For over 150 years, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, in Islip, has been essential to the fabric of the community. The church’s thrift shop, food drives, and events bring people from all over Long Island together.
Marjorie “Marge” Cooper is currently a warden for the church and has been with the church for over 40 years. Cooper was married at St. Mark’s and said the first time she entered the church, she felt “totally at home.”
“St Mark’s is a family,” Cooper said. “When you’re in St. Mark’s, you know that you are part of a family.”
That feeling of family and being connected to the community is what St. Mark’s strives to achieve with all of their outreach. Fr. Edwin Beckham, the priest in charge at St. Mark’s, said that in the coming weeks, he and church leadership will be meeting with community members about what they see as needs in the community. Beckham noted that it is important to listen to the community about what is important to them.
Beckham recently came to St. Mark’s in September, after spending almost 15 years of ministry in Atlanta, Ga.
He said that the events and community the church creates are what drew him to St. Mark’s.
The congregation’s commitment to community and service made them this year’s Islip Bulletin Inspiration Award winner.
Outreach at St. Mark’s
St. Mark’s works hard to be an integral member of the community with their various programs and events. In addition to the listed programs, St Mark’s has also hosted and sponsored Boy Scout Troop 151 since the early 1940s, hosts AA meetings twice a week, and donates clothing to South Shore University Hospital for accident victims discharged from the emergency room, among many other endeavors.
Thrift shop
The thrift shop at St. Mark’s is certainly the most well-known outreach program. What was started over 40 years ago by one person in a tiny, 300-square-foot space located in an office corner is now a 3,700-square-foot space that includes separate storage and work areas.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the thrift shop go to support the longstanding ministry of St. Mark’s, as well as maintenance of the historic church.
“In the brief three months since I arrived in Islip, having accepted the call to serve St. Mark’s this past summer, I’ve been blown away by the beehive of activity— really, ministry—that is our thrift shop,” Beckham said. “Without a bit of advertisement by us, the community knows not only that we’re the place to shop for great bargains, but we’re also the place to donate, because if we don’t have the capacity to sell an item, we will make sure it gets to other organizations in town (we work with nearly a dozen) who help many people acquire affordable clothing and needful things.”
Food collection
St. Mark’s collects nonperishables all year. In addition, the church has been hosting drive-by food drops. All donations from the drops have gone to God’s Provision, an affiliate of LI Cares-Harry Chapin Food Bank. In November 2022, the church and community partners collected over 20,000 food items. Community partners included South Shore University Hospital, Boy & Cub Scout Troop #438, Welcome Mat Yoga, Boy & Cub Scout Troop #151, Daisy Girl Scout Troop #2734, and Little Angels Center.
Camp Color
Camp Color began in 2021 as a response to the COVID shutdown, causing detrimental effects to how children learn. The free humanity-based summer workshop lets campers engage in activities from arts and crafts to ping-pong. The end of camp is capped with a barbecue for campers and parents. Camp Color is scheduled to return this summer.
Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
ECW holds regular fundraisers for the sole purpose of doing good deeds through the church. The group supports a disadvantaged Girl Scout troop, hosts various educational and health programs, and brings the annual much-awaited craft fair and Christmas Bazaar. ECW has also supported church facility upgrades, such as helping with the cost of an air scrubber system and new furnace.
Pre-Thanksgiving dinner
This annual event returned in 2022, after being shut down for two years due to COVID. About 40 percent of those who attend are not parishioners, but others from the community. Those who were not comfortable coming out due to COVID were delivered dinner.