St Marks Church In the Bowery

About

A progressive Episcopal Church, a center for modern dance, experimental theater and poetry, and a community gathering space for the East Village.

Story

We are a church with a history as long and meandering as the history of European settlement in Manhattan. We are the oldest site of continuous worship in New York City and the burial site of Peter Stuyvesant and other prominent Dutch founding families of New Amsterdam.

A St. Mark’s Sunday service is both rooted in the Episcopal tradition and celebratory of the creativity and the diversity of the congregation. Many feel strongly that this balance is what makes the worship meaningful to them.

Our congregation is comprised of activists in a number of issues, including issues of racism, gender- identity, and economic justice. We like to be challenged to action in pursuit of justice. We like to hear from leaders in these struggles who can bring us information from other parts of these movements. Our congregation celebrates marriage as gender-neutral and all couples wishing to solemnize their vows are welcome to be wed at St. Mark’s after appropriate pre-marital counseling.

St. Mark’s campus includes the Sanctuary, Parish Hall, East Yard, West Yard, and the Ernest Flagg Rectory. Three resident arts projects share the space:
• Danspace, which holds performances in the Sanctuary Thursday through Saturday evenings during their season, which generally runs from September through May. It has an office on the second floor of the Sanctuary.
• The Poetry Project, which has readings in the Parish Hall on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with workshops on Tuesday and Thursday. It also has an office on the second floor of the Sanctuary and storage space in the basement.
• The New York Ballet Theater, which offers classes for children and adults during the day in the former theater space on the second floor of the parish hall.

The Ernest Flagg Rectory currently houses:
• A 1200-square-foot apartment on the third floor for the Rector
St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery Parish Profile 2016 8
• The Neighborhood Preservation Center, operated by the St. Mark’s Historic Landmark Fund, on the first floor
• The Historic Districts Council and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation on the second floor

Mission

As a diverse and inclusive Episcopal Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, St. Mark’s Church in- the-Bowery is committed to expressing God’s love through worship and music, social justice activism, service, education, and celebration of the arts. The congregation practices radical welcome, accepting all
who wish to experience God as part of a loving and active community. Wherever anyone may be in their religious or spiritual journey, of whatever faith or background, everyone is invited to join us as we work to live out God’s love in the world.