The Lay Staff

Meet e Staff

David Wheeler, the church organist and choirmaster since 1989, has a Master of Sacred Music degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. A licensed clinical psychologist, David is Director of Psychology at Poplar Springs Hospital in Petersburg and has a private practice in Richmond.

Malinda Collier
Malinda has lived in the shadow of St. Mark’s since about 1984. She has an under-graduate and graduate degree in visual arts and art history with a lot of museum experience behind her and she has a Masters Degree in Christian Education from The Virginia Theological Seminary. Her calling in life is to the educational ministry of the Church. She and her husband George (who is a devoted member of the Holy Comforter Choir but comes with her to St. Mark’s once in a while for special services) and share their museum-district home with two very spoiled cats.

Noah Cozart, the church sexton, has been working with us for many years. A native Richmonder, Noah and his wife, Rosa Lee, have two children.

Steve Barnes, is our Office Administrator. He is a native of Virginia, a graduate of Randolph Macon College, an author and currently lives in Richmond with his wife.

"What's 'Lay' mean?"

Good question!

"Lay" come from the Greek word laos, meaning "The People," as understood for example in the Constitution of the United States.. From this concept comes most of the Church's terms on how the Church is arranged or "Ordered."

Think of a deck of 52 playing cards. The Cards are the Laos. The cards may be arranged or put in order in many ways, the usual being in four suite and then King through Ace or vice-versa.

As a deck of cards, maybe even shuffled, they are "The Deck," or in this image, the Laity.

Out of this deck, we take out all the twos, sixes, threes, and eights and "arrange" them by suites. We have "put them in order," or "ordered" them. They are not above or below thre rest of the 36 cards., yet of the 52, sixteen are in "Order," and the others are not:
so it is with Holy Order and the Laity.

It might be good to also read "What's Clergy?"

And by the way, at St. Mark's, the Lay Staff is certainly not ordered!