St. Mark's Episcopal Church sits on Saint Mark's Road in Burlington, Massachusetts, a mid-sized town about twelve miles northwest of Boston. The parish describes itself as a multi-generational community that celebrates God, enjoys one another, and serves its neighbors, and it has become known locally for the Pumpkin Patch it runs each October on its front lawn, which raises money for the People Helping People food pantry. Sunday worship follows the Anglican tradition of the Book of Common Prayer, the choir rehearses on Thursday evenings, and Game Night draws neighbors into the building on the third Friday of every month.
From a Living Room to a Parish on Saint Mark's Road
In the spring of 1957, a small group of Burlington residents gathered at the Jeffersons' home to start an Episcopal church in town. They met weekly under the guidance of the Rev. Donald Noseworthy, made recruiting phone calls, and within a few months had recruited fourteen families willing to do everything in their power to see an Episcopal church in Burlington. With the support of three neighboring congregations, the Church of Our Redeemer in Lexington, Trinity Church in Woburn, and the Church of the Epiphany in Winchester, the group held its first worship service in 1958 in the American Legion Hall on Winn Street, on the site of the old town dump, where babies were watched behind the bar and bottles from the night before were emptied before the families arrived.
By 1960, the Rev. Clifford Chadwick had been called as the first Vicar of the Mission, and an octagonal portable sanctuary was erected on the property the parishioners had chosen on Saint Mark's Road. The members voted to name the new church St. Mark's. Growth was steady enough that the Diocese was asked for help, and the last service in the little portable building was held on October 3, 1971, with 232 members present. Three interim services were held downstairs in the Parish Hall while the new church was completed. In 1978, the Diocesan Convention accepted St. Mark's as a full parish and the Rev. William Seaward was elected as the first Rector.
Sunday Mornings at 9:30
The Sunday service is the heart of life at St. Mark's. Holy Eucharist, Rite 2 is celebrated every Sunday at 9:30 a.m., following the Book of Common Prayer, the primary symbol of unity in the Episcopal Church. The service is centered on Holy Communion and includes Bible readings, hymns, and a sermon, and the congregation describes its worship as both formal and informal: formal because it is rooted in the Anglican tradition, and informal because the parish calls itself an open and loving family.
Young children are explicitly invited to join worship. Toys, puzzles, and games are kept in the back of the nave for them. Each service is followed by coffee hour, a time to socialize, eat, and get to know one another, held outdoors when the weather allows and in the downstairs Parish Hall when it does not. The service is also livestreamed through Facebook Live, and no Facebook account is required to view the stream.
The Choir Loft and the Adult Choir
Susan Dearborn has been the Organist and Choir Director since 1992. She began her career at twelve as the organist for her hometown church, holds an undergraduate degree in musical theatre from the University of New Hampshire and a master's in music librarianship from Simmons College, and outside of St. Mark's runs an agency that represents classical conductors and instrumentalists.
The Adult Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. from September through May and continues to sing throughout the summer, an unusual arrangement for a parish choir. Members sing four-part anthems drawn from a variety of musical traditions, lead the congregational hymns and service music, and offer an offertory anthem and choral amen during the service. Many singers do not read music and are supported by those who do in what the parish describes as a cooperative environment. A distinctive feature is the membership of high school scholarship students, who commit to weekly rehearsals and services in exchange for a weekly voice lesson. New members of any age are always welcome; anyone interested can email Susan at conductors@aol.com.
A Lawn Full of Pumpkins in October
For the month of October, the front lawn of St. Mark's becomes a Pumpkin Patch. The pumpkins arrive on consignment from a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, where the crop provides jobs for Native Americans, and St. Mark's only pays for the pumpkins that are actually sold. All of the profits go to People Helping People, the Burlington food pantry that serves more than one hundred families a week. The patch also raises awareness of food insecurity on the Navajo reservation where the pumpkins are grown.
The Pumpkin Patch is a community effort. Churches, service organizations, and businesses volunteer as seller teams, and the patch adds raffles, games, and picture-taking to make it a destination. The people behind it describe the core team as small but mighty, and they welcome new volunteers to help with publicity, scheduling, and sales. By supporting the patch, neighbors contribute both to the local Burlington food pantry and to the Navajo community that grows the pumpkins.
Outreach Beyond Burlington
St. Mark's dedicates ten percent of its pledges to outreach, distributing money and gifts to organizations where the parish believes its assistance has real impact. Locally, the church supports People Helping People, the Burlington food pantry. Regionally and globally, it supports Episcopal Relief and Development Fund, Episcopal City Mission, and El Hogar, and takes part in B-SAFE (a Boston summer program for at-risk youth), the Project Bread Walk for Hunger, and Relay for Life. It also supports Tatua/Kenya and ministries to veterans.
The Church Calendar
Throughout the year, St. Mark's observes the seasons of the Church Calendar. In Advent, the four weeks before Christmas, a small-group Bible study gathers, with a different theme each year. A family-friendly service of carols and Communion is offered on Christmas Eve in the early evening. Lent includes a joint Bible study with friends from St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Wilmington. Holy Week services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are also held jointly with St. Elizabeth's. Easter Sunday features festive worship, an egg hunt, and a celebratory coffee hour. On Pentecost, the congregation is encouraged to wear red. The Sunday before Thanksgiving brings a special Ingathering service that takes up a collection for the local food pantry.
Coffee Hour, Game Night, and Parish Life
Parish life at St. Mark's centers on the rhythm of the week. Sunday coffee hour is held after each service, outside when the weather allows and in the Parish Hall when it does not, and volunteer hosts and helpers are always appreciated. On the third Friday of every month, Game Night gathers neighbors in the hall starting at 6:00 p.m.; the church provides a variety of board games and welcomes anyone to bring a favorite, with space to share dinner or a snack. The Altar Guild is a long-standing lay ministry of parishioners who prepare the altar and care for the worship vessels, vestments, and linens, from laundering and ironing to arranging flowers and the Sanctuary.
Children are welcomed into every part of church life. St. Mark's embraces an intergenerational approach to ministry and does not currently offer weekly Sunday School classes. To help families build faith at home, the parish encourages a daily practice called Faith 5: share highs and lows, read a Bible verse or story (often from the daily Forward Day by Day reflections), talk about how the reading might relate to those highs and lows, pray for one another, and bless one another.
Beliefs and the Wider Episcopal Church
St. Mark's is a congregation of The Episcopal Church, part of the Diocese of Massachusetts, which includes 180 congregations in eastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the islands. The parish holds to the Anglican tradition expressed through the Book of Common Prayer, affirms the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, and joins Christians across the ages in confessing faith in one God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies. The parish describes the Episcopal Church as a spiritual home free of judgement and inclusive for all, valuing evangelism, racial reconciliation, care for creation, and inclusivity.
Two sacraments are central to the parish's ministry of formation. In Holy Baptism, people of any age are welcomed into the congregation and marked as Christ's own forever; the Baptismal Covenant is affirmed and the rite is held not to be repeated. In Confirmation, those who are at least freshmen in high school make a mature public affirmation of their baptismal faith and receive the laying on of hands by a Bishop. Anyone interested in either sacrament is encouraged to contact the clergy.
Stewardship, Solar Panels, and the Buildings
St. Mark's is financially independent, raising most of its operating funds from members and paying an annual diocesan assessment rather than receiving funding from the Diocese. For the recent stewardship year, the parish exceeded its goal with $55,000 in pledges from 30 households. Stewardship is treated as a spiritual practice of proportional giving, with a scriptural tithe of ten percent presented as a goal rather than a minimum. The Vestry, the parish's governing board, is led by two Co-Wardens along with a Clerk and Treasurer and a body of elected vestry members.
The buildings themselves are part of the parish's mission. A set of solar panels on site is monitored through a public SolarEdge dashboard. The Parish Hall, choir room, and nave are available for community rentals, with reduced rates for non-profit and local groups with limited funds. The Parish Hall, including kitchen, holds about 100 people at approximately 1,500 square feet, and is suitable for warming and cooling previously prepared food. The Nave, the Choir Room, and the Parish Hall can also be used for weddings and funerals; use of the piano or organ requires permission of the Music Director.
Clergy, Staff, and Leadership
The Rev. Stephen O. Voysey serves as Interim Priest. A native of suburban Chicago, he earned his M.Div. from Episcopal Divinity School in 1977 and has served parishes in the dioceses of Chicago, New York, and Massachusetts. He and his wife Amanda live in Gloucester, and he has served in interim ministry since 2016. Susan Dearborn is the Organist and Choir Director (details above). Shari Ellis serves as Parish Administrator, having lived in Burlington for more than three decades and volunteered as a Meals on Wheels driver and a long-serving Town Meeting Member.
Visitors and newcomers are warmly invited. Sunday worship begins at 9:30 a.m. at 10 Saint Mark's Road, and the parish can be reached by phone at (781) 272-1586 or by email at stmarksburlingtonoffice@gmail.com. Online giving is available through the parish's giving page, and the service can be joined live on Facebook.