Our Past
St. Mark's congregation began as a collection of Lutherans somewhat scattered throughout what is now the Blackberry community. In the earliest days, these folks did not have a church building. Instead, they met in a small house (later in a vacant church) for service. In 1922 this group formally became a congregation known as "St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Bailey's Camp."
In 1923, Rev. H.W. Jeffcoat became pastor of the congregation. With the help of his daughter, Miss Cora Pearl Jeffcoat, the pair soon organized a Sunday School with 44 persons enrolled. In the Summers of 1925 and 1926 a seminarian named J.D. Sheppard also joined the Jeffcoats' efforts. Soon the Women's Board of Missions saw these beginnings as fertile ground for a mission church, and $3,000 was set aside for a church building.
Construction of the church was by all means a group effort. Literally a "construction camp" was erected and workers (both lay and clergy) and their families came from nearby areas to build the church. Community members pitched in with labor food, produce and hospitality. "Uncle" Marcus Bolick, a long-time lay leader of the congregation, was in his 80s at the time of construction. He had long dreamed of a church building for his community. Although he was too feeble to help with actual building, he was able to visit the camp. Additionally, he donated the lumber and siding for the building.
Funds also came from far flung places as well. Churches, Synods, Missionary Societies and individuals from places such as Buffalo, NY, Maryland, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Ohio all contributed to a final cost of $7,000 for the church building. The building was dedicated in 1927, and still houses worship today.
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Our Present
St. Mark's is a small congregation whose central activity is Sunday worship. Those in worship range from folks who have been members of St. Mark's since birth, to seasonal worshippers, to visitors in the area for vacation.
Worship at St. Mark's follows the liturgy. For those not familiar with liturgical worship, it may seem somewhat scripted and formal. For scripture readings, we use the Revised Common Lectionary, and every year wind our way through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. We sing lots of the service and are led in this singing by our exceptional organist Mr. JC Epting. St. Mark's is rooted in the Lutheran tradition, believing its theological and sacramental witness to be a faithful expression of the apostolic faith.
Since 2000, St. Mark's was served in succession by the following pastors: Pastor Robert Q. Beard, Pastor Don Just, Pastors Harvey and Jan Huntley. The current Pastor is Jonathan Weant. St. Mark's is a member congregation of the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA. To see what else we're up to, check out the "beyond Sunday" tab above.
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Our Future
Just like the past and present, the future is held by God. We don't know what it will bring. We walk by faith, not sight. But walking in faith also teaches us to expect a fruitful future with God involved. Right now we do see a couple of things on the horizon. We are soon to replace the siding on the church building; we are in process of developing a college scholarship fund available to the community. Recognizing our "missionary" beginnings, we're also listening to how God is calling us to be in mission today and beyond, reaching our community with the Gospel in both word and deed.
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