St. Mark’s Celebrates 140th Anniversary

Surrounded by members of his congregation, Reverend Roger D. Johns, pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church, celebrated the church's 140th anniversary with a prayer service and picnic on Sunday afternoon.

"This is a wonderful day," Johns said. "I was here for the 130th anniversary, so it's like déjà vu."

The celebration began with a 10 a.m. worship service featuring Reverend Jeanette Bassinger-Ishii — the parish pastor from 1989 to 1995 — as a guest preacher. Johns noted that the service and lunch that followed held great significance to him because St. Mark's sister church, The Mosaic Church of the Nazarene, joined his congregation for the first time for the event. "We had a lot of music and we brought together a lot of traditions today," he said.

Under a tent on the church lawn, parishioners shared memories of their years spent at St. Mark's and dined on a buffet-style lunch. Rockville Centre resident Carol Ashley, a member of the planning committee for the anniversary festivities, said the event went off without a hitch.

"Our goal was to celebrate our history and enjoy our church," she said. "It's inspiring to look up at the stained glass windows of the church and it's inspiring to be here with people with this enthusiasm."

Linda Allen Moebius, a Westbury resident, explained that she was the second baby baptized in the sanctuary at St. Mark's in 1962. "I've spent most of my life here," said Moebius, whose daughter was also baptized at St. Mark's. "The people of the church played an important role in my life that I'll never forget as long as I live, so I wanted to be here today to show my support."