The Rev. Alan Mead was born in Utica, NY and, after serving as a hospital corpsman in the Navy graduated from Utica College of Syracuse University with a degree in English Literature. He obtained his M.Div from the Episcopal Divinity School in 1979 and has since served parishes in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. He is past president of NNECA (National Network of Episcopal Clergy Associations) and an advisory board member of FOCUS (Families of Clergy United in Support).

Alan is married to Pat Mead and they have two grown children and four grandchildren. He and Pat enjoy walking for fitness and relaxation, tent camping at the shore especially during the off-season, reading and photography.

The Rev. Dr. Sandra M. Levy was ordained to the priesthood in l995. Her Ph.D. is in Clinical Psychology, and before entering Virginia Theological Seminary, she held the position of Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine and Associate Director of the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Levy is a widely published author, and her most recent work, Faith and Imagination, will be published by Eerdmans (Grand Rapids) in the fall of 2008.