The Rev. Dr. J. Mark Lewis was born in Wales and came to Canada as a child. Mark is a graduate of McMaster University (Philosophy), and Knox College (Theology) at the University of Toronto. In 2014 Knox College conferred on Mark the honorary degree Doctor of Divinity.Mark has served as a prison chaplain and a pastoral minister in Ontario and Nova Scotia. During his ministry in Knox Church, Dunnville he was elected "Citizen of the Year" in recognition of his volunteer service to the Fire Department, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Canadian Cancer Society, and several other community organizations. As a Pastoral Minister Mark has led large multi-staff churches into vitality and new growth. For13 years Mark was Lead Minister at St. Andrew's, Kitchener, which broadcast its worship nationwide on CTV. Mark was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in 2002. He has served as Vice-Convener and Convener of the National Assembly Council, Convener of the National Long Range Planning Committee, and the National Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee. Mark served for ten years on the Joint Anglican Lutheran Commission of Canada. He continues to serve as a member of the Canadian Christian-Jewish Consultation.Mark has travelled in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel Lebanon, Jordan, Africa, and Mexico on human rights initiatives for the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He has an interest in the Arab/Israeli conflict and the effects of NAFTA on the indigenous people of Mexico. Mark loves to create worship that is marked by much joy and lots of laughter. Mark is married to Donna Fitzpatrick; they have three adult children, Ruth, Anna, and Samuel. Donna is a Scientific Director and Senior Research Coordinator at McMaster University in Hamilton. Following retirement, Mark trained as an Assessor and Coach for Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation and has been working with congregations across Canada. Mark is presently enrolled in the Missional Leadership Certificate program at St. Andrew's Hall in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.Since March of 2020, Mark has been the Interim-Moderator of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Hamilton. During that time the 190-year-old congregation of St. Paul's has become home to the Hamilton Urban Core Consumption and Treatment Site (a Safe-injection site), and the Hamilton Urban Safe Supply Program. In 2022 the CTS received 21,500 visits. In September of 2023, St. Paul's became the home of the Alamal Learning Centre which provides help to children newly arrived from Afghanistan and Syria.