Weekly News
Welcome Father Shawn Clerkin to St. Marks!
St. Mark’s Congregation,
The Vestry and the Transition Team are very happy to announce that Reverend Shawn Clerkin has accepted our call to be the next Rector at St. Mark’s.
Father Shawn was ordained in 2005 and has served churches in Northwest Pennsylvania as well as being a retired member of the faculty at Gannon University.
Introduction to Father Shawn Clerkin,
The Reverend Shawn J. Clerkin currently serves as the Vicar of Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin, PA, where he is also the Interim Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Priest-in-Charge of C.O.R.E. (Collaborative Oil Region Episcopal) Ministries. He was ordained priest in 2005, and has served many churches in the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania including Church of the Holy Spirit (Erie), Saint Mary’s (Lawrence Park), Saint Stephen’s (Fairview) and the Cathedral of Saint Paul (Erie). During his twenty-years in ministry, he has been on Diocesan Council and Standing Committee, Board of Examining Chaplains, Commission for the Dismantling of Racism and Discrimination, Commission on Ministry, and Diocesan Summer Camp Staff.
Father Shawn retired from Gannon University in 2021 after thirty-two years on the faculty and administration. He had several administrative appointments, including Director of Theatre, University Assessment Officer, Director of Liberal Studies (General Education), and Co-Director of the School of Communication and the Arts.
Father Shawn’s wife, Almitra, is executive director of the Mission and Ministries Foundation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Erie. Their shared avocation has been in civic theatre, working for decades with the Erie Playhouse and the Academy Theatre in Meadville, PA. While they love the musicals and plays they have staged, their best production to date is their talented son, Séamus, the next generation of theatre directors / educators / performers in the Clerkin household!
Prayer List updates – We are trying to keep our prayer list current and accurate. When you have updates or changes, please email Maggie so we can make sure the list stays up to date. Thank you for your help with this.
Prayer for the Bishop Search
Gracious God, we give thanks for your loving care for the people of the Diocese of WNY and the members of the Bishop’s Search and Transition Committees. Give us wisdom and understanding as we discern your will. We ask for the gifts of honesty, to speak the truth in love; openness to the gifts and ideas of others and to the Holy Spirit; and willingness, to see your Lights shining among us and on the path ahead. Prepare for our Diocese a bishop who will be a faithful pastor, and equip us for the ministries to which we are called in these changing times. Help us to love and serve your world and one another in the Spirit of Christ, trusting in you to be our steadfast helper and guide; let us pray to the Lord. AMEN