St. Mark’s Episcopal Church will hold a special service at 3:00 pm on March 29, 2009 to celebrate its 126th anniversary. The theme for the celebration will be “Remembering Our Past: Reflecting on Our Future”.
The church was organized in 1883 as a Sunday School mission to blacks under the episcopate of Bishop Hugh M. Thompson. The first instructor was a Mr. Williams, an African-American. The Rev. Richard T. Middleton became the first priest in 1904. The building that now stands on the property was constructed in 1927 under the leadership of the Rev. James T. Jeffrey.
For a number of years during the first half of the twentieth century, the church housed the Fannie Johnson Memorial Clinic for the needy. The clinic offered all persons, regardless of race or creed, high-quality medical care at no cost. The church also served the citizens of West Jackson as a parochial school educating students from kindergarten through the 8th grade.
In the 1970's and 1980’s, St. Mark's operated one of Jackson’s first day care centers. They joined with several other Jackson, Mississippi Episcopal Churches to establish a Day Care Center Board of Trustees which constructed a then state-of-the-art Day Care Center facility. The Center provided first-class educational day care to very young children from all sections of Jackson. Many of the students who attended the center are presently serving in leadership positions throughout the nation.
St. Mark's is the largest of the four historically African-American Episcopal churches in the state of Mississippi. On April 28th, 2007, a historical marker was dedicated by the Diocesan Bishop, the Right Reverend Duncan M. Gray III. The marker serves as a symbol of the role the church has played in Jackson’s history. St. Mark’s current rector is the Rev. Dr. Richard T. Middleton III.
St. Mark’s invites everyone to the 126th anniversary celebration at 3:00 pm on March 29, 2009. Regular worship service with the Holy Eucharist begins at 11:00 on Sundays. During the Lenten season, the church is also offering “Lenten Thursdays” from March 5 to April 2, 2009 at 6:00 pm based upon the Thursday readings from the devotional booklet, "Forward Day By Day". These will be held in St. Mark’s Keeling Center (next to the church) with refreshments and fellowship to follow.
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
903 Metro Parkway
Jackson, MS 39203
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If you would like more information, or to schedule an interview with a representative of the church, please call the church at 601/353-0246 or e-mail Sekila Argrett at sargrett@comcast.net.
