St. Mark's United Methodist Church

Hello from Sharon
Sharon Ragland
Senior Pastor

Welcome to St. Mark’s UMC! We are a United Methodist congregation that truly seeks to live out “open hearts, open minds, and open doors.” Conveniently situated on the southwest corner of Magee and La Cañada Roads, on the northwest side of Tucson, our people actively seek to show hospitality to newcomers. We are also deeply committed to reaching out and serving in our community.

I began serving as the senior pastor of St. Mark’s on July 1, 2010. My spouse, Art, and I live just a few minutes from St. Mark’s and are enjoying living back in Tucson. We lived here from 1994-2002, when I served at St. Paul’s UMC (1994-98) and First UMC (1998-2002). Our daughter, Julie and her husband Christian, and their son, Isaiah, and our son, David, and his wife, Michelle, also live in Tucson.

From July, 2004-June, 2010, I lived in Gilbert, Arizona, and served as the Central East District Superintendent, Desert Southwest Conference. In that role, I supervised 42 churches and about 65 pastors, in the east valley of Phoenix, up to the White Mountains, and south to Casa Grande. I learned a great deal about working with church staff members and church leaders, growing healthy churches, dealing with conflict, and staying focused on the love of Christ through it all!

From 2002-2004, I served as the senior pastor of Dove of the Desert UMC, Glendale. I graduated in 1991 from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, and was ordained in the Wisconsin Annual Conference. In 1994, we got the opportunity to come to the Desert Southwest Conference to serve at St. Paul’s.

For fun and relaxation, I like walking, swimming, reading, going to and watching movies, and Diamondbacks baseball. Art and I have two small dogs, Maggie and Mr. Magoo, and enjoy walking with them, too. We also love to spend time with our family and friends, and playing with our grandson, Isaiah, who was born in 2005.