful to be a member of a church where children are respected and included, and my children feel like full members of the Saint Mark’s community.”

Brenda Hammersley

“Since coming to Saint Mark’s I’ve found many outlets for my time, talents, and treasures,” Brenda said. She participates with the Outreach and Migration ministries and provides grief support for individuals and groups as a personal ministry. She also serves on the Altar and Flower guilds. She says her diverse career in healthcare “from bedside nurse to health system strategic planner to nursing faculty to executive over online operations for a large university” has given her experience helping people and organizations “work toward shared outcomes including improved financial performance. I bring a goal-oriented and analytical perspective to the table and want to offer my skills in whatever way will help Saint Mark’s build a thriving future. “I like the heart of Saint Mark’s, which is the parishioners. I’ve met so many amazing people – some who’ve attended for decades and others, like me, who are relatively new to both the Episcopal Church and Saint Mark’s.“

Bruce Johnson

Saint Mark’s has been the church home for Bruce Johnson, and his wife, Michele, for 30 years. “We were made to feel welcome from the very beginning and the warmth of the welcome has never faded,” Bruce said.

He has returned the favor: singing in the choir for more than a decade, a lay reader, chalice bearer, trustee of the parish endowment fund and a member of the Marksmen. He has served on Saint Mark’s vestry twice previously and also served on vestries in Columbia, SC and Ann Arbor, MI. Plus, he is “Exalted Scheduler” (Bruce’s term) of the parish Golf League.

Bruce retired in 2014 as a professor at Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. He said he is interested in returning to the vestry because “assisting in the governance of Saint Mark’s is an important way to serve this parish and its members.

“I have liked the four rectors (each very distinct) I have known here, its liturgical style (not too high, not too low), its wonderful music, its architecture (very good mid-century modern), its gardens and, above all, the people of Saint Mark’s.”

When it comes to serving Saint Mark’s, Barb Keyes’ response is ‘yes.’ Barb has been a member of Saint Mark’s for nearly 40 years; this would be her third vestry term. In her previous term she also held the posts of junior and senior warden.

“You’ll usually find me around at most things going on in the parish,” she said. That includes Outreach activities, Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Sacred Conversations, book groups and more. She said she’s excited about the future of Saint Mark’s: “Despite the Covid restrictions I have watched Saint Mark’s adapt, change and grow to meet the needs of the congregation. I am so proud of how we have pulled together to keep Saint Mark’s active.”

“I find the people of Saint Mark’s caring and resilient. We adapt to situations with a smile and hard work. I love that we are able to reach outside our walls and help others through all our outreach projects. We check on each other and are there to help when needed. The lasting friendships I’ve made here at Saint Mark’s are a great joy. Saint Mark’s is a wonderful, vibrant place to be.”

Norman Jones

Norman, his wife, Heidi, and their son, Riley, joined Saint Mark’s in 2022 after moving here from Mansfield, where they all had been active at Grace Episcopal Church. Among other roles, Norman served on Grace’s vestry and on the diocesan search committee for a new bishop for the Diocese of Ohio. “I’ve always found it rewarding to volunteer for such roles at church because it helps me better understand how the church works and how I can most effectively support it. “We are thrilled to be able to claim Saint Mark’s as our home parish and we expect to be here for the long haul. We also are big music fans, Heidi, Riley and I, so the music program at Saint Mark’s is a treasure for us. When I was invited to consider putting my hat in the ring to serve on vestry, it was an easy decision to say yes.”

Barb Keyes

When it comes to serving Saint Mark’s, Barb Keyes’ response is ‘yes.’ Barb has been a member of Saint Mark’s for nearly 40 years; this would be her third vestry term. In her previous term she also held the posts of junior and senior warden.

“You’ll usually find me around at most things going on in the parish,” she said. That includes Outreach activities, Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Sacred Conversations, book groups and more. She said she’s excited about the future of Saint Mark’s: “Despite the Covid restrictions I have watched Saint Mark’s adapt, change and grow to meet the needs of the congregation. I am so proud of how we have pulled together to keep Saint Mark’s active.”

“I find the people of Saint Mark’s caring and resilient. We adapt to situations with a smile and hard work. I love that we are able to reach outside our walls and help others through all our outreach projects. We check on each other and are there to help when needed. The lasting friendships I’ve made here at Saint Mark’s are a great joy. Saint Mark’s is a wonderful, vibrant place to be.”

Ted Meyers

Ted joined Saint Mark’s in 2005 and like many parishioners has kept busy within the congregation. For Ted that includes singing in our choir, serving on the 2008 capital campaign, participating in Guatemala mission trips, and serving as a lay reader, chalice bearer and helping with St. John’s Town Street Dinners. He has previously served two terms on vestry. “Saint Mark’s is an incredible community of caring people from diverse backgrounds. The term ‘ancient faith, open minds’ rings very true here: we follow a common, traditional liturgy filled with very thought-provoking words and music that activates the Holy Spirit within each of us. I love that we’re excited to share this with the wider Columbus community through our increased involvement in community events. I have seen wonderful transformation at Saint Mark’s in the 18 years since I first walked through the doors. Through my service on vestry, I’ve been part of that journey. Through serving on vestry again I look forward to seeing, and being part of, how Saint Mark’s will continue to grow, adapt, and flourish over the next 18 years.”

Park Zimpher

Park previously served on vestry about 14 years ago. Why serve? “It’s an opportunity to contribute to our parish,”
she said. “I would like to contribute to the continuation of building a strong, vibrant Saint Mark’s community.
“In my 34 years at Saint Mark’s, I have participated in many groups and activities. The most meaningful that come to mind are a long-term venture with teaching Sunday school and many years preparing and serving dinner at St. John’s Town Street. I’m currently helping Bruce Johnson in the Memorial Garden and I enjoy it very much. “I like that Saint Mark’s is a supportive, nurturing community of fellow Christians. I have met many people at Saint Mark’s who have become very important in my life. I also look forward to being a part of a team to assist our clergy in moving our parish forward.”

 

Each year, the Vestry appoints a Treasurer and a Clerk. These officers are not voting members of the Vestry by virtue of being appointed to office.

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Phil Glandon, Treasurer

Phil and his wife, Lynn have two married adult sons.  PJ, his wife Grey, and their three daughters live in Gambier, OH.  Kyle lives in Normal, IL with his wife Lacey and their two daughters and one son.  Lynn is a retired pre-school teacher and Phil is retired after selling the battery pack manufacturing company that he started in 1982, Nexergy, Inc.

A cradle Episcopalian, originally at Saint Stephen’s on the OSU Campus, he joined Saint Mark’s after his family moved to Upper Arlington in 1962.  He has been a member ever since and has known every Rector of St. Mark’s.  His father Jack Glandon was a former Senior Warden, Chairman of the Endowment Fund Trustees, and Search Committee chairman.  Phil followed in his father’s footsteps and has also served in each of those positions.  In addition, he has been an usher for over 30 years, and has been our Treasurer since 2017.  He is also an Endowment Fund Trustee.

 

Barb Hyre, Clerk