The History of St. Mark the Evangelist

How we evolved in christ…

The roots of the parish can be traced back to 1983 when the wardens of six Syracuse city Episcopal churches met to discuss common interests and issues. Within a couple of years, the Syracuse Urban Cluster was formed with first four and then six full members plus the Cathedral of St. Paul’s. The Cluster parishes focused on shared ministries and were supported by shared clergy. The Cluster had a Board of Directors comprised of representatives of the various churches. Much activity centered around ways to revitalize and maintain the critical mass of members and resources to assure effective and useful operation. We received valuable support and encouragement from the Diocese.

By 1994, it became clear that the most effective path was for the merger of two or more parishes into one. The gradual evolution of the Cluster allowed individual parishes to envision a new future for the parishes that overcame parochial concerns. It also allowed them to gain each other’s trust. Ultimately, four of the Cluster parishes – All Saints, Calvary, St. Mark, and Trinity – joined together in the buildings of St. Mark. In 1995 we called our first Rector, Fr. Joseph Bergin, whose spiritual gifts led us to meld our particular traditions and customs into a cohesive vibrant parish. We are blessed with strong lay leadership, a clear vision for our parish, enthusiastic worship, and a stable infrastructure of finance, staff, and buildings.

In 2006, Fr. Bergin reached mandatory retirement age as per diocesan canon and we were again seeking a new rector to continue our gospel calling. We found Fr. Adrian A. Amaya, a passionate young priest in Texas and brought him to lead us in 2008. He arrived with a wonderful family, Anna, his wife, and two young boys, Alex and Adam. Sadly, Fr. Amaya became ill and left us to be with God in 2018 at 51 years old, having served just 10 years with us. During Fr. Amaya’s ministry, we received a major United Thank Offering grant which enabled us to renovate the Undercroft into dynamic space for mission and outreach initiatives (see elsewhere). This has become a legacy of his short ministry with us.

We regretfully had to go through the process yet again of calling another rector to St. Mark. In the interim, St. Mark is enjoying the leadership of Interim Priest, Fr. Nelson W. Gaetz.

In 2022, Fr. Jon White, priest at St. Luke’s in Camillus, was selected to serve as St. Mark’s priest-in-charge. A Covenant of Shared Ministry was drawn up by the two churches to share Fr. Jon as well as the staff. Currently, St. Luke’s and St. Mark’s come together often in ministry outreach and enjoy fellowship together at evenrs like joint dinners, Fridays in Lent, Shrove Tuesday and more.