About St. Mark
St. Mark (the Evangelist) is considered to be the author of the second (and earliest) Gospel. There is little direct information about him in the New Testament. He is believed to have been born in Jerusalem, and to have died in Alexandria. He is considered the founder of the Egyptian Church. He was a close associate of St. Peter, who was a major source for Mark's Gospel. He also accompanied Paul and Bamabus (Mark's cousin) to Antioch, but shortly thereafter returned to Jerusalem, where his mother's house was a center of Christian life.
His Gospel is believed to have been written between 60 and 70 AD. He is the patron saint of Venice, Italy. His feast day is April 25.
About St. Mark's Parish
St. Mark’s was founded in 1850 by the rector of St. Peter’s, Morristown, NJ (the close association of St. Peter and St. Mark is likely the reason our parish received this name.) The original Church, our present-day Chapel, was consecrated in May,1853. St. Mark’s is the oldest Episcopal Church in the Somerset Hills area. In our first half century, St. Mark’s was principally a mission of St. Peter’s. In the late 1800’s it came under the care of St. Bernard’s in Bernardsville. During this time, St. Mark’s was a mission church where the clergy were either missionaries or vicars. By and large, they were part-time, serving other churches or holding lay jobs.
St. Mark’s became a self-sustaining parish in 1950 and Father Norman Post was installed as the first Rector in 1950. In 1968 the rectory was moved to its present location and a new church was built on the original rectory site, next door to the Chapel. The Church is adorned with 16 stained glass windows that were designed by Father Norman Post. The windows are unique in that each one depicts both a historical and contemporary interpretation of the Scripture passage or Sacrament that it illustrates. Each window includes two different religious symbols in the small space at the top of each arch.
After Father Post’s death in 1977, Father Stephen Rozzelle was called in 1978 as St. Mark’s second rector, where he remained until 2006. During this time, the continued growth of the parish required that we consider completing the original plan for the additional space that was put aside for lack of funds in 1993. After considerable parish input and professional help from an outside consultant, a Capital Campaign was initiated and resulted in the completion of our new Parish Hall that was dedicated in October 2006. The original chapel remains today and is incorporated as an integral part of our facilities.
We are currently in the process of searching for and calling a new rector and with God’s help we will find the ideal rector to move with us into our future.
