 Fr. Mark Sietsema was ordained to the Diaconate by Archbishop Spyridon in May 1998 and thereafter served at the Archdiocese. In July 2000 he was ordained a presbyter by Archbishop Demetrios and assigned to Holy Trinity in Lansing, MI. In December 2009 Metropolitan Nicholas awarded him the Offikion of Oikonomos. In his tenure the Lansing parish has accomplished several major projects, including: full sanctuary renovation and iconography installation, planting a Memorial Garden, renovation of the Social Hall, replacement of the steeple and roof, and hosting the Lansing Interfaith Day four times.
Fr. Mark has served on the Archdiocesan Council for 6 years (and as recording secretary in 1998-99); on the Metropolis Council as secretary (2007-08); on the Detroit Clergy Syndesmos as treasurer (2003-10); and on the Archdiocesan Liturgical Translation Committee (2010-2015). He received his M.Div. (summa cum laude) from Holy Cross in 1998. He has a B.A. (summa cum laude) in Comparative Religion from the University of Michigan (1985) and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from M.I.T. (1989); his dissertation was on African tone languages. Before ordination Fr. Mark worked as the pronunciation editor for Merriam-Webster dictionaries. He currently serves as the associate pronouncer for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fr. Mark is married to Presvytera Katherine (Chapekis) Sietsema. Presvytera Kathy is a freelance editor and lexicographer, as well as an accomplished knitter. They have two sons. He was born in Grand Rapids, MI and raised in a branch of the Dutch Reformed church. Fr. Mark loves to go hiking and bicycling. |