Local Folks: The Anderson Family
For the Rev. Mark Anderson, his new position as Subdean at St. John’s Cathedral feels like coming home. Anderson grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from Bolles in 2006. While he enjoyed the academic rigor and the athletic challenges, he refers to his experience as a bubble. He was surrounded almost exclusively by friends from privileged backgrounds. The greatest exception to this bubble was his experience at a downtown church, St. John’s Cathedral, where his family worshipped. There Anderson developed friendships and relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
After graduating from Bolles, Anderson enrolled at Georgetown University where he studied economics and took on internships with finance and consulting firms. It appeared that his life’s trajectory was set, but he became deeply dissatisfied with the path he was on. He wanted to do something meaningful with his life, so he took a semester off to reevaluate his goals. During that time, Anderson contacted the newly hired Dean of St. John’s Cathedral, The Very Rev. Kate Moorehead. After meeting with her, he took an internship at the Cathedral—a completely unplanned turn of events. At the end of this internship, Anderson returned to college with the conviction that God was calling him to serve in the church.
After completing his undergraduate degree Anderson married his college girlfriend, Mary. He then enrolled at Yale Divinity School while his wife Mary attended Columbia University Medical School. Next, Anderson returned to Jacksonville to serve as the Curate for Children, Youth and Families at St. Mark’s Church in Ortega. Then the Andersons moved to Boston, where Mark served as the Interim Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in the small town of Wrentham while earning a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Harvard University. Most recently Mark and Mary lived in Dallas, Texas where Mark was Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Mary completed a dermatology residency program.
The next step in their spiritual and personal journey has brought Mark and Mary Anderson to Jacksonville. They are excited to see what God has in store for them. Anderson recalls, “A beautiful print of St. John’s Cathedral hung over my desk while in seminary. It was a gift from Dean Kate more than a decade ago. Over the ensuing years, it has reminded me of the foundation for my faith and has served as an image of a church that is defined by Love at the Core.”
Mark is thrilled to be serving as the Subdean (the equivalent of an executive pastor) at the church where he was confirmed, where he was married, and — just a couple months ago — where he and Mary had their son, Philip, baptized.
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