Leadership

The Rev. Dr. Brandt L. Montgomery, Vicar

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The Rev. Dr. Brandt Montgomery began his ministry as the Vicar of St. Mark’s Church on May 14, 2023. He has also been serving as the Chaplain of Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland since August 1, 2019. Before St. Mark’s Church and Saint James School, Father Montgomery served at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Lafayette, Louisiana as Chaplain of Ascension Episcopal School from 2014-2017, then as Associate Rector and All-School Chaplain from 2017-2019. He began his ordained ministry as the Curate at Canterbury Episcopal Chapel and Student Center at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa from 2012-2014.

Fr. Montgomery received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama in 2007. He received the Master of Divinity (cum laude) in 2012 from The General Theological Seminary in New York City, for which he wrote the thesis Time’s Prisoner: The Right Reverend Charles Colcock Jones Carpenter and the Civil Rights Movement in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. In 2021, Fr. Montgomery received the Doctor of Ministry degree from the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, his thesis titled The Development of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Saint James School of Maryland.

Cindy Nelson, Parish Administrator

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Cindy began working at St. Mark’s in September, 2013. She has a background in Human Resources and office management and is a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Hagerstown.

Cindy enjoys nature and the outdoors – – gardening, landscaping, and bird-watching, especially – – as well as home-keeping and interior decorating. She enjoys gardening for wildlife and pollinators. Cindy’s yard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat; a Certified Bird Habitat; a Certified Butterfly Garden; a Certified Monarch Garden; and a certified Monarch Waystation. Cindy lives in north Hagerstown with her husband, John, and their beloved [indoor] cats. =^..^=

W. Kirk Denton, Organist-Choirmaster

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Kirk was on a eight-year hiatus from his avocation of Church music ministry but has now returned and is well established at St. Mark’s. Previously, Kirk was the organist at the Universalist National Memorial Church in Washington , DC, for almost 30 years. He has been playing the organ since an early age and has experience with various churches in Kansas and Rhode Island. Kirk has a degree in Historic Preservation & American Culture studies and owns his own business in historic preservation and interior decorating. He lives in Braddock Heights.