President - Cheryl Barstad

Vice President- Eric Knapp

Secretary - Madeline Holdorf

Treasurer - Stephanie Bissland

At- large - Debbie Maestas

                    Grace Leu-Burke

                   May Ramirez-Xiong

Hello community at St Mark, 

I am looking forward to meeting all of you! I had been praying for a job and people to connect with and feel blessed to have found this position. 

I love living in Anchorage and spending time out on the trails and in the mountains no matter the weather with my 2 year old Siberian Husky Blossom. When indoors I love cooking hearty meals, sewing, knitting and mending/adjusting/transforming clothes and outdoor gear. One personal goal I have for this year is to step up my housekeeping game and make my home even more of a beautiful, comfortable, clean place for my growing family. 

You’ll find me in the office (usually with my baby) Tuesdays – Fridays 10 a.m. to 2p.m. 

Thank you all for making me feel welcome here. 

Be well! 

Iris 

February 12, 2024

To my brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ.    Philippians 1:2

As I am writing this letter to you my heart is full of so many lovely remembrances of times together during the past thirteen years that we have been partners in the ministry of the Gospel.  You, God’s people called to St. Mark, have faced challenges with grace and faithfulness. You have embraced Christ’s call to share the Good News, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, and provide for the needs of the poor and disenfranchised.   I am proud to have been your pastor and friend these thirteen years.

After much prayer and discernment, I have accepted a call to Resurrection Lutheran in Oro Valley, Arizona to serve as Associate Pastor for Senior Ministry and Saddlebrook, a satellite site in a 55+ community nearby.  I will be joining a team of three very talented pastors and a large ministry staff which will be a new challenge and I covet your prayers that I might serve faithfully where God has called me.  Leaving Alaska and our friends and family will be difficult for David and me.  We have spent much of our adult life here and have developed a deep and abiding love for this state and its people.  Alaska will always have hold of our hearts.

My last Sunday with you will be March 17th.  Bishop Wickstrom has met with your church council to discuss next steps for St. Mark. With her guidance I am confident you will experience a smooth transition in pastoral leadership.  I encourage you to take this time to prayerfully consider how God is calling each of you to serve so that St. Mark might continue in its vision to invite all to experience God’s grace, grow as Christ’s disciples, and make a positive difference in our community and world.My prayers will continue for each of you and for the flourishing of this congregation as you faithfully live out your calling.  

St. Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi shared words that I echo.

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.  Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart.                                                                        Philippians1:3-7

Your partner in Christ’s service,

Pastor Carol

Her current mailing address is:

3365 S Dynamite Dr.

Tuson, AZ 85735