Fr. Mark Sietsema

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 three 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-present).  He serves a week as staff priest yearly at the Metropolis Summer Camp and in 2011 served a session at Ionian Village.

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 and they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in September 2011.  Presvytera Kathy is a freelance editor and lexicographer, as well as an accomplished knitter.  They have two boys, ages 10 and 11.  Fr. Mark was born in 1962 in Grand Rapids, MI.  He was raised in a branch of the Dutch Reformed church.  Fr. Mark loves to go hiking.