HOPE – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church welcomes The Rev. Michael Mitchell as its new Vicar. Rev. Mitchell began his weekly duties with St. Mark’s the beginning of July.
Prior to this appointment, Michael for the past year served as Assistant to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and to The Rev. Carey Stone.
Michael grew up in Northern and Central Arkansas and graduated from Hendrix College, Conway, in 1975 with a major in English. Following Hendrix, Michael graduated from Southern Methodist University Perkins School of Theology with a Master of Theology, 1979. He was ordained Elder in the UMC in Arkansas, 1980. He served United Methodist congregations in Southeast Arkansas and Northeast Kansas for the next 20 years.
Michael trained as a family therapist at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas and continued on to complete his Master of Social Work at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare with emphasis in Children and Family Therapy, graduating in 1996. For the next 23 years, he practiced mental health therapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas until retiring in 2015. In Arkansas, Michael provided school-based therapy with children, youth and families for Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Health in schools in North Little Rock, Clinton and Shirley in the early 2000’s. Most of his years of service were with youth, families, and adults with serious mental illness in a small rural mental health center, North Central Missouri Mental Health, in Trenton, Missouri.
Michael moved back to Arkansas in 2017 where most of his family lives.
Retired for nearly 10 years, Michael returned to ministry in the Episcopal Church (ordained Deacon in June 2026) and now joins the work and ministry of St. Mark’s Episcopal Hope.
Without a Priest for several years, St. Mark’s is returning to Sunday services each week and making plans for new ministries, seeking to serve people spiritually who are members and people for whom the Episcopal Church may be a good place to connect with God.
Michael enjoys time with family, friends, music, and his two dogs. Michael grew up in Arkansas in the mountains and enjoys the natural world of our state.
The Episcopal Church welcomes all people. Come check us out at 301 S. Elm Street in Hope. Every Sunday, Services/Communion are at 9:00 a.m.