About St. Mark's Lutheran Church

We continue to serve Navy, Marine and Coast Guard families, especially those here for flight training. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, an outstanding part of the A&M system, brings students from all over the state and nation to our city. Del Mar, the local Community College, offers a variety of opportunities for academic and technical training. Corpus Christi has become a medical center for South Texas and is served by numerous hospitals. The port of Corpus Christi, refinery row and tourism fuel the local economy. Winter Texans begin arriving in December and stay until after the Mid-western ice melts. Some career military and Winter Texans permanently retire here or to nearby North Padre Island.

We count school teachers, college professors, lawyers, accountants, trades people, medical and service personnel, as well as retired folks, among our 450 baptized members. Average worship attendance last year was about 200 per Sunday. Our professional staff consists of one ordained Pastor, a Youth and Family Minister, a Director of Music, office Secretary and lawn and building Custodians. The ministry at St. Mark's relies heavily on the talented and experienced pool of volunteers who work in the areas of office staff support, evangelism, social ministry, senior ministry and in a variety of other ways.

Dedicated as Lutheran Christians to a ministry of Word and Sacrament, St. Mark's celebrates weekly Holy Communion at both 8:15 & 10:45 AM Sunday services, as well as on Holy Days as announced. Mid-week services with a variety of formats are offered in Advent and Lent. Anointing of the Sick and Individual Confession are available on request.

Led by our Director of Music, Roland Steele, St. Mark's places consistent emphasis on quality music in support of our worship ministry. Our 15 rank Wicks pipe organ and baby grand piano are used regularly to lead congregational singing in hymns and liturgy, as well as in performance to accompany and inspire worship. Vocal and Hand Bell Choirs are important elements in our worship, as are occasional instrumental ensembles of brass, violin, flute or harp.

Children's Ministry, called Kids Club, is offered for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Youth Ministry for Junior and Senior High young people engages our teenagers in fellowship, learning and service projects throughout the year. Children's Church is offered for ages 5 through 9 during the Service of the Word on Sundays at the 10:45 AM liturgy. We proudly sponsor Boy Scout Troop 224, which meets weekly in addition to camp outs and competitions. Women have two opportunities to gather as part of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a monthly Day Circle and an Evening Circle. A very active Quilting and Sewing Group meets weekly except in the summer. Men gather as the Lutheran Men in Mission once a month. Senior Saints, variously defined as anyone over age 55, meet as a Fun and Fellowship Group and as a personal growth and support group. They often sponsor "road trips" in the congregation van. Winter Texans are warmly welcomed during the months of December through March and become an integral part of our worshipping community.

As part of our Social Ministry St. Mark's helps support Metro-Ministries (an ecumenical ministry offering shelter, food and counseling), Adopt-a-Case Worker (Child Protective Services to needy families with children), and Lutheran Social Services Bokenkamp Children's Center (a residential educational and treatment center for teenagers), in addition to Lutheran World Relief and Disaster Relief. St. Mark's supplies space for the Corpus Christi Chapter of Compassionate Friends, a grief support group for parents who have lost children. The Southside Alzheimer's Support Group, an educational and care giver resource for families who cope with Alzheimer's, also meets at St. Mark's.

Dedicated to Ecumenical Ministry, we are an active partner of the South Side Seven: a consortium of congregations consisting of St. John's United Methodist, South Shore Christian, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal, All Saints Episcopal and St. Pius X Roman Catholic churches. We meet regularly for mutual support and engage in joint worship at Thanksgiving and Pentecost, as well as exchanging pulpits during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January.

Our Pastor, the Rev. Thomas R. McCrone, is a native of Philadelphia, but has spent nearly his entire ordained ministry since 1971 in Louisiana and Texas. A graduate of Valparaiso University, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, Pastor Thomas has served in parishes in Marrero, Louisiana and in Yoakum and Grand Prairie, Texas, before coming to Corpus Christi in 1997.