The numbers in the Canonical Parish Register for 1952 give an idea as to just how explosive the growth was just in the three years since the Parish had been founded in late 1948.
In January of 1952, the total number of pledging family units was 469 (it was 250 at the beginning of 1950). At the end of 1953 there were a total of 673 communicants (which equals people who are entitled to received communion and does not include young children).
At the beginning of 1952, there were 423 children enrolled in Sunday School – an average of 231 children attended every Sunday. Can you imagine how many volunteers were needed to teach Sunday School, and just physical space in classrooms to accommodate all of those kids?! The church literally did not have enough space and so rented space from a dance school on Colorado Avenue, started a 9:30 family service and encouraged families to attend that, and was constructing additional space as fast as it could raise money to do so.
Some more statistics…
- 51 Baptisms: The total number of baptisms at St. Mark’s in 1952 was 51. Seven were adults and the rest were children and teens. There was not a single month in 1952 when there were no baptisms.
- 58 Confirmations: Bishop Block visited the Parish on June 1, 1952 and confirmed 28 people. About half were teens and the other half were adult new members transferring from other denominations or Episcopal Churches. Retired Bishop Winifred Ziegler of Wyoming visited on December 21, 1952 and confirmed another 27 teens and adults.
- 28 Burials: There were 28 deaths at St. Mark’s in 1952. Then Rector, Canon West, conducted every funeral and burial service. All but three of these parishioners were buried at Alta Mesa Cemetery in Palo Alto.
- 13 Marriages: There were 13 weddings in St. Mark’s Chapel. The average age of the groom was 23. The average age of the bride was 21. The youngest groom was 19 and the youngest bride was 16!
This type of growth continued until the late 1950’s when cultural and societal changes shifted patterns of church attendance. It was certainly an exhilerating and exciting time for St. Mark’s!
