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Who We are
St. Mark's is a long-established yet vibrant parish, and our members reflect both the age and diversity of the community. We are mostly older, but many young families worship with us, and we are surrounded by the students of St. Mark's Episcopal Academy. Our parishioners come from different backgrounds, races and cultures – and many come from considerable distances every Sunday. Our members live in 12 different zip codes, including one that is 20 miles north of the church, and one that is 18 miles south. Several of the clergy who have worshiped with us since the departure of our last rector have commented on the warmth and welcoming nature of the congregation. We do try to serve God in joy and each other in friendship. Our “coffee hour” fellowship times on Sundays are as full of good cheer as good food. Our major outreach is St. Mark's Episcopal Academy, founded in 1956 as St. Mark's Day School for first- and second-graders. We have had considerable growth since then: For the 2015-16 school year we have 115 ethnically diverse students in pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds and in Grades K through 6. |
We also support the Central Brevard Sharing Center with food and money, and our parishioners donate time and treasure to the Children's Hunger Project, which provides weekend food packages to county schoolchildren who need them, and to Project Hunger which provides summer food packages for children.
In recent years we also have helped build a Habitat for Humanity house and a community garden; provided support for the village of Mbola in Tanzania; given financial and prayer support to St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Mobile, AL, after Hurricane Katrina; and to Haiti through Episcopal Relief and Development.
Our active parish ministries include the choir, a lay-led Bible Study group, the Order of St. Luke, the Altar and Flower Guild, the Renovation Committee and Coffee Hour Committee, a Thursday “Lunch Bunch” open to all, and a Men's Fellowship. Our members also volunteer as acolytes, ushers, lay readers, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, and Home Eucharist Visitors.
Our official census in 2014 showed 470 baptized members. We had 111 pledges, but about 175 people contributed to the church. Our average Sunday attendance last year totaled 153 at both services. We also had about 30 on Tuesday nights and seven to 20 on Thursday mornings. Our 2015 Parish Survey was completed (fully or in part) by 133 people, and 96 of them said they attended St. Mark's at least three times a month.
Our budget for 2015 was $309,000, and we expect a surplus by the end of the year. We also held a campaign this year to replace the leaky roof over our parish hall, and now we're raising money to replace our increasingly cranky pipe organ.
The following statement is on a plaque affixed to the wall next to the front door of St. Mark's:
We are an old established church. We go back to the founders of our country.
We have a great Christian school in which young people are welcomed from all faith perspectives.
We sing traditional hymns and hear beautiful music. The homilies encourage us to explore rather than explain faith. We push aside easy answers.
We enjoy our fellowship. We meet interesting people. We view science as a partner, not an adversary.
We share one bread and one cup. We share the joys and sadnesses that life presents and support each other on our journeys.
We differ in belief, yet pray together.
In our 2015 Parish Survey we asked parishioners if they agreed with each of these statements. More than 96 percent did – except for “We push aside easy answers.”
Only 76.5 percent agreed with that one.
The survey also told us the personal gifts we wanted to see in our new rector:
We are looking for a warm, caring intellectual with a sense of humor and the ability to relate to people of all ages.
In recent years we also have helped build a Habitat for Humanity house and a community garden; provided support for the village of Mbola in Tanzania; given financial and prayer support to St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Mobile, AL, after Hurricane Katrina; and to Haiti through Episcopal Relief and Development.
Our active parish ministries include the choir, a lay-led Bible Study group, the Order of St. Luke, the Altar and Flower Guild, the Renovation Committee and Coffee Hour Committee, a Thursday “Lunch Bunch” open to all, and a Men's Fellowship. Our members also volunteer as acolytes, ushers, lay readers, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, and Home Eucharist Visitors.
Our official census in 2014 showed 470 baptized members. We had 111 pledges, but about 175 people contributed to the church. Our average Sunday attendance last year totaled 153 at both services. We also had about 30 on Tuesday nights and seven to 20 on Thursday mornings. Our 2015 Parish Survey was completed (fully or in part) by 133 people, and 96 of them said they attended St. Mark's at least three times a month.
Our budget for 2015 was $309,000, and we expect a surplus by the end of the year. We also held a campaign this year to replace the leaky roof over our parish hall, and now we're raising money to replace our increasingly cranky pipe organ.
The following statement is on a plaque affixed to the wall next to the front door of St. Mark's:
We are an old established church. We go back to the founders of our country.
We have a great Christian school in which young people are welcomed from all faith perspectives.
We sing traditional hymns and hear beautiful music. The homilies encourage us to explore rather than explain faith. We push aside easy answers.
We enjoy our fellowship. We meet interesting people. We view science as a partner, not an adversary.
We share one bread and one cup. We share the joys and sadnesses that life presents and support each other on our journeys.
We differ in belief, yet pray together.
In our 2015 Parish Survey we asked parishioners if they agreed with each of these statements. More than 96 percent did – except for “We push aside easy answers.”
Only 76.5 percent agreed with that one.
The survey also told us the personal gifts we wanted to see in our new rector:
We are looking for a warm, caring intellectual with a sense of humor and the ability to relate to people of all ages.