August-September 2022 Vineyard

coming together with new members
Joel, Julie,
Grace, Andrew,
and Aaron
Friend
We grew up in
the St. Louis area
but have lived in
Chicagoland for the
past 25 years. We
were looking for a welcoming and family-friendly
church and found ourselves at St. Mark’s. Grace is a
recent high school graduate and will be studying sign
language interpreting. Andrew will be in 8th grade
and loves playing baseball. Aaron will be in 4th grade
and loves video games and playing with his friends.
Joel works at the Paramount Theatre, and Julie
homeschools the kids and delivers groceries parttime.
As a family, we enjoy trips to Disney, playing
outside, and cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals.
Keith, Mary and
Hailey Negley
Thank you to the St.
Mark’s family for the
wonderful welcome. We
are the Negley’s: Keith,
Mary, and Hailey. We
moved to Montgomery
a little over a year ago
to be closer to Keith’s work and various family. Prior to
this, we were 20-year members at St. Andrew’s Lutheran
Church in Mundelein. Mary is a retired high school
teacher, Keith is a Logistics Manager for a Logistics
Provider in Naperville, and Hailey is in her third year at
Iowa State University, studying engineering. A favorite
family pastime is attending the Iowa State Univ. Cyclone
home football games which we have been doing for
years. We look forward to getting to know the great
people at St. Mark’s!
Sophia Manera
I am currently a
student at Aurora
University, double
majoring in Social
Work and Criminal
Justice. I currently
work at Anderson
Humane as an animal
care tech, and I love
it. At St. Mark’s I have
participated with the
Outreach Team, and
I love doing service
and volunteer work. I
love all that St. Mark’s
represents and am
looking forward to
growing in my faith
here. I am grateful to
be a new member of
the congregation!
Ariana Sanchez
Hello, everyone! I am thrilled to be
joining the St. Mark’s family! I found St.
Mark’s after being distant from my faith
for a while and wanted to try something
new. After attending my first worship
service, I left feeling so welcomed,
loved, and affirmed. At that moment, I
knew this could be a place I could call
home. I grew up in Oswego, alongside
my parents and four siblings. I am
currently a student at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying
kinesiology. In my free time, I enjoy
watching sports (especially college
sports—go Illini!), watching movies,
reading, hanging out with my niece and
nephews, hiking, and listening to music.
I am blessed to have been welcomed
with such open arms at St. Mark’s, and
I look forward to growing in Christ with
you all.
Brian Spitzer and Chad Sohl
Brian and Chad moved last year from
Chicago to Oswego. In the middle of
a world pandemic, it was a challenge
finding a church home. But even with
the masks and social distancing, we
loved the people we eventually got to
meet at St. Mark’s. Brian is from Ohio
and moved to Chicago from Richmond,
VA about 8 years ago. Chad is a Texan
and moved to Chicago in 2000. Brian
is a computer engineer, and Chad is in
printing, promotions, and marketing.
Brian had a midlife crisis a few years ago
and got a degree at the French Pastry
School. Then he went on to get an MBA
and MCS at University of Chicago. For
Chad’s midlife crisis, he started wearing
his hair different. Can you tell which one
is the overachiever? We have 2 dogs,
Baxter and Ralphie, and you will get to
hear about them all the time.
7