Historic St. Mark's African Methodist Episcopal Church, located in North Topeka, Kansas was established in the year 1880 as an AME Church and entered into the Kansas Conference.

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• St. Mark's was the first pastoral charge for the Rev. Vinton Randolph Anderson the 92nd Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and who was elected in 1991 to serve as the President of the World Council of Churches. 

• The Rev. Oliver Brown was assigned to St. Mark's, also as his first pastoral assignment in 1953, and was serving still at the time of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Mrs. Linda Brown-Thompson served the St. Mark's Church as pianist for more than 40 years until her death in 2018.

• Mrs. Carolyn Campbell was elected as the first African American Education Commission for the State of Kansas and is a long-standing member of St. Mark AME Church.

• The Honorable Joe Johnson, the first African American Judge on the Shawnee County Bench

• Mr. Terry Crowder who served as Vice-chair of the Kansas Human rights Commission

• Sgt. At Arms Foster Chisholm, who is the first African American appointed to the position. 

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The Church historically and currently houses champions who give and who are giving of themselves as political and civic leaders, educators, doctors, lawyers, missionaries, and more, all in the spirit of the AME Church mission of liberation and reconciliation. 

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The origin of St. Mark's is rooted in two remarkable events recorded in the annals of African American history: 

1) the establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest Black organized, incorporated, religious denomination.

2) the Exodus of the former slaves from the South to Kansas between 1877 and 1880, often called the "Great Exodus."  

 

Many Black immigrants were particularly attracted to Kansas due to its history as a free state and the land of abolitionist.  The most remarkable migration of Black Americans into Kansas occurred in a two-month period between March and May of 1879.  These "Exodusters" came primarily from Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and later, Texas, several hundred settled in North Topeka.  Bringing their Christian faith with them, many originally gathered in house-to-house fashion for prayer and Bible Study. 

 

On May 14, 2025, St. Mark's AME Church acknowledged its 145th years as a beacon in the North Topeka Community, overcoming perils of the past which included prejudices and racial hostilities, as well as surviving the 1903 and 1951 Kaw River floods.  ​

 

Since the 2022 Anniversary celebration, many things have transpired at Historic St. Mark's.  The completion of the Church Renovation project has been completed through the Phase Three endeavors; the congregation returned to in person worship in2023, the Church maintains hybrid to ensure the sick and shut ins, members that live outside of Topeka and the state of Kansas, and our many friends are able to continue to join us in every aspect of the Church's endeavors.  The history book, after four research deposits, will be completed and available to those who have appropriately reserved your copy in October of this year, 2025.  The final title is: "Defying the Odds" and holds the history of the Historic St. Mark's African Methodist Episcopal Church from the conception year 1880 through 2025.  It is our plan to have the published book available to all in 2026.

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To learn more about Historic St. Mark's and the AME Church click on the links below.

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