Saint MarkLA United Methodist Church
136th Year Church Anniversary & Homecoming Celebration
1886 – 2022
Sunday, October 30, 2022
The 136th Church Anniversary Theme
“A Redefined Church in a Post-Pandemic World”
Theme Scripture: Hebrews 10: 24 – 25
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and more.”
During this time of a post-pandemic world, our pastor, Reverend Gary Bernard Williams, never lost sight of our motto: “A church in the heart of the community with the community at heart”. He faced the question, “Are we a family who sees each other for a quick minute on Sunday, or are we a community that shares life together, sees one another and communicates in multiple ways across various social media platforms”?
For Year Seven of Pastor Gary’s Ministry at Saint Mark United Methodist Church, he continues to embrace a vision that has its focus on life transformation, community connections, ministry opportunities, mentoring relationships and funds invested in missional causes.
On Sundays, our ministry continues to reach out to church members and the community who walk through our doors for in person worship and technology has allowed us to reach out to church members and guests globally who join us every Sunday on Facebook Live and Zoom (under the guidance of First Lady Myrna Jefferson-Williams). This year, Pastor Gary’s vision of community connections became a reality with “The Coffee House Fellowship” Celebration that is in-person and meets in our church parlor every Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
During the week our ministry continues to reach out to our church members and the community: Thursday Night Pastor’s Bible Study (on Zoom); Community Computer Lab (Minister Latanya Cunningham and volunteers); Food Pantry Distribution every Wednesday for our church and community (church members and community volunteers); The Faith Foster Families Network (3FN) Resource Closet located on our church campus (Minister Latanya Cunningham); Support Groups that meet weekly; Black Parenting Support (Rev. Christy Clark); community-based HOOPS Basketball Program; NA Support Groups (meet 3 times a week); and has held Community Based Wellness Fairs that provided COVID-19 Vaccinations and Boosters; and established partnerships with community based organizations to educate the community on Fentanyl .
As we move forward in a post-pandemic world, our church will continue to flourish with our church and community connections because we know that God is the God of new beginnings. We embrace Our Mission: “The purpose of Saint Mark UMC is to reach out in love to bring joy and hope to the people of our community so that they may become disciples of Jesus Christ”
Blessings to All,
Jacqueline Campbell, Church Historian
Saint Mark LA United Methodist Church
136th Year Church Anniversary & Homecoming Celebration
October 30, 2022
We Honor and Celebrate Our Past and Present Pastors
| · J.A. Crouch (1886 – 1896)
· J.P. Gilliland (1896-1896) · H.W. White (1897 – 1899) · A. Hardie ( (1899 – 1899) · H.R. Tolle (1900- 1901) · T.C. Knoles (1901-1903) · Luther A Rice (1903-1904) · William B. Bell (1904-1905) · G.W. Deniston (1905-1906) · C.H. Lawrence ( 1906-1911) · J.A. Wood (1912-1915) · George Steed (1915-1921) · Don S. Ford (1925 – 1926) · C.T. Harrison (1925 – 1926) · C.V. Gustafson (1929) · Irvin A. Engle (1926 – 1930) · John Gray Ross (1930 – 1935) · H.O. Simmons (1935 – 1938) |
· W.F. Butler (1938-1943)
· Dean Johnson (1943 – 1945) · F.D. Lawyer (1945 – 1948) · Roy Tucker (1948-1949) · Chester R. Lewis (1949 – 1954) · G. S. Zimmerman (1954 – 1958) · F. M. Rogers (1958 – 1964) · Richard A. Wolff (1964-1966) · Pliny Jenkins (1966 – 1975) · E.S.Williams (1975 – 1978) · F.V. Sellers (1978 – 1981) · Leroy Brown (1981 – 1988) · Lorenzo Hubbard (1988 – 1989) · Dr. Osmond Lindo (1989 – 1994) · Richard White (1994 – 1997) · LLC Hammond (1997 – 2009) · Dr. Eugenio Raphael (2009 – 2015 · J. Andre Wilson (2015 -2016) |
Rev. Gary Bernard Williams (2016 – Present)