On Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, located at 335 Locust Street, Johnstown, PA 15901, will host a special Community Common Prayer Service commemorating the 130th Anniversary of the 1889 Johnstown Flood and the special role that St. Mark’s played during and in the aftermath of the flood. The service will be a memorial to Father Alonzo Potter Diller, Rector of St. Mark’s, his wife Mrs. Marion Diller, their children, all of whom perished at St. Mark’s, and all 2209 victims of the 1889 Flood. It also will be a service of healing prayer for the community, the nation and the world. A brief written history of St. Mark’s will be provided to those who attend the service.
In
the aftermath of the 1889 flood and despite considerable damage to the 1874
church building and rectory, the death of its Rector, and over half of its
communicants, St. Mark’s congregation continued meeting in the “Ark,” a temporary
small wooden structure furnished by the American Red Cross (ARC). The response
to the 1889 Johnstown Flood marked the first time the ARC was mobilized. The
head of the ARC, Clara Barton decided to build “Red Cross Hotels” to house the
homeless of Johnstown and surrounding areas. Bishop Whitehead of the Episcopal
Diocese of Pittsburgh gave the St. Mark’s site to the American Red Cross for
use in the Johnstown recovery efforts. The first “Red Cross Hotel” was built on
the St. Mark’s site.
“Ark” 1889
Later,
the site of St. Mark’s was returned to the Diocese and the present day church
was built and consecrated on May 31, 1891, the second anniversary of the 1889
flood. During the 1936 and 1977 Johnstown floods, St. Mark’s sustained property
damage but no communicants were loss. The present day church contains two
architectural features original to the 1874 church and many appointments dating
back to 1891 that are memorials to the 1889 flood victims. Guided tours of St.
Mark’s will be available following the May 19 service.
The
May 19, 2019 Community Common Prayer Service is free. All are welcome.
