Reverend Mark Seifried Named Interim Minister
May 3rd, 2010The Council of First Churches unanimously approved the appointment of Reverend Mark Seifried (pronounced “sigh”-”freed,”) to serve as Interim Minister of First Churches of Northampton following the retirement of Reverend Peter Ives on June 30, 2010. Reverend Seifried, who is known as Pastor Mark, will begin his duties on June 23 and will join Reverend Ives in the pulpit for Reverend Ives’s final worship service at First Churches on June 27, 2010.
“Pastor Mark brings an enormous amount of experience, sensitivity, skill, and spiritual leadership to the position of Interim Minister,” said Jon Western, who chaired the search committee that selected Reverend Seifried from a pool of qualified applicants. “He has been very successful in leading other churches through the difficult period of adjustment following the retirement of a beloved, long-term minister while at the same time encouraging congregations to embrace the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. We all believed he is the right person to help lead our congregation through the coming transition.”
Pastor Mark is concluding a 2-year term as the Interim Minister of the First Congregational Church –UCC in Auburn, MA. He has served in diverse settings for ministry – as pastor for urban, rural, and suburban congregations. He is an active member of the Massachusetts UCC Association and has held Conference, and national positions; and is active in several ecumenical and interfaith organizations. He currently serves as Moderator of the Central Association (Mass. Conference UCC). In addition to these duties, Pastor Mark serves on the task force to establish an Innocence Commission in MA and is liaison for the UCC to the MA Council of Churches working to defeat expanded gambling in MA. He is a member of a synergy group to reintegrate former prisoners into the fabric of community in Worcester.
Pastor Mark was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. He went to college at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. He attended Andover Newton Theological School where he was a member of the Jonathan Edwards Society for students with notable academic achievement, theological depth, and socially transformative ethical commitments.
Pastor Mark lives with his partner Dave and their two occasional-visiting adult sons in Worcester, where he is active in his neighborhood and city. He will be commuting to First Churches in his 2001, well-used Prius Hybrid that takes 3 gallons of gas for a round trip. In his time away from church he is an avid organic gardener and cook (formerly a certified chef). He hikes and exercises regularly, and he loves politics and music.