Chris Sorensen
Associate Pastor
Chris joined the staff of Stanwich in 2002 to pioneer and develop
the Evensong contemporary worship service. He is leader of the Evensong band, and co-leads the service with Rev. Mark Scarlata. Chris also devotes much of his time to college students and young adults. He leads the Ecclesia Young Adult Felowship group, and has been instrumental in organizing events at college campuses that combine Evensong worship services with humanitarian activism.
Chris’s outstanding musical talents were recognized at the 2005 Gospel Music Association conference in Estes Park, Colorado, where he placed eighth in the “Best Duet of the Year” category. In addition, his song “Come Almighty King” placed in the top 20 songs of 2005. Most of the music played by the Evensong band has been written by Chris, with lyrics inspired by traditional hymns.
A native of Florida, Chris played guitar and wrote most of the songs for the rock band, “Brown Root Seed Company” before entering ministry. He graduated from Montreat College in North Carolina, and received a Masters of Divinity degree from Alliance Theological Seminary in New York. He worked as Area Director for Young Life, a Christian program for youth, before joining the Stanwich staff. He was ordained in 2004.
Chris’s wife Angie also graduated from Montreat College. She worked with Chris for Young Life and as a teacher at Grace Christian School in Stamford. Chris and Angie have two children.
Mark Scarlata
Mark served as an associate pastor at Stanwich for six years. In addition to co-leading the Evensong worship service with Chris, he oversaw Stanwich's missions outreach programs. His leadership in missions reflected his experience prior to coming to Stanwich when
he served as a missionary in China and Japan for three years.
In September 2007 Mark moved with his family to England to pursue a Ph.D at Cambridge. The Stanwich family is sad to say farewell to the Scarlatas, but we are excited to see how God will
bless them as they begin this new stage in their life of faith.
The Scarlatas have a web page, where you can read their
latest news and see photos from their life in Cambridge.
Check it out at web.mac.com/scarlatas.