Clergy

The Rev. Zac Koons, Rector

Fr. Zac accepted the call to be the Sixth Rector of St. Mark’s in July 2018. He was previously the Associate Rector at St. Richard’s in Round Rock. He attended Wheaton College and Duke Divinity School. Zac was born in Indiana, grew up in Arkansas, and is still surprised that he’s ended up in Texas—and still more that he loves it. On a day off, Zac likes to ride his bike. To blow off steam, Zac plays soccer and guitar. He’s a passionate supporter of Duke basketball, Arsenal Football Club, and tacos. He’s married to Anna, who works in global health, and they have a son, Laurie, and two crazy dogs, Watson and Hugo.

You can read some of Fr. Zac’s writing here.

Contact Fr. Zac at zac@stmarksaustin.org.

The Rev. Mary Keenan, Associate Rector

Mary joined us in July 2019 from St. Matthew's, Austin, where she served as part-time assisting clergy. She knows Austin well. For many years, she was an active member of St. David’s, and it was there where she discovered a community that helped her discern a call to ordained ministry. With an MDiv from Yale Divinity School already under her belt, she completed a year of Anglican Studies at Seminary of the Southwest and began her ordained ministry in 2018. Mary is married to Edmund Fitton-Brown. Between them they have five children; Olivia, Freddie and Theo who live in England and Asher and Maggie who live in Austin. She also has a pet rabbit, Fidget, who sometimes comes to visit his friends at church.

Contact Mary a mary@stmarksaustin.org.

The Rev. Dr. Nathan G. Jennings, Theologian in Residence

The Rev. Dr. Nathan G. Jennings is a native of Austin. He returned to his hometown when he joined the faculty of Seminary of the Southwest in 2005, where he currently serves as the J. Milton Richardson Associate Professor of Liturgics and Anglican Studies and Director of Community Worship. He serves St. Mark’s as Theologian-in-Residence, which means that he teaches adult formation classes, and occasionally preaches and presides too.

In his academic work, Nathan is interested in liturgical theology, Christian Platonism, Ancient Near-Eastern studies, asceticism, hermeneutics and the way these disciplines intersect and inform one another. He’s written two books, Theology as Ascetic Act: Disciplining Christian Discourse (2010) and Liturgy and Theology, Economy and Reality (2017).

BA, The University of Texas at Austin
MDiv, Yale Divinity School
MA and PhD, The University of Virginia

Staff

Mark Reed, Organist / Director of Music & Bookkeeper

Mark Reed is our Organist / Director of Music & Bookkeeper. He leads the Adult Choir and Choristers, plays the organ and piano for services, and chooses the hymns and anthems. You are always invited to stop by the choir loft after the Sunday service to find out how to get involved in the music program.

Mark has a bachelor’s degree in Music Theory from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and a master’s degree in Organ Performance from Indiana University, Bloomington. After completing his master’s, Mark continued his studies in Organ, Sacred Music, and Music Theory at IU, while serving as Dr. Marilyn Keiser’s assistant at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Mark also serves as our church bookkeeper, processing donations, expenses, HR paperwork, and working with the Finance Committee and Depositor Team to keep our financials running smoothly. Contact Mark if you have questions about giving to St. Mark’s, about serving as a Depositor, or if you’d like any more information about the financial aspects of our parish.

Mark was born in South Carolina, raised in Florida, and has served parishes in Indiana and Pennsylvania. He is married to a Texas native, and moved to Austin to be closer to his husband’s family. He’s called Austin home and enjoyed serving at St. Mark’s Church since 2010.

Contact Mark at mark@stmarksaustin.org.

Casey Bushman, Director of Christian Formation

Casey grew up in Texas and has been involved in diverse Christian ministries in Illinois and Connecticut. He is married to Sarah, a native Arkansan, whom he met during their freshman year of college. Together they have three young daughters, who always seem to keep them quite busy yet thoroughly entertained. Casey has received degrees from Ouachita Baptist University (B.A.) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div.). He has long been passionate about the local church's role in the formation of children and youth. Casey enjoys listening to (too) many podcasts, talking about scripture, being outdoors, and playing backyard Wiffle ball with his daughters.

Contact Casey at casey@stmarksaustin.org.

Jennifer Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Director of Operations

Jennifer has recently moved back to the Boston area after living in Austin for eight years, but she is continuing to work remotely for St. Mark’s. A long-time Episcopalian, she has served the church in many ways, most recently as Office Administrator at St. George’s in Austin. She is a graduate of Williams College and Andover Newton Theological School. Her husband Dan is an Episcopal priest and is the Chair of the Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at Boston College (previously professor of church history at Seminary of the Southwest), and they have two teenage children, Greg and Miriam. When not working, Jen loves to read, make music, and needlepoint.

Contact Jennifer at office@stmarksaustin.org.

Irma Glover, Sexton

Irma has been in Austin since 1985, and has been St. Mark’s sexton for about 20+ years. She is married, and has three sons and one grandson. In her spare time, she enjoys softball and golf. Irma works behind the scenes to keep the church, parish hall, and Day School clean and tidy, and is also hired to clean up the premises for special events.

Mayra Alvarez, Nursery

Mayra has been taking excellent care of our littlest ones in the St. Mark’s nursery for many years. Gifted in nurturing and educating children, she also teaches a class of two year-olds at the St. Mark’s Day School.

Rachel Joiner, Seminarian

Rachel began to formally discern a call to the priesthood in 2018 and entered the Seminary of the Southwest as a postulant from the Diocese of West Texas in 2021. Previously, Rachel worked in education as a teacher, coach, and administrator. She received her undergraduate degree from Tennessee Tech University, and a graduate degree from the University of the Cumberlands. Born in Middle Tennessee, Rachel grew up in the Appalachian region of East Tennessee and came to Central Texas in 2013. She is married to David, who works in residential home design, and they have two sons, Gregory, and Lincoln. Gregory is twenty-five, and Lincoln is sixteen. When not studying, Rachel loves to watch sports, read, and spend time with her family. She also enjoys exploring spaces and places to engage with new people, experiences, and ideas.