Rev. Mark Harkness has been pastor at Cherry Valley United Methodist Church since July 2018.  He was ordained a transitional deacon in 1999 and ordained an elder in 2002.  He is a member of the Order of Saint Luke, a United Methodist religious order dedicated to elevating worship and the celebration of the sacraments.

During his ministry he has served in suburban and rural congregations, including as a youth and children’s pastor on ministry teams and as a solo pastor in smaller congregations. 

Mark arrived in Cherry Valley accompanied by his wife, Susan.  His daughter, Caitlin, and her husband George live in the Kansas City, Missouri area with their son, Aaron.

Mark has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University (Go Huskies!!) with a major in Sociology.  He received his Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.  He has also done doctoral studies focusing on liturgy at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin.

Prior to ordination, Mark worked for Bethesda Lutheran Home (now Bethesda Lutheran Communities) in various capacities as a QMRP (Qualified Mental Retardation Professional) including as the director for a 16-bed intermediate care facility and finally as the director for Bethesda’s Northern Illinois CILA (Community Integrated Living Arrangements) program.

Mark has been a member of ICER (Illinois Christians Encountering Racism), the anti-racism team for the Illinois Conference of Churches, since the founding of the team in 2005.

Through his ministry, Mark has also served on various boards serving the community to address homelessness, substance abuse, and most recently domestic and sexual violence.