St. Mark's A.M.E. Church
About Us
“The idea became planted in the minds of a group of men and women in Kingston, New York, who felt the need for a prayer house or place of divine worship. Thereafter, a band of believers begin prayer meetings in one of their homes. The exact date of these meetings is not known; however, in 1852 individuals met in the home of one of the group and organized the church. On July 1853, the church was incorporated as the African Union Church of the Town of Kingston.
“On August 8, 1871, a parcel of land at 12 Foxhall Avenue, Kingston (at that time know as Wiltwyck) was sold to the African Union Church. A “little white church” was erected on the parcel. In 1902, the name was changed to St. Mark’s Chapel and further defined its discipline as “AME.” The congregation remained on Foxhall Avenue until 1967.
“In 1967, the property at 12 Foxhall Avenue was sold to The Kingston Hospital Corporation to make way for the building of a hospital. In that same year, the present church building at 72 Wurts Street, formerly the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, was purchased.
St. Mark’s continues to serve the Kingston community. It is a family-friendly church whose mission is to be the presence of God in this world.”
Contact Information
Leadership
Rev. Dr. Faye Banks-Taylor
The Rev. Dr. Faye Banks Taylor was born and raised in Virginia and educated in the State’s public schools. She is the younger of two daughters born to Catherine Perry Banks and the late Thomas Banks. Dr. Taylor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia and a Master of Divinity degree from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In May 2010, she received the Doctor of Ministry degree, with a concentration in pastoral care. In 1986, Dr. Taylor joined the congregation of Bridge Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she remained until 2004. She accepted her call to the ministry in 1995 and was licensed to preach and later ordained an Itinerant Elder in the AME Church. In June 2004, she received her first pastoral appointment to the St. Mark’s Chapel AME Church in Kingston, New York, where she continues to serve. She has been married to her husband of 26 years, Walter Taylor, a retired New York City Police Department photographer. She is the stepmother of two grown children, Monica and Jonathan and grandmother of Kayla and Raven. The Scripture that anchors her is Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”Location & Directions
What Members Say
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