St. Mark’s Calendar & Events
Pastor Alan became the Pastor at St. Mark’s in July of 2011. Previously he served in pastoral capacities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Sierra Leone (West Africa) and London with cross-cultural and cross-racial appointments.
Pastor Alan has worked as a seminary teacher and an urban ministry director. He has an extensive history devoted to building interfaith connections and has provided leadership to numerous social justice activities and coalitions.
He was born in Halifax – an industrial town in the North of England.
Pastor Alan attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Wales, a Master’s degree in Theology and Religious Studies from Cambridge and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Claremont School of Theology.
He attained specialized training in psychotherapy as well as marriage and family therapy.
Pastor Alan is married to Linda Pickens-Jones – a retired United Methodist Minister. They are parents to two grown children, Daniel and Emily.
His personal interests include singing, playing the piano and hiking.
His preferred drink is an old fashioned “cuppa” British tea but will resort to non-fat, no-foam latte when a java fix is in order.
Rev. Mahsea Evans joined St. Mark’s in November of 2015 as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
Mahsea’s work history includes service at the Multifaith Living Community at U.C. Davis; as interim Campus Minister working with United Methodist and other students in Davis; and as a Changemaker Fellow at the Pacific School of Religion teaching spiritual leadership coursework. He is a creative spirit and active poet.
Having Methodism exposure in childhood, Mahsea has experienced significant religious diversity throughout his life and, following his seminary degree, was ordained as an Associate Minister in the Inner Light Ministries in Santa Cruz. Mahsea and his family also have participated in the ministries of Unity Church Sacramento.
Mahsea earned a Masters of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion and is pursuing an M.A. in Ethics and Social Theory from the Graduate Theological Union.
Originally from Hartford, CT, Mahsea resides in Sacramento (Natomas) with his wife, Dr. Kawami Evans, and their daughter, Niara.
Cath oversees St. Mark’s worship and music ministries and special projects. She has a heart for worship and nurtures a spirit of worship in the music ministries of St. Mark’s. She strategically rolls out and coordinates collaborative efforts that advance St. Mark’s as a professional non-profit, faith-based community organization while positioning the church as a reputable business entity and community resource. She joined the professional executive team at St. Mark’s in June of 2007. Her music role was added in 2008, and expanded to include all of the music ministries in 2016.
All of the musical ensembles, Chancel Choir, St. Mark’s Singers, Worship Team, and the Bells of St. Mark’s, are under her direction. She coordinates music for all services and the overall music program. She serves on various ministry teams as a staff liaison and as lay leadership.
Cath is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a Bachelor’s degree in music education. She served as a combined Church Administrator and Music Minister in her two previous church positions.
Cath and her wife, Peggy, came to St. Mark’s from the San Francisco Peninsula, where she served in music ministry for 24 years.
Denise performs the financial management functions for St. Mark’s. She attends to most of the matters relating to the church treasury including financial and personnel reporting processes and record-keeping functions. She consults and works with the Finance Committee and the church’s leadership to attend to the fiscal health and vitality of St. Mark’s.
Denise is St. Mark’s primary contact for most matters relating to church finances.
Denise comes with a wealth of knowledge and has been working in an Accounting role for 30+ years in several different industries. This is a somewhat new and exciting role for her.
Denise joined St. Mark’s in May of 2019.
Irene oversees a wide variety of clerical communications and church publications. In addition to daily office duties in support of the church, she assists staff, serves as the Administrative Assistant to the Senior Pastor and maintains office programs and operations.
Irene enjoys and finds purpose working or volunteering for non-profit organizations. She loves to see how an organization, such as St. Mark’s can help and make a difference in the community.
Irene cherishes spending time with her husband Victor and their two children. In their spare time you will find them hiking and exploring National Historic Landmarks. Or having downtime, playing board games or Sunday afternoon BBQs.
Irene joined St. Mark’s Staff in September of 2016.
Tina grew up in a family with church at the center of family life. She also comes with a wealth of experience with children of all ages, including ten years of teaching in a church preschool. She currently works in a special education classroom in the Elk Grove Unified School District. Colleagues and parents appreciate her ability to reach and understand even the most challenging children. In addition to her professional achievements, Tina is the mother of two young adult daughters.
Tina Coutee joined St. Mark’s in November of 2017 as the Child Care Worker.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Robert Rouch studied Organ Performance at Ball State University under Kirby Koriath and Raul Prieto Rameriz.
Robert has served as church organist at New Castle First Presbyterian, Grace Lutheran, and High Street United Methodist. Additional studies have included master classes in Barcelona, Spain with Ulrich Walter, Konstantin Volostnov, Ludger Lohman, Thomas Trotter, and Jane Parker Smith. Robert placed first by audience vote at the IV International d’ Orgue de Mataró-Barcelona Competition.
Robert Rouch joined St. Mark’s in November of 2016 as the Organist. Robert and his wife, Paula (PeeJay) live in Sacramento, with 7-year-old son, Demetrios.
Pam serves as the Faith Community Nurse at St. Mark’s. She is committed to the physiological and spiritual well-being of the extended St. Mark’s community. The services that she provides are made possible through procurement of grant funding secured by the United Methodist Women. Pam joined St. Mark’s in October of 2010.
Pam has registered nurse experience that expands over 30 years. She has worked in a variety of settings with most of her experience taking place in the out patient arena, including home care, hospice care and out-patient clinics. Her specialty nursing practice is Oncology. Pam has also worked in Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and multi-specialty clinics. Pam obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the California State University, Sacramento. She is a Certified Public Health Nurse and enjoys providing patient assessments, health education and resource referrals.
Shatara oversees and manages the upkeep of St. Mark’s campus facilities. Her responsibilities include care, maintenance and preservation of four building structures, two parking lots, a memorial garden, dedicated playground space and surrounding land and hardscapes.
She manages booking the calendar, coordinated use of space and on-campus resources for meetings, events and functions by church ministry teams and community groups.
Shatara provides leadership to facilities team member Tony Luna. This team performs:
In Shatara’s spare time she enjoys working with youth, and has experience with other youth programs under the direction of the City of Sacramento assisting with teenage skill development. Prior to coming to Sacramento, Shatara worked as Membership Coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club, various recreation and health centers in Illinois. She has also served in the U.S. Army primarily serving her duty at Ft. Bliss, Texas.
Shatara joined St. Mark’s in November of 2017.
Support for specific needs and causes
Designed giving provides the option to give to a specific need, ministry or project within the church or to create a memorial to recognize a loved one. Members of the Finance Committee can provide guidance with gifts, memorials, and bequests to fulfill this purpose.
Gifts, memorials and bequests are planned giving options that allow St. Mark’s to make a difference in people’s lives. The church appoints the Finance Committee the stewardship role to provide oversight of gifts, memorials and bequests to ensure that all contributions are used in accordance with the wishes of the donor(s).
Generous gifts have created our current roster of endowment funds, including:
Restricted Funds
Unrestricted Funds
The St. Mark’s UMC General Budget is structured around the organizational policies and operational plans of the congregation. It outlines the distribution of financial resources for ministry, strategic and operational priorities. It is the leading indicator of the vitality and fiscal health of the church. Governance oversight is provided by the Church Council and the Finance Committee.
The General Budget supports staff compensation, funding for programs and ministries, and ensures that the St. Mark’s campus remains open for worship, fellowship, learning, healing and prayer.
The General Budget also supports mission and ministry projects beyond the Arden-Arcade area. As a community resource to greater Sacramento metropolitan area and through the United Methodists’ ”connectional system,” St. Mark’s collective giving enables the spread of love of Jesus Christ throughout the world, providing poverty and disaster relief, clergy education and cultivation of inter-faith collaboration.