The Very Rev. Alston B. Johnson was called as the third Dean of St. Mark's Cathedral beginning on November 1, 2012. He is a native of Mississippi, a graduate of the University of Vermont and the School of Theology at Sewanee.
He served several congregations in Mississippi, including St. Andrew's Cathedral in Jackson, before becoming Rector at the Chapel of the Cross in Madison, Mississippi where he was serving prior to coming to St. Mark's .
Fr. Johnson is a Captain/Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, Mississippi National Guard and a Deputy Black Belt Tae Kwon Do. He and his wife Liza have three children.
Canon Rowena is the assisting priest responsible for the Pastoral Care of the parish. This includes visiting and taking communion on a regular basis to those in nursing homes or retirement communities, those who are housebound, and any who are hospitalized, bereaved or in other special need. She is available for brief pastoral counseling and bereavement counseling, and can provide appropriate referrals to community services. She assists with the Eucharistic Visitor program and the Visitation Guild and provides monthly worship services at two retirement facilities.Her training and experience as a mental health provider, and as a hospital chaplain which included work in addiction recovery, are assets in her current ministry. She also has certification and teaching experience in spiritual direction.
Canon Rowena works closely with the Altar Guild and our ECW. She is the Chaplain and Worship Leader for the diocesan ECW and is the annual speaker for its JOY weekend, and the Spiritual Director for both JOY and The Celebration of Women’s Ministries.
She enjoys small group work, including Bible studies. Currently she has an ongoing study for women. She hopes to begin a Spiritual Direction Group in the near future. She also enjoys preaching, leading worship, and providing the sacrament of unction upon request and in weekly worship.
Bryan is a 1977 graduate of Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he studied Organ Performance with Haskell Thomson and Harpsichord with William Porter and Lisa Goode Crawford. Bryan has also studied the tuba, cello, violin and flute. Bryan is a member of Association of Anglican Musicians and the Royal School of Church Music where he has served as a Regional Examiner for St. Nicholas Choir Awards. Earlier in his career, Bryan served as Organist and Choirmaster at several large churches including Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio where he oversaw the design and installation of a 54-rank Wilhelm tracker-action pipe organ and began a recital series. At St. James Episcopal Church in Painesville, Ohio he conducted a Choir of Men and Boys. In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, at Fairmount Presbyterian Church, he was responsible for the installation of a 100-rank Schantz pipe organ comparable to our 107-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ. Most recently, he spent ten years at Eastern Shore Chapel (Episcopal), Virginia Beach, VA where he led the 50-voice intergenerational Parish Choir on two international tours to Innsbruck, Austria and Cambridge, England. During his tenure at Eastern Shore Chapel he also began a very successful monthly choral Evensong tradition. He is a skilled choral conductor who is best known for development of choral programs that have provided meaningful participation for children and youth. At St. Mark’s, his ministry focuses on a vital choir program for our children and youth.
As Minister for Children’s Programs at St. Mark’s, Joy Owensby oversees all activities for children six weeks of age through the 5th grade. This includes the nursery, Children’s Chapel, Prime Time for Kids, Sunday morning Christian Formation classes, C.I.A., and Vacation Bible School.
You can contact Joy to learn more about any of these areas and to find out how to get your children involved in St. Mark’s. In addition, any adult who is interested in serving as a volunteer for any of these programs should also get in touch with her.
Jennifer organizes all parish events at the church like Rally Day and the Pentecost Picnic. She also coordinates outreach ministries to move us all toward better discipleship. Additionally, she is the contact person for the Cooking Crew ministry.
Feel free to contact her if you need to coordinate an activity at the church or feel the call to participate in an outreach ministry and need help finding one just for you.
Jennifer has been a parishioner since 1997 (in between military absences from 2001-2005). She is married to Rick Beruvides and has 2 children, Adriana and Steven who attend St. Mark's Cathedral School. Within the church she is also teaches Prime Time, Communion Celebration, and is a board member of the Episcopal Church Women.
Becky Deverts joined the staff at St. Mark’s as the Financial Office Manager in February 2011. She handles all the financial matters of the cathedral including contributions, accounts payable, budget preparation and payroll.
Please call or email her with any questions about your pledge or contributions.
Her past experience includes twenty-three years in the Engineering Department of the VA Medical Center in Shreveport as Budget & Fiscal Administrator until she retired in 2000 and various accounting positions, the most recent being at the University Club in Shreveport until its closure in January 2011.
Bess Maxwell is the Communications Coordinator at the Cathedral, handling the production of all newsletters and bulletins.
Bess is a native of Shreveport, a product of St. Mark’s Cathedral School and a twenty-plus year member of St. Mark’s Cathedral. She is a past directress of the Altar Guild, a worship leader and a verger in addition to her office duties. She spent 30 years working in local radio before coming to St. Mark’s in June of 2007.
Bess is a graduate of LSU-Shreveport, past president of the Rotary Club of West Shreveport and a board member of the Shreveport Journalism Foundation and the Shreveport Historic Preservation Society.
Judy Austin is the church receptionist who answers the phone on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. She also assists in other areas as needed.
Feel free to call her with any general questions. She will do her best to direct you to the proper person.
Sara handles all Church records for the Cathedral. Contact her for transfers in or out of the church, to schedule baptisms or weddings or to update your records. She also assists with EYC and other youth programs.
John Scheel is the Facilities Manager for the Cathedral. After thirty-five years within the banking industry, in June of 2010, he felt a calling to share his knowledge of the Cathedral by accepting an invitation as a full-time staff member.
John responsibilities include, however are not limited to, the maintenance of the Cathedral and for staff support of its various ministries.
Persons noticing any parts of the facility needing repair or persons needing support of their particular ministries should contact John at (318) 347-4982.
