Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993                   TAG: 9310070456
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VENERABLE ST. MARK'S UNVEILS NEW SECTION

She and her husband, Ford, were married in the old church in 1949 and were among the young couples who were part of the relocation to Old Southwest from downtown four years later.

Last week, Carmack was working hard to get the church ready for Sunday's dedication of a $700,000 addition.

Besides being chairman of the finance committee and on the long-range planning committee before that, Carmack upholstered antique chairs for the new J. Luther Sieber Parlor.

The special service will begin at 10:55 a.m. with the Rev. James F. Mauney, assistant to the bishop of the Virginia Synod in Salem, preaching and performing the dedication.

The Carmacks are among many St. Mark's families, groups and individuals whose names appear on bricks in an arched entrance to the church from the rear parking lot. The Memorial Walkway bricks cost $100 each and are so arranged that more can be placed later.

Another distinction of the new construction is a solarium on the front of the church at 1008 Franklin Road S.W. From it, children in the relocated Sunday school wing for preschoolers can enter a small protected play area. Carmack said long-range plans include a daily preschool or program for children of employed parents.

St. Mark's building program is the first since the relocation from downtown Roanoke 40 years ago. Since then, the parish has had three pastors, the late Rev. J. Edward Stockman, the Rev. George Bowers and the Rev. Charles W. Easley, who recently resigned to become the first full-time chaplain of Brandon Oaks retirement center.

Stockman is memorialized in the naming of the new wing; Bowers, still an active retiree in Roanoke, will be remembered in the new library on the Highland Avenue side of the church, where offices used to be. The present staff has moved to more spacious quarters in the addition which connects with the 40-year-old building.

A new parquet floor has replaced outdated tile in the worship center. Small children, once cared for and taught on the upper floor of the old building, now have a safer area on the lower level and the outdoor play yard.

A major benefit is the elevator connecting all three floors. Two wheelchairs ramps into the building have been built.

For years, St. Mark's has been active in providing emergency help for the needy - it won a national award for its outreach projects several years ago - and the new wing will provide a more convenient area for its food pantry and clothing closet, which have been moved to a space just off the parking lot and will continue to be open twice monthly for clients referred by social service agencies.

Improvements have been made to the old kitchen so that it is now fully approved for meals for large groups.