Mary Alessi is a Christian

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and

Worship leader Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many w ...

Early years

The daughter of evangelists, Mary and her twin sister

Martha Munizzi Martha Denise Munizzi (born February 26, 1968) is an American Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and pastor. Early years A native of central Florida, Martha Munizzi was born into a Christian musical family. The daughter of evangelists ...

were born in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

but grew up traveling across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and ministering through music with her family. Mary, Martha, and their older sister Marvelyne were born with their parents' talent for music and became a part of the traveling family group as kids. The family settled in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

when Mary and Martha were 12, so that the children could attend formal, public school. At age 16, Mary, Martha and Marveline, age 18, helped form a praise and worship band at the urging of a church friend. That group evolved into ''Testament'' and became popular enough to travel around the state of Florida performing in churches and at conferences and other events.

Musical career

Today, both Mary and her twin sister,

, are recording artists and Mary performs a song she wrote with her sister on Martha's 2006 album ''No Limits Live'' and on the ''No Limits Live'' DVD. Mary has recorded four independent albums. Her second album, ''More'', is a live recording featuring several songs she wrote herself. Her latest is "Pressing On"

Discography

Appearance in other projects

Personal life

Mary and her husband Steve currently serve as pastors of Metro Life Church, a nondenominational congregation established in 1997 in

Doral, Florida Doral is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. One of 34 municipalities in the county, it is located west of Miami International Airport and west of Downtown Miami. Doral occupies bordered on the west by the Ronald Reagan Tu ...

, (located near the

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

). a . Mary has served as a full-time minister since 1987 when she was designated as a music director and Worship Leader. She is ordained as a minister by the Full Gospel Fellowship in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. Mary and Steve Alessi were married in 1987 and have four children Christopher, Stephanie, Lauren, and Gabrielle.

External links

Metro Life Church-Miami

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessi, Mary Living people American gospel singers Urban contemporary gospel musicians American women songwriters Singers from Orlando, Florida Musicians from Lakeland, Florida Gospel music composers 1968 births 20th-century American singers Songwriters from Florida 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers