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Dr. Jon E. McCoy, Senior Pastor
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What is your hometown?
I am a native of Yazoo City, Mississippi located near the southern tip of the Mississippi Delta.
Tell us about your schooling.
I completed my undergraduate studies at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi; doctoral studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign; a clinical internship at the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and graduate studies in divinity at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.
What are your Methodist roots?
My Methodist foundation extends several generations--my maternal great-grandfather donated the land on which Spruell Chapel United Methodist Church still stands in Smithville, Mississippi; my paternal grandparents were active members of Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Natchez, Mississippi; my maternal grandparents were active members of Mount Hermon United Methodist Church in Ackerman, Mississippi; and my father continues as an active member of St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Yazoo City (my mother, deceased in 2000, served as the organist at the church since 1957).
How do you feel about St. Mark as a dedicated congregation?
I am energized continually by the remembrances of the dedication and commitment of all who have dared to be identified as Methodists. The time that I spend serving the St. Mark community, first as an Assistant Pastor from 1997 - 2000 and now as Senior Pastor, provides innumerable opportunities to be involved in a vibrant congregation, passionately pursuing our mission to make disciples. The historic roles played by St. Mark in the life of the Chatham community, the city of Chicago, and at all levels of the United Methodist Church--parish, district, conference, and jurisdiction--incite feelings of awe and feelings of being overwhelmed, but most of all, I am inspired and encouraged by the legacy of strength, vision, and perserverance.
How do you feel about St. Mark as a family church?
At St. Mark, a warm, loving, friendly, and determined family of Christians gather daily to build the Kingdom of God and to worship God. There are many inter-generational families of life-long Methodists who gather here and there are many who have only recently begun the journey of faith and discipleship. Regardless of your experience with, or exposure to, Christian worship and service, there is a place for you in the family of God. Come worship and serve with us at St. Mark.
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