Liz Casiano Evans

About

Each of the Vestry members were asked to reflect on the following questions:

WHY DO YOU FEEL CALLED TO SERVE ON THE VESTRY OF ST. MARK’S?

St. Mark’s has been a part of my life for many years. I started attending when I was in middle school with my parents and sister. Now as an adult, I can appreciate St. Mark’s from a different standpoint. I have been blessed with an amazing church community that has supported me through many milestones including confirmation, a scholarship to college, marriage, and the baptism of my first child. It is my turn to give back to this community and I think the Vestry is a wonderful way to do this. Being asked to serve is an honor and I’m excited to get started.

PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR PARTICIPATION AT ST. MARK’S AND/OR IN THE COMMUNITY, INDICATING EXPERIENCES THAT YOU THINK WILL BE HELPFUL FOR THE VESTRY.

I have been involved in various small things over the years. Two things I am proud of are organizing a service team to feed families at Haven for Hope and being part of the Rector Search Committee that called The Rev. Beth Knowlton. Being involved at Haven for Hope gave me a great sense of one of the great ways that St. Mark’s gives back to our community. I also loved getting to know parishioners in a more personal way and spending time with them on Sunday evenings getting our hands dirty. Being part of the Rector Search Committee also gave me my first look into more of the church organization. Most recently, I have been attending the Mind the Gap events. This has been a wonderful way to get to know the younger community at St. Mark’s. I think these experiences will be helpful in my perspective of the mission of St. Mark’s.

ST. MARK’S CORE VOCATION IS FEEDING SAN ANTONIO WITH THE BREAD OF LIFE: FEEDING THE HUNGRY WITH REAL FOOD; FEEDING THOSE WHO ARE HUNGRY FOR KNOWLEDGE AND MEANING; FEEDING THOSE WHO ARE HUNGRY FOR BEAUTY AND CREATIVITY. HOW DO YOU ENVISION THE VESTRY WORKING IN SUPPORT OF THIS VOCATION?

I think the Vestry’s role is to help keep these goals the center of what we do and decisions we make. I think we are members who are actively involved in church services and activities. We bring in firsthand knowledge of these experiences that are fulfilling the mission and can also help with gaps that we see.

WHEN DID YOU JOIN ST. MARK’S AND WHAT CONTINUES TO DRAW YOU TO THIS COMMUNITY?

I joined when I was in middle school. I kept coming back, initially because of my family, and later because of the community. There are so many things I love about St. Mark’s, the people, the staff, the music, but most of all, the sense of community I have, even now, when we aren’t meeting in person. Being part of a church family is important to me and I want to raise my kids in this same environment.