Beth LaRocca-Pitts has been a member of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1983, though she has been preaching for longer than that! "When I was 12 year old and a
member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Athens, I realized that I would never be happy in life if I had to do another job other than the job that the priest at St Joseph's did. So I started attending
my mother's church, Athens First UMC and at age 14 I joined there. I also got a lay speaker's certificate at age 17 and began preaching around the district."
When it Was time for college, Beth decided on Duke University instead of the University of Georgia, where her father Joe had taught for nearly 40 years in the College of Pharmacy. She graduated in 1981
and then went to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. In 1983 she was ordained a deacon in the North Georgia Annual Conference, then in 1984 returned to take her first
appointment at the Bishop Circuit in lower Oconee County. The circuit then included Bishop, Farmington, High Shoals, and Salem UMC's. In 1986 Beth was ordained an elder, and in 1984 she returned to
school for her PhD at Harvard University. There she majored in Old Testament Studies through the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department. She also continued her archaeological research
trips to Israel during these years, which she had begun as an undergraduate. All told, she has served on the staffs of four digs to date: Ein Nabratein, Sepphoris, Beth Shemesh, and Tel Ein Zippori.
At Harvard, Beth met her husband Mark, a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, a student at Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD candidate also in the Near Eastern languages department. Beth fell for Mark, in
part, because he spoke Hebrew better than she did, having lived in Israel for three years after undergraduate school at Indiana University. Beth and Mark were married in 1991. In 1993, they returned to
Athens where Beth was appointed to serve as an associate pastor at Athens First, and Mark worked at Athens Regional Medical Center as a patient representative. In 1996, Beth was hired by Duke Divinity
School to teach Old Testament. Mark went to work at Duke Medical Center as a chaplain. While at Duke in 1998, they were blessed with the arrival of their twins, Joe and Ellie! In 2001, Mark was hired to
be one of the staff chaplains at Athens Regional and the family moved back to Athens as soon as the Duke School year concluded in 2002. Beth was then appointed to serve Snellville UMC as associate
pastor and served there two years and began teaching part time in the religion department at UGA.
Then, in 2004, the opportunity came for Beth to serve as senior pastor at Watkinsville First United Methodist Church, which is a scant 4 miles up the road from the church at Bishop where she began her
ministry. She liked to tell people "I haven't come very far in 25 years!"
In June 2010, Beth and her family moved to Atlanta to be a part of Saint Mark. We are blessed to have them here.
***
Beth LaRocca-Pitts
Senior Pastor
Beth LaRocca-Pitts has been a member of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1983, though she has been preaching for longer than that! She was raised in Athens Georgia
and began faith as a Roman Catholic. “When I was 12 year old and a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, I realized that I would never be happy in life if I had to do another job other than the job that
the priest at St. Joseph’s did.” Understanding that as a call to ministry, she joined Athens First UMC and at 14 and trained to become a lay speaker at 17. She attended undergraduate school at Duke
University where she received a BA in Religion. She received her M.Div from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and then returned to take her first ministerial appointment as pastor in charge of
the Bishop Circuit in the Athens Elberton District. Next she attended Harvard University where she completed a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, with a concentration in Old Testament
Studies. At Harvard she met her husband Mark and after they married they returned to Athens where she became the associate pastor at Athens First. In 1996 she was hired to teach Old Testament
Studies at Duke Divinity School. While in Durham, Mark and Beth were blessed by the birth of their twins Ellie and Joe. In 2002 the family returned to Athens where Mark was hired as Staff Chaplain at
Athens Regional Medical Center and Beth was appointed to be associate pastor at Snellville UMC. In 2002 Beth was appointed to be senior pastor at Watkinsville First UMC and in 2010 she was appointed
to serve at Saint Mark. Mark works now as a chaplain with Crossroads Hospice. Ellie and Joe attend Grady High School. The whole family is blessed to be in ministry at Saint Mark.
***
Jennifer Hansen
Minister of Missions & Outreach
As a second-career minister, Jennifer also draws on her experience in her career in finance and accounting which she began as a CPA with Ernst and Young and then worked her way up through various corporate roles to a position in senior management as a financial executive. She changed career paths in 2007 after feeling called to seminary and to service to others in the area of outreach and missions. While in seminary, her interests led her to special studies related to missions, sub-Saharan Africa and a concentration in church and community leadership.
Jennifer earned two degrees from Emory University, a Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2010 and a Masters of Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School in 2002. She is a graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelors of Science in Accountancy.
In her free time Jennifer can be found outdoors enjoying one of her many active pursuits such as hiking with her dog Lily, cycling, playing tennis, running or gardening.
Josh Noblitt
Minister of Social Justice & Evangelism
Rev. Joshua M. Noblitt is Saint Mark’s Minister of Social Justice and Evangelism, and a owns a private psychotherapy practice as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. In addition to offering individual, couples, and group therapy, his work involves leading program, advocacy and volunteer opportunities related to social justice issues in the community. Rev. Noblitt completed his Master of Divinity at Emory University in 2004 and was ordained at the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2009. Rev. Noblitt is a Clinical Fellow with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, is currently perusing certification through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), and is a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Ministry at Emory University in 2017. He has served on numerous national and local boards, including the Board of Directors for the Reconciling Ministry Network from 2008-2013. He is currently serving on the board of WonderRoot, For The Kid In Us All, Inc., and the Emory University Hope Clinic for HIV/AIDS Research Community Advisory Board. Among his civic engagements, Rev. Noblitt is proud to serve as a member of the volunteer Chaplain Corps for the Atlanta Police Department, President of the South Atlanta Civic League, and Vice Chair of NPU-Y. He is also an alunmus of the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2011, New Leaders Council Class of 2013 and Outstanding Atlanta Class of 2013. Visit Josh on the web at www.joshuanoblitt.com
"With women worldwide owning less than 1% of private property,
there is...SOME...justification
for not allowing same-sex marriages;
someone has to be taking care of our women..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
HOMOPOLAR, GOD DAMN IT! HOMOPOLAR..?
"I don't think you can slap a priest across the face more than this..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"She's nothing but a Catholic Fag Hag paid a Methodist Administer..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"Do you realize, every second a church space is sitting empty/unused, it's nothing but a symbol for gold (GOD)
hoarding..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"What does God's silence in the penultimacy mean and do for you would do the same for me should I choose to allow letting one doing so..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"How does one sell a drug (LOVE) to an audience that has already bought it..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"You might as well call yourself a drug dealer..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"Are you aware, before, there can be an Antichrist there must first be a Christ? Well in the old testaments we had a Christ; a hope, a desire, a dream. Our Jesus of Nazareth was knowledgable of the old testament stories. If he truly was not claiming to be God, this would actually make him our first Anti-Christ..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
"They
(Anti-Christ, Armilus, Dajjal)
cancel each other out!
By claiming to be all three, this brings me right back around to
where I started...Radical Atheist..?
~(Simply Jim)~
There are two kind of people:
Those who prefer being sad alone;
and those who prefer being sad
among... other?
Mark 9:1
King James Version
(KJV)
9 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
"I think he saying,
'Ya'll need to be careful with your indifference..?'"
~(Simply Jim)~
"All ya'll do is tag-team off each other..?"
~(Simply Jim)~
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