Saint Mark C. M. E. Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. This is the story of Saint Mark C. M.

E. Church, out of Gregg County, Texas. Now settle in, because this one goes back a long way.

We're talkin' about people who had just come through something unimaginable, and the very first thing they did, one of the first things anyway, was gather together and build a church. The congregation now known as Saint Mark Christian Methodist Episcopal Church started out under a different name: Saint Mark Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. And it was organized by former slaves.

About 1867. Let that year sit with you for a second. The ground was still uncertain, the future was still unwritten, and these folks were layin' a foundation anyway.

They held their worship services in a brush arbor, right there at what is now the site of Magrill Park. No walls, just poles and branches and the open sky and people who needed to be together. The Reverend Robert A.

Hagler served as the first pastor, and under his leadership something remarkable happened. By 1876 and into 1877, a two-story sanctuary had been built. Two stories.

From a brush arbor to two stories. That congregation wasn't messin' around. But time moves, and buildings age, and by 1893 that sanctuary had been replaced by a new frame building.

The church kept growin', kept changin' with the times. In 1954, the name itself changed, from Colored Methodist Episcopal to Christian Methodist Episcopal. A new name for a new era, same enduring congregation.

The current site was acquired in 1972. And here's the part that lands quiet but lands hard: descendants of the founding members still attend that church. The people who built that brush arbor, who called Robert Hagler their pastor, who raised a two-story building out of sheer conviction, their people are still there.

Still showin' up. That's not just history. That's a promise kept.

What the marker says

First known as St. Mark Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, this congregation was organized by former slaves about 1867. Worship services were held in a brush arbor built at the present site of Magrill Park. The Rev. Robert A. Hagler served as first pastor, and under his leadership a two-story sanctuary was built in 1876-77. It was replaced by a new frame building in 1893. In 1954 the church name was changed to St. Mark Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. this site was acquired in 1972. Descendants of founding members still attend the church.