St. Mark’s Identity Statement

St. Mark’s is an open, loving family of God guided by Scripture, tradition, and reason. We encourage spiritual growth while supporting diversity and the freedom to be yourself. We offer God’s joy, hope, and healing to all.

About Us

A Brief History of St. Mark's: The formal organization of St. Mark's parish was effected February 29th, 1848, at a meeting held at the White School House. Wardens and vestry were elected: Joseph H. Moss and Richard Greenwood, senior and junior wardens; Luman Howe, Ezbon G. Fuller, Lorenzo D. Crippen, James Pierson and George A. Coe, vestrymen. This vestry elected as its first Rector the Rev. George Willard of Battle Creek, who later became a United States Congressman from the Third District.

Services were held first in homes and then in the Court House. The oldest vestry records in existence are dated March 29th, 1853, and are in the handwriting of George A. Coe, the organizer of St. Mark's first choir and later Lieutenant-Governor of Michigan. On September 22, 1857, the cornerstone of a church building was laid, although the building was never completed. 1862 saw the erection of the first building of St. Mark's which stood on North Hanchett Street on the later site of the Southern Michigan Wholesale Grocery. This building was enlarged in 1866, and in 1877 was sold to the Coldwater Light Guard, becoming the first Armory, and was destroyed by an incendiary fire in 1881.

The present church cornerstone was laid in 1880. In 1895, a twenty-rank, two-manual, tracker action pipe organ was built by William A. Johnnson and was rebuilt in 1974 with 29 ranks and 1,534 pipes. It remains one of the church's most prized and valuable possessions. The bell in the tower was purchased in 1888 and is claimed to be the second largest in the county, surpassed only by the bell from the old courthouse. In 1998, St. Mark's celebrated its 150th anniversary.

Parish Goals and Objectives

1. The Vestry and members of St. Mark’s will recognize God in all persons by sharing our faith and creating an atmosphere of welcome.

2. The Vestry and St. Mark’s members will broaden youth and adult formation opportunities in order to encourage spiritual growth of our members.

3. The leadership of St. Mark’s will recruit members of the congregation to assume greater responsibility in the life of the parish in order to encourage growth in leadership.