Sarah Dingivan

About

We moved to San Antonio in 2013 while still on active duty and started attending St. Mark's soon thereafter. I was initially drawn to a downtown church engaged in the community and to how St. Mark's welcomes individuals and families to participate in ways that are meaningful to them. The breadth and depth of programming continues to make me want to invest more in this community.

I became involved by volunteering during Easter community lunch events and participating in Mind the Gap. After the birth of my daughters, I engaged more with activities St. Mark's offers young families, including Sunday school, where I enjoyed being a teacher, and children's choir. Last year I finished my first year of EfM and look forward to continuing with my second year during this academic year. I've also spent two years on the outreach grants discernment committee, serving as chair during the 2023 cycle. Professionally, I am the CEO/Executive Director of a volunteer legal services nonprofit, where I'm responsible for leading an organization with a $1 million budget and 12 full-time employees and for working with community partners to leverage legal talent to fill unmet needs in our local community.

On the outreach grant discernment committee, we focus on the direct impact of St. Mark's financial support using our Core Vocation sub-parts. I love how these areas provide a helpful framework to determine how the church's effort and impact span multiple, at times competing, community needs. Looking at these three areas independently forced me to think differently about how each needs to be nurtured, even during difficult times when it is easy to focus on just one or two of them. I think the Vestry's work should ensure that St. Mark's staff and parishioners can continue to shine a light on each of these vocational callings, opening new doors for enrichment to members of our community.