St. Mark's Episcopal Church

Press Release:

The fourth annual “Music at St. Mark’s” concert series begins on Thursday, February 20, at 7 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1 East Main St. in Le Roy. All concerts are free to attend, as the project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program administered by GO ART! (Genesee Orleans Regional Arts Council).

On Thursday, February 20, the series opens with The Rochester Bagpiper. Jake Kwiatkowski is a professional piper who will present an evening of performance, education, interaction - and some humor - that explains just how unique bagpipes are in the world of music. He'll cover things like how bagpipes work, the origins of the instrument, stories about the tunes being played, and a wide variety of modern and traditional bagpipe music.

On Thursday, March 20, Laura Dubin and Antonio Guerrero present an evening of jazz. Laura Dubin, a virtuoso pianist as well as a composer and arranger, and her husband and percussionist Antonio Guerrero, will play a repetoire of Dubin’s creative pieces that combine works of classical greats and popular contemporary pieces with elements of jazz.  The duo play an astonishing number of concerts each year and have produced 11 albums of their music, including the latest recorded in Vienna, Austria in 2024.

On Thursday, April 24, the Genesee Valley Recorder Ensemble performs music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods along with some contemporary compositions.  Their instruments include recorders of all sizes, from the small sopranino to the very large Great Bass. The group also includes harpsichord, gamba (an early bowed string instrument), and various percussion instruments.  The eight members of the group are from the northern Genesee Valley region, and all have had formal music training and enjoy playing music on period instruments. Several of the members also play with the Rochester chapter of the American Recorder Society.

On Thursday, May 15, the Batavia Swing Band is back by popular demand.  This is a full 17-piece band that has been playing music in Genesee County and the surrounding areas for over 40 years. Members range from music educators, professional musicians, and advanced amateurs who love to play; a few high schoolers join the group occasionally.  They play standard jazz/swing classics like “In The Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade” to more modern songs from Frankie Valli, Disney, and Michael Bublé. Membership may have changed over the years, but the one thing that keeps the band going, is that they all love to play and make music together.

For more information, call the church office at 768-7200 or visit stmarksleroy.org/upcoming-events.

Submitted photos.

Press Release:

The Joy Project, an exhibit inspired by the former Sibley’s Department Store in downtown Rochester, brings old-time Christmas to life at the Exhibit Hall at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1 East Main Street, Le Roy. 

There is a huge Christmas village and train display to enjoy as well as “department store windows” with animatronics and accompanying story, an idea that came directly from the Sibley’s Enchanted Tunnel of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Hand-painted murals of Christmases of yesteryear by local artist Lorie Longhany were funded by a grant from GoArt! (Genesee Orleans Regional Arts Council).

A key feature of this exhibit is the one-of-a-kind diorama of the 1937 radio show “The Cinnamon Bear.” Constructed by a Chicago-area model builder in the 1980s, it was displayed in a Chicago department store Christmas display, and when it needed a new home, this location was selected.  

An extensive newscast was aired last year on Chicago PBS station WETA about this diorama and the need for a new home.  https://www.pbs.org/video/man-created-miniature-maybeland-in-his-portage-park-home-18h/

This exhibit is open and free to the public on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 12 to 4 p.m. from November 30 through December 22 between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And, yes, kazoos will be available for sale—just like they were at Sibley’s!

More than 50 people from eight states gathered at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Le Roy to learn more about Jane Boyer.

As a 10-year-old in Le Roy in 1834, Boyer created a sampler that is popular with cross-stitch enthusiasts today.

St. Mark's hosted a full-day seminar on Boyer and her work in the neighborhood where she grew up and attended church. The seminar included three lectures on Boyer and visits to the Le Roy House and the Jell-O Museum. Each participant received two fully-kitted cross-stitch projects based on her sampler to work on during the retreat and a digital PDF chart of the full reproduction sampler at the end of the retreat.

Leslie Delooze, host of the event, School Girls Samplers of Western New York, said, "it was very common for girls in the early to mid 1800s to make these (samplers) as part of their education."

Samplers allowed the girls to demonstrate their skills at cross-stitch patterns and other embroidery stitches.

D&R Depot Restaurant catered lunch.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Submitted photo and press release:

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced eight Sacred Sites Grants totaling $140,000 awarded to historic religious properties throughout New York State, including $10,000 to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Le Roy to help fund window and exterior repair.

The parish was founded in a schoolhouse in 1804, and this 1869-1870 Gothic Revival building is the church’s second home. The building was built on the foundations of a former mill, and designed by prominent Rochester architect Andrew Jackson Warner. A parish hall wing was added at the rear of the church in 1957-1958, and was designed by Buffalo architect Robert North.

St. Mark’s reaches about 1,100 community members a year with such activities as a summer lunch program at Mill Street Park, which was doubled in size this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Western New York Diocesan Deanery Project for Social Justice holds workshops for migrant farm workers at the church. The Le Roy History of Art Club uses space for meetings, and the Genesee Chorale has two concerts per year.

“We’re delighted our grants can help maintain these important institutions during this difficult time,” said Peg Breen, president, The New York Landmarks Conservancy.  “Throughout the pandemic, they have continued feeding and recovery programs, as well as health and cultural offerings to their communities.”  

The Sacred Sites Program provides congregations with matching grants for planning and implementing exterior restoration projects, technical assistance and workshops.  Since 1986, the program has pledged 1,559 grants totaling more than $12 million to 828 religious institutions statewide.

The New York Landmarks Conservancy

The New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization, has led the effort to preserve and protect New York City’s architectural legacy for nearly 50 years. Since its founding, the Conservancy has loaned and granted more than $52 million, which has leveraged more than $1 billion in 1,850 restoration projects throughout New York, revitalizing communities, providing economic stimulus and supporting local jobs.

The Conservancy has also offered countless hours of pro bono technical advice to building owners, both nonprofit organizations and individuals. The Conservancy’s work has saved more than a thousand buildings across the City and State, protecting New York’s distinctive architectural heritage for residents and visitors alike today, and for future generations. For more information, please visit www.nylandmarks.org.

Photo courtesy of The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

Press release:

What: Guitar Lessons with Pete Avery
Where: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1 E. Main St., Le Roy
When: Tuesdays, 7-8:30 p.m., starting Nov. 5th

Pete Avery, guitar teacher and certified choral director, is offering weekly guitar lessons for beginning to advanced players starting on Tuesday, Nov. 5th from 7-8:30 p.m.

These will be held each Tuesday at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1 E. Main St., Le Roy. Lessons are offered at no charge, but a recommended weekly donation of $10 will be accepted to benefit local charities. No instrument is required to start.

Avery has taught guitar in most musical styles to people of all ages for the past 30 years. He started his musical training at age 6 and has played and sung with several groups for the past 55 years.

He is a certified Barbershop Harmony Society chorus director and is St. Mark’s current choir director. He sees his guitar playing gift as a blessing and has never charged for the 200+ students he has taught over the years.

Registration is required. Please email Avery at pgavery58@gmail.com. More information is available at www.stmarksleroy.org

St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Le Roy held an open house today. 

Photographers were invited to take pictures for a photo contest being sponsored by the church in anticipation of its 200th anniversary as a congregation in 2017.

The church building itself was constructed in 1869.