Our New Co-Pastors
The Pastoral Nominating Committee is pleased to present the next Co-Pastors of our church
Introducing Rev. Lynn Barger Elliott and Rev. Dr. Mark Barger Elliott
From Pastors Lynn and Mark
From our first meeting with your wonderful PNC, we knew Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church was a special congregation that cared deeply about the world, environment, children and youth, serving the community, and as your mission statement describes, seeking to “co-create and build the world we want all of our children to inherit.” We can imagine a wonderful future with SHPC building on initiatives such as the Justice Garden, the recently updated church facility, and your commitment to programs for children and youth. We are also excited to become a part of the community as San Anselmo has been one of our favorite places to live after spending two summers at San Francisco Theological Seminary when Mark completed his Doctor of Ministry.
Rev. Lynn Barger Elliott
Lynn Barger Elliott is a 4th generation Presbyterian pastor. She met her husband, Mark, on the steps of the Princeton Theological Seminary chapel and they soon imagined a life in ministry together. When she graduated, Lynn received the David H.C. Read Preacher Scholar Award given to one seminarian in the country demonstrating the greatest potential for benefiting the church with the skills of scholarship and preaching.
Lynn has served five congregations with her husband Mark in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and Connecticut and is a consultant with Compelling Preaching, a $150 Million Lilly Foundation initiative that works with 142 organizations to cultivate best practices to assist preachers to communicate to diverse audiences in more engaging and effective ways. For 13 years Lynn was a professor of Ministry Leadership at Calvin University and for a time taught in a maximum security prison. She is an author and contributed to Intergenerate: Transforming Churches through Intergenerational Ministry and is the author of the upcoming book, Grief is Art: 17 Ideas on How to Invite Art to Heal our Pain and Loss. She has certifications in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business, End-of-Life Doula training from the University of Vermont, and how to Create a Happy and Meaningful Life from Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Education. She recently co-founded, along with her husband, the Miracle Year Project.
Lynn and Mark have three children who live in D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco. Lynn loves the New York Times Spelling Bee, reading novels, trying risotto recipes, and is inspired by the Justice Garden as she is perpetually seeking to grow the perfect tomato.
Rev. Dr. Mark Barger Elliott
Mark Barger Elliott was baptized in John Calvin’s church in Geneva, Switzerland and 18 years later made a profession of faith while attending Cornell University. Upon graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary, he received the John T. Galloway Award in preaching and would later teach homiletics at McCormick Theological Seminary and write Creative Styles of Preaching. Mark has served five congregations with his wife Lynn in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and Connecticut.
Mark is the author of A Miracle Mindset: What I Discovered Looking for One Miracle Every Day and Easter: 21 Stations. He is an award-winning documentary filmmaker (Lost Boy Home and Last Songwriter). Mark has certifications in Nonprofit Management from the Executive Education programs at Northwestern University and Harvard University. He spent two delightful summers in Marin County earning his Doctor of Ministry in preaching at San Francisco Theological Seminary. He recently co-founded, along with his wife, the Miracle Year Project. While his wife Lynn pursues the perfect tomato, he is perpetually seeking to brew the perfect cup of coffee.
