The Rev. Peter Walsh

Our JDK&A Consultant arrived at St. Mark’s in November 2009 with the assignment to launch and land our “Go and Grow” campaign. Like a midwife, he was to help us give birth to a single annual pledge, capital, and endowment campaign. In seven short months, he did just that with alacrity, Southern charm, thoughtfulness, discretion, and determination, all in the midst of a deeply felt recession.

With his highly honed diplomatic skills, extensive campaign experience, can-do attitude, and good humor, he strategized, organized, trained, and dispatched campaign callers. He worked extraordinarily long hours to synthesize and produce kazillions of progress reports, pledge cards, and spreadsheets using, at times, a virus-laden computer and a possessed printer.

He he has incorporated himself into the life of the parish and the community with tremendous speed, worshipping with us on Sundays, getting to know most of the parish by name, frequenting church and community events, dazzling the room with his Fred Astaire-like moves at the Kick-Off Gala, and if you looked carefully you could spot him scaling the scaffolding of the bell tower (with camera in hand, never wanting to miss the perfect photo op).

He has impressed parishioners and clergy alike with his ability to wax poetically on the wisdom of Solomon, the military genius of Stonewall Jackson, and the political savvy of Ashurbanipal, and the canonical development of the scriptures.

He thwarted any attempt to bring attention to himself and even declined an invitation to attend his own surprise birthday party.

Therefore, we, the St. Mark’s Vestry and clergy on July 11th, in the year of our Lord 2010, commend him with gratitude for embodying the Klote motto, “Stewardship in Action,” and for the immeasurable contribution he has made to the mission and ministry of this parish.