After Jackson Chapel and Saint John A.M.E.Z., the building in which Saint Mark’s Episcopal worships is the third oldest continuously occupied African-American sanctuary in Wilson. However, recent structural stresses have imperiled its future.
Around 1925, Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist erected a church on Reid Street just south of East Nash. Ten years later, Mount Sinai had vacated the building. Looking for a location away from the downtown tobacco warehouse district and closer to its congregants, the Episcopal diocese purchased the church to house Saint Mark’s. With a few repairs, and the installation of its old circular stained glass cross, the church was ready for its new occupants in January 1936.
I took a few photos on a recent visit to Saint Mark’s, but they don’t adequately capture its simple beauty. Though its liturgical articles and ornaments have largely been removed, its altar, pews, and simple stained glass windows tell a century-old story.
The spine of Saint Mark’s building is broken, but the spirit of its worshippers, now largely members of the Guadalupana Mission, continues to soar.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2025.
Is service still held here?
St. Marks was a safe haven for me at one point during my high school years.
Father Jose Daniel Pinell, who participated in our Reconsecration ceremony, is the vicar of Saint Mark’s and La Guadalupana Mission. While the situation is assessed and solutions sought, services are no longer being held in the sanctuary.