The Rev. Dr. Timothy McKenzie has served as Senior Pastor of St. Mark’s since February 2019. Raised in a Lutheran parsonage, he graduated from a Jesuit preparatory school, from Augustana College, and from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Pastor Tim served as a Lutheran missionary in Japan for 28 years, working in parish ministry, church administration, and theological education.

Tim holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology, and was a tenured professor at Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary and Japan Lutheran College in Tokyo. His international experience with interfaith, interreligious, and ecumenical relationships has shaped his appreciation of culture, language, and spirituality in the human journey. Tim believes all people of every ethnicity, nation, gender, and social background have gifts to share in the body of Christ at St. Mark’s.

Pastor Tim appreciates working with and learning from St. Mark’s many ministries, members, and friends. He believes daily prayer is a powerful resource for thriving in life. He enjoys meeting new people, cooking Asian food, and cycling. Pastor Tim feels very blessed to be at St. Mark’s, where all people are welcome!

Rev. Alexandra Joy Rode first felt her call to ministry as a teenager during confirmation. Following the nudge of the Holy Spirit, she has served in a variety of roles in ministry including youth leader, camp counselor, volunteer coordinator, and pastor. Her specialties include pastoral care and counseling, ministry with children and youth, community development, and strategic planning. She comes to us from Dayton, Ohio where she was born and raised, having served the past 9 years as a lead pastor. She was first commissioned as a Deacon in 2014 and ordained as a Full Elder in the United Methodist Church in 2018.

She is a graduate of Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio where she studied Youth Ministry and Spanish. She received her Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Beyond her degree work, she has invested considerable time in the study of Counseling Ministries at the Methodist Theological School of Ohio in Columbus, Ohio.

Pastor Ali and her spouse Brian moved to the Charlotte area summer of 2025 as part of her spouse’s corporate relocation. They shop the Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market most weekends, savor single-origin coffee, enjoy a variety of creative arts, and travel in their free time.

Les Ackerman began his tenure as Director of Music Ministry and Organist at St. Mark’s in 2010. He has served churches as full-time music director in California, Texas and North Carolina. Les holds degrees in Church Music and Organ Performance from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ., and both a Masters of Sacred Music from Perkins School of Theology, and a Master of Music in Organ Performance from Meadows School of the Arts, both at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Sue Wadgymar was raised in Minnesota and attended Gustavus Adophus College, completing coursework towards a BSc in Medical Technology. She took a break from working to raise her family in Texas. She then began a 16-year career at an ELCA church as office manager and financial administrator, building the skills and experience that are valuable for her role at St. Mark’s. She was also Border Area Mission Ministries Coordinator, managing lodging arrangements at the church for volunteer groups from around the country to work on projects in the border area. Sue moved to North Carolina to be near family, and to enjoy her two small grandsons.