A Once-in-a-lifetime financial committment

Family Testimonial

My name is Jimmy Wells. My wife Margarita, our daughter Mia, and I live here in Barton Hills, and we are parishioners at St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

I serve as the co-chair of the Capital Campaign communications committee. This is our family's St. Mark's story, and it is also the story of why we passionately support the capital campaign and the vision it will enable for our church community.

Margarita and I had already lived in the neighborhood for three years when Mia was born in 2015. Soon after her arrival, we selected St. Marks as the place we wanted to send her for preschool, which she started in 2017. St. Marks quickly became the center of our social universe - many of the friends we made there are still our close friends today, and many of Mia's classmates are still with her at Barton Hills Elementary.

Many say, "We came for the Day School but stayed for the church community."  That's precisely what happened to us. We bonded with this community during COVID with the outdoor services, and we got to know our neighbors, even through our masks.

Five years later, we looked up and realized that St. Marks was our de facto church, even though we hadn't "officially" joined. We knew that we just belonged here, and we were proud to call it our faith home. We have gone to many churches over the years, but never, ever, have I felt as at peace or felt the sense of belonging that I feel here.

A few months ago, Father Zac came to me and said, "Jimmy, we are doing a study on the feasibility of a capital campaign to build a new church."  He asked Kyle Trafton and me to serve as facilitators for the focus groups that were being conducted with the congregation.

I responded, "But Father Zac, I haven't been involved with the project; I'm no expert."  

And he said, "That's exactly what we're looking for.  We'll give you everything you need."

And they did.  They gave us all the background on the master planning process up to that point and then showed us the plans for the new church, how it could be broken out into phases, and, of course, the cost.

The cost!  Twenty-two million dollars!  When I saw that number, I was blown away.  Can that be right?  For our little church here in the Greenbelt?  

But as I began to familiarize myself with the details of the plan and the vision, I began to understand where that money would go and its impact. Kyle and I hosted three focus groups, and with each additional session, I became more and more of an evangelist for this vision for our church community.

I found myself becoming passionate about helping to build something of value for the next generation of the St. Mark's community, just as those who came before us built something for all of us.

That feeling I described earlier—that feeling of peace and belonging that, for me at least, is unique in my experience of St. Marks—during the process of developing the capital campaign, Father Zac gave a name to that feeling: It's the feeling of being part of a community of transformational belonging in Christ.

I understand now why I feel so at home here. By investing in the future of our church community, we are BUILDING COMMUNION. To quote Father Zac, "We are building a place for being with God, for being with one another, for being with creation, and for being with yourself."

Our family believes in this vision, and in addition to giving our time to support the campaign, we have made a once-in-a-lifetime financial commitment to help realize it. We hope each of you will look deep into your hearts and consider doing the same.