St. Mark's Church, Frankford
| St. Mark's Church, Frankford | |
|---|---|
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Episcopal |
| Website | http://www.essentialepiscopalministries.org/ |
| History | |
| Founded | 1832 |
| Consecrated | April 25, 1915 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Watson & Huckel |
| Groundbreaking | 1907 |
| Construction cost | $173,000 |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Pennypack |
| Diocese | Pennsylvania (1784) |
| Province | Three |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | The Very Rev. Jonathan N. Clodfelter |
St. Mark's Church is a historic church in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1832 and continues today.
The church was founded along traditional lines through the mission work of Trinity Church, Oxford, during an intense period of evangelical mission work in the 1830s. The Church was first a teaching center, and then grew into a missionary church. During the 1880s the new leadership of the church moved it along under the principles of the Oxford Movement.
St. Mark's Church originated two ministries in the 19th century. The Mother’s Meeting began in 1860 as a way to share life and family leadership skills, along with Christian values, with mothers who were otherwise busy with the day-to-day activities of raising children and managing their households. The second was the Lay Cooperation in Ministry, which was founded on the concept that the lay people were the ministers of a church, and under their leadership and action literally countless lives can be impacted.
William Welsh, a merchant, philanthropist, zealous Christian and community leader was a prominent member of the church from 1832 until his death in 1878. In addition to superintending the Sunday school, Welsh authored, edited, and published several books and papers, as well as purchased and ran a newspaper. Welsh served on numerous boards and committees, founded the Philadelphia Divinity School and was instrumental in beginning seven churches and missions in the Episcopal Church. Welsh also helped found the Wills Eye Hospital, worked on the Girard College Board, and helped bring about the conversion of the volunteer firefighting system to a professional city department.
The Rev. Dr. Daniel Sutter Miller served as rector of St. Mark’s Church from 1853 until 1871. Through his pastoral leadership, Dr. Miller inspired both the Lay Cooperation in Ministry and the Mother’s meetings, as well as numerous other programs, to help the downtrodden become self-sufficient and productive members of society and the wealthy to accept their role helping humankind.
Colonel James Ashworth raised a company from the men of St. Mark’s and became a decorated Union Army officer, wounded eleven times during the Battle of Gettysburg alone.
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