Following a busy holiday season of music, pageants, and celebrations, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Easton is embarking on a major fundraising campaign to update its HVAC system – a 55-year old system which will be replaced with a geothermal system to not only cool the church’s Sanctuary, but also to provide heat.
According to Pastor Missy Rekitzke of St. Mark’s UMC, “Over the past 55 years, the Sanctuary at St. Mark’s has served as a sacred space for weekly worship for its members and visitors. It has seen its fair share of baptisms and weddings. It’s been the place where young people have confirmed their faith in Jesus Christ. It has been a place of peace and comfort for many families during funerals and memorial services.”
The Church is challenging its Church members and the community to support the project to assure that St. Mark’s will continue to meet the needs of current and future generations. Its mission is to share the love of Jesus with and through the people of Talbot County and beyond.
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church was created in 1952 from the merger of three Methodist churches in Easton – Ebenezer United Methodist Church, which was located at 17 S. Washington Street, Calvary Methodist Protestant Church, Washington and Bay Streets, and Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Goldsborough and Harrison Streets. In 1954, they launched a campaign to raise $700,000 to build St. Mark’s Methodist Church on Peachblossom Road in Easton. The three churches continued to worship in their separate buildings until the Sunday School Rooms and Fellowship Hall were dedicated in 1958. The three churches that joined together were then sold. After the dedication, the three churches joined together in their worship services in the Fellowship Hall until 1962 when the Sanctuary at St. Mark’s Methodist Church was completed and dedicated.
Over the years, the Sanctuary at St. Mark’s has seen many baptisms, weddings, funerals, concerts, graduations, and Baccalaureate services. In the 1970s, Easton Day Care Center was set up in the church school facilities. Today, the Church opens its doors to funeral homes, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Webelo and Wolf Groups, Girl Scouts, Board of Laity, 4-H, Child Loss Support Group, Homeowners Associations, Talbot County Public Schools, Hunger Coalition, Mental Health Association, Mid Shore Lyme Disease, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Talbot Association of Clergy and Laity, Talbot County Health Department, Talbot County YMCA, and Temple B’nai Israel.
H. Hugh Dawkins, Chair of St. Mark’s Administrative Board, adds, “Our church has been and continues to be a beacon in our community, as a church that is open to all and serves all of our community. We, as the stewards of this marvelous church, need to maintain it in the highest standards that were set by our founding members.”
Rabbi Peter E. Hyman, Temple B’nai Israel in Easton, comments, “We have had a lovely close relationship, holding our high holiday services at St. Mark’s for many years. It’s always been comfortable for me to be in that sacred space. St. Mark’s has been welcoming, gracious, cooperative and understanding of our needs and we are very grateful for the relationship. As a leadership institution in our community they have ‘put their money where their mouth is’.”
Frank Meyerle, Chair of St. Mark’s Board of Trustees, explains the current HVAC Project, “Engineering consultants, Gipe Associates, Inc., conducted a feasibility study to compare the option of replacing the existing system with an air-cooled chiller system or installing an expansion of the Geothermal heat pump system that has to date successfully served the Chapel and office spaces since 2007. The Board decided that the Geothermal heat pump system was the appropriate choice.”
Geothermal Heat Pump Technology takes advantage of one of nature’s wonders—the earth’s nearly constant underground temperature of 45 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit—to provide year-round heating and cooling. Geothermal systems exchange heat with the earth using an underground network of pipes filled with water or refrigerant. In winter, the fluid will pull heat from the ground and transfer it to the Church through a heat exchanger. An indoor fan system will circulate air through the Sanctuary. In summer, the system will deposit heat from the Sanctuary into the earth and bring cool air back in – an efficient and eco-friendly approach.
The time line for the HVAC Project includes sending out requests for bids in mid-January and awarding a successful bidder by mid-February. Construction for the Project will begin in early April. By June 30, 2018, a substantial portion of the Project will be completed and the system will be operational in the Sanctuary. The Project will be completed by July 30, 2018.
The community has always rallied around the Church. An interesting quote from St. Mark’s history about the current church site, states, “The present site of the church was found by the architect to be about six feet too low and as a result much top soil was needed. The men of the church organized truck and land owners with a plea for all the dirt they could give and haul. When the effort was completed, 3500 loads had been hauled and spread without a penny cost.”
Pastor Rekitzke adds, “Our wonderful Sanctuary has been a place of blessing, comfort, peace and joy to so many people, not just those who call St. Mark’s home, and for that we are truly blessed. Just like in 1962, we need to do the hard work and have persevering spirits to forge ahead with a new heating and air conditioning system that will help our church continue to be a beacon of hope in the heart of Easton and Talbot County.”
Please make checks payable to St. Mark’s United Methodist Church or you can contact the church at 410-822-0001 to arrange auto payments by ACH or use PushPay on St. Mark’s website www.stmarkseaston.org, then click on the GIVING tab at the top of the display. Donations for the HVAC Project can also be sent to St. Mark’s UMC, 100 Peachblossom Road, Easton, MD 21601.
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