St. Mark’s Episcopal celebrates 100-year history, looks to the future
In recognition of serving the Ortega community for 100 years, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church invites everyone to its centennial celebration on April 24, 2022. The event will both recall the church’s history and also set the stage for its second centennial.
It all began as St. Columba’s Mission with a small group of worshippers from St. John’s Parish in downtown Jacksonville who met in a private home on Ortega Point. Services were held for the first time in 1919, in a former Army building, known as “The Hut,” at the corner of Corinthian Avenue and Baltic Street.
The mission was granted parish status on May 15, 1922, and the Rev. Douglas B. Leatherbury was named as the first rector. Members decided to rename the church St. Mark’s Church, in honor of one of the four evangelists, Mark, an original disciple of Christ.
The original building, The Little Brown Church, was moved to the church’s present site in 1923. The cornerstone of the present church building was dedicated on Oct. 5, 1941.
Growth and construction continued steadily through the years and throughout seven rectors. Names of those honored or memorialized and instrumental in the church’s growth abound on the campus, including Leatherbury Hall (1953); the Chapel and Childress-Yerkes Building (Library) (1968); McCarty Early Learning Center (1997); Berg Family Playfield (2002); Baker Green playfield and pedestrian thoroughfare at the center of the campus, McRae-Winston Chapel and Lori Schiavone Commons (2011).
Church members recall major moments in their history as well. One of the first challenges the Rev. Barnum McCarty faced as the third rector of St. Mark’s in 1971 was to persuade congregants that an update to the 1928 prayer book should be adopted, proving the adage, “old habits die hard.” He eventually achieved consensus, and the change was made.
Parishioners also recall the creation of the Council of Compassion, which they funded under the church’s sixth rector, the Rev. Jonathan B. Coffey, to provide financial assistance to those in crisis during the 2008-09 economic recession. Under Coffey, the church also kicked off the “We are One” improvement campaign that unified the church and day school campus by closing Oxford Avenue.
The Rev. Tom Murray was appointed as the church’s seventh rector on April 12, 2016. He has focused on stewardship and increasing the church foundation’s general endowment fund, as well as encouraging parishioner engagement in programs such as the “Bible Challenge,” which involved reading through the entire Bible in one year’s time.
He responded to the challenges presented by the pandemic by livestreaming worship services, providing additional pastoral care services, scheduling food drives and other outreach events and offering online Christian Formation classes.
“We have tried to stay true to our purpose, so that no matter how much has changed, we remain resolute in our faith,” The Rev. Murray said. “The pandemic has given us an opportunity to be the people of God and to look at everything with a fresh perspective. That’s a beautiful thing, particularly as we begin our next 100 years.”
St. Mark’s Episcopal Day School was established as an outreach of the parish in 1970. The church founded three missions as well — St. Catherine’s, St. Peter’s and the Church of the Epiphany.
The church’s centennial celebration will follow the 10 a.m. worship service on Sunday, April 24, with lunch, jazz and children’s activities on the Baker Green.
By Karen Rieley
Resident Community News
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