History of St. Mark's Episcopal Church
Solid,
stable, always welcoming and gracious. That's the bedrock on which this
Episcopal congregation has built its life of worship and service for Almighty
God. Through the doors of this parish, which first opened in 1909, cheerful
and smiling people have sat down at table with their Lord Jesus Christ,
and have risen up to play and work and serve, leading heroic if sometimes
commonplace lives. Unlike any other church I have known, St. Mark's exudes
love, joy, peace, and a sense of welcome to friend and stranger.
Resident historian, Vince Anderson, in a recent address to the parish, recalled that St. Mark's has been our church for a community of Christians for over 90 years. "You may not know it, but we will celebrate our centennial year in 2009. There have been Episcopalians living in Mesa since shortly after the city was founded in 1878. It took them until 1909 to organize themselves into a recognized mission church (not self-supporting, a designation reserved for later parish status)." Thirty persons first claimed St. Mark's as "our church."
"By 1911," Anderson continued, "these Episcopalians had built the first church. It was a beautiful little building over on Pepper Place, located in what now is the middle of the parking lot across from the Mesa Southwest Museum. By 1914 the small congregation had built a rectory and a guild hall. They made the guild hall a magnet for the social and cultural development of Mesa's young Christian community.
"The famous veterinarian, Dr. A.J. Chandler, gave the lots for these buildings. Others of the 30 members each contributed to amass the $3,400 cost of the church. They made sure to maintain a close relationship with Mr. Egan's Boys School - a private school for local Christian youth. (There were public schools in Mesa at the time, but their religious orientation was controlled by another religious group.)
"By 1919, St. Mark's had grown to 155 communicants. That year, St. Mark's became a self-sustaining parish, called its first rector, the Rev. Francis J. Bloy, and paid him an annual salary of $300 -enough to attract him back to Mesa from Wickenburg. Our church thrived up until the Depression in the late 1920's, and then it came close to dying. We lost our parish status, reverting to a mission congregation, and struggled for over 20 years to hold our church family together."
After
World War II, St. Mark's began its revival. The Rev. David ("Davy") Jones
served as rector from 1946-1956. "We became a sustaining parish again
in 1953," Anderson said. The Rev. Harold S. Knight, called as rector from
upstate New York, led St. Mark's for 20 years (1957-1977) as it developed
broader ecumenical relationships with other Mesa churches, expanded its
ministries and focused extensively on Christian education with youth and
young families. In 1963 St. Mark's moved from its location at Pepper Place
to its present site at 322 North Horne Street. Expanded facilities included
a new church and classroom space. That configuration endured until 1981,
when Fr. Knight's successor, the Rev. David E. Pettengill (rector from
1978-1994), led the completion and dedication for a new church structure
of modern clerestory design seating three hundred persons.