MISSION STATEMENT
St. Mark's Lutheran Church is an inclusive community that welcomes people--including LGBTQIA individuals and their families--to fully participate in the life and ministry of the church, and to know God's unconditional love for all people.
HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION
Rev. W. F. Ulery
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Rev. W. F. Ulery of Greensburg, PA came to Fargo in 1885 to start a Lutheran church using the English language, rather than the Scandinavian languages used in frontier Lutheran churches at the time.
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Rev. Ulery used contributions to purchase three lots on the southeast corner of 8th Street and 4th Avenue North, then laid the cornerstone of St. Mark's English Lutheran Church on July 25, 1886. The first ten members, all of Norwegian descent, held the first service on May 18, 1887.
St. Mark's grew slowly but steadily to 300 members in 1912, which required a larger church. The fifth pastor, Rev. Ulrich, raised between $14,000 and $20,000 in five years. The old church was torn down and a new church built in its place. Ulrich also persuaded the Carnegie Foundation to pay for half of a new $3,000 organ for the church. The new church was dedicated on March 12, 1912 and the new pipe organ on October 1, 1913. In 1949, Rev. Ingold Kindem became St. Mark's tenth pastor. With his leadership, the congregation approved a parish education building. The $94,000 building was dedicated on March 9, 1952.
Source: https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/?q=content/st-marks-english-lutheran-church
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