Priest-in-Charge

Rev. Anne Marie Witchger

Rev. Witchger spent her last 6 years as the Associate Rector and Chief of Staff at Heavenly Rest in Manhattan. She was raised in New York City by parents who taught her that church was a place for prayer and action. This has carried through her life and career where most recently, at Heavenly Rest, Rev. Witchger directed the outreach ministries and expanded their racial justice work.

Rev. Witchger and her husband, Joshua, are parents to two beautiful children, Magdalena (5) and Simeon (3)—and they’ll welcome their third child in November.

Rev. Witchger looks forward to getting to know the people and community of St. Mark’s and to discerning God’s call for us together in the time ahead. We have amazing possibilities when we commit to radical welcome and sharing God’s love. 

Priest associate

REV. PAUL FEUERSTEIN

In addition to his work at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, Rev. Feuerstein is the founder and President/CEO of Barrier Free Living (BFL) in New York City. He has developed the largest domestic violence program for people with disabilities in the country. He has served in many capacities as an advocate in the City of New York: Chair of the Federation of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; Co-chair of the Mental Health Committee of the New York City Domestic Violence Task Force; co-chair of the Best Practices Committee and member of the Steering committee of the New York City Domestic Violence Residence Coalition, co-founder and former board member of Homeless Services United and co-founder and board member of the Disability Network of New York City.

He serves on the Mayor’s Nonprofit Resiliency Committee. He is also actively collaborating with the Institute for the Healing of Memories in Cape Town, South Africa and is the founding chair and member of the board of the Institute for Healing of Memories-North America.  He is the co-chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force for the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

He holds a an MSW in Administration and Group Work, a Master’s in Education and a Master’s in Sacred Theology.

Musical Director

JEANNINE OTIS

Jeannine Otis has served as Music Director at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery for over 28 years. She has also served on the Standing Commission for Music and Liturgy for the national church, on the Board of Church Publishing, and worked on many projects directed at exploring new ways to approach liturgy. Her work in topical theater has spanned several decades in the USA, UK and Japan, leading to collaborations with Elizabeth Swados, Eve Ensler, Theatreworks USA, the American Repertory Theater, the Kennedy Center Theater Lab with the Creative Arts Team of NYU, and the New York City Department of Education with at-risk students.

Recently, she directed A New York Lamentation, a play by the Rev. Chuck Kramer that explores the history of slavery within the Episcopal Church. She has also recorded dance, classical, and jazz music, and rap and R&B music as “Jahneen.” One recent album is Jeannine Otis and the Strings of the Helsinki Philharmonic, released by Warner Music. She holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.A. from Emerson College, in Sociology/Musicology and Theater Education respectively.

Warden

Mary-Margret Little

Originally from Virginia Beach, VA, I moved with my husband, Michael, and daughter, Sarah, a soon to be grad student at the University of Louisville, from Washington DC to Brooklyn, NY in late 1998. Since that time, we had a second child, Jake, currently a student at William & Mary, in 2004 and moved to the East Village in 2014 finally settling in the Lower East Side. I/we started attending St. Mark's right after Easter 2016. I am a converted Episcopalian. I was raised Southern Baptist and Presbyterian and went to a Quaker school early on. Through marriage, I discovered I enjoyed the Catholic Mass...if only I could find a church that was similar to a Catholic Mass, had great music, and supported my beliefs about what it means to be a Christian. St. Mark's came into my life at a perfect time and is the church home I have been looking for. Since joining St. Mark’s, I have served on the Vestry and as Treasurer and now as a Warden.

warden

Elisabeth jacobs

I am a native New Yorker, born and raised on the Lower East Side. Educated in the NYC Public School System (Hunter College Elementary and High School). I earned my degree in Pharmacy from the former Brooklyn College of Pharmacy (now named The Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy). Since I didn't choose Industrial Pharmacy, I quickly tired of filling hospital prescriptions and opted to change careers moving into corporate finance at New York Telephone/AT&T/American Bell/NYNEX. In the 1980's I went back to healthcare becoming the finance manager of Montefiore Hospital Pharmacy before moving to New York Presbyterian as Director of Finance. I was widowed in 2001. I have three grown children and five grandchildren. I retired from New York Presbyterian in 2014.