St. Mark’s Fleming reopening on April 20
March 3, 2025, 1:49 pm
Nicole Taylor
Formerly part of the Anglican Gateway Parrish, St. Mark’s Community Church in Fleming is reopening after several years of closure. The church is reopening as a non-denominational community church that welcomes everyone. It will be holding its first service on Easter Sunday, at 2 pm on April 20.
The church was built in 1895, but due to declining attendance and much needed upgrades, St. Mark’s discontinued regular services in 2016, and was turned over to the town of Fleming by the diocese, which then turned the church over to a community group.
“It was hard to keep the maintenance up,” said Phil Hamm with the St. Mark’s Community Church board. “We had to do something about the roof, it was leaking. We did some fundraising, collected some donations and did some volunteer work as well. Putting steel on the roof prevented any more damage from being done to the roof. We had to put in a new furnace, and the power had never been updated since it was installed. We also updated the electrical for the entire building. The key was to have the building in good enough shape to have regular services.”
Hamm says they would have liked to have had the church open sooner, but certain factors delayed the process, especially the passing of his sister Tina, who played a vital role as a member of St. Mark’s.
“We just had the furnace hooked up in January. People were asking when we were going to open the church, asking if we were going to have a Christmas service this year, but we weren’t quite ready. With Tina passing away in the fall, it was too much of a rush.
“It feels really good to be reopening. I am really looking forward to reopening. It was something Tina said last summer, that we’ve got to get a meeting and get this going. I just wish she could have lived long enough to see it, but she’ll be there in spirit. It was very important to her.”
There are currently seven members on the church board. The group is encouraging anyone who wants to be involved with the church in any way.
“There’s not a lot of people who are part of this church, and it’s hard to get something started in a little place, there’s so few of us and we are not getting any younger. I worry about when we are gone, is someone else is going to carry it on,” said Connie Forsyth with St. Mark’s. “The church has always been there, it’s part of Fleming.”
St. Mark’s Community Church welcomes anyone to join in worship and fellowship.
“A lot of people these days say they are not religious, but if you get talking to them, they are very spiritual,” says Hamm, “ I think that we are in some pretty stressful times as a society. In times like this, people seem gravitated to their spiritual beliefs. We are inclusive. It is house of God, we don’t decide who can come in, everyone is welcome, whatever their beliefs are. We are all God’s children, and everyone is welcome,” said Hamm.
The current board members are Randy Yeo, Cherie Dukart, Raylee Campbell, Kurt Fuchs, Rick Hamm, Phil Hamm, and Connie Forsythe.
Hamm says the feedback from the community following the news of the reopening has been very positive. “Any time we have a fundraiser, there’s excellent support. It’s good to have that support within our own community, to know that people thought it was a good deal and worthwhile to reopen.”
The church hopes to host many weddings, baptisms, and other celebrations in the future.
“We’ve had inquiries about people wanting to have baptisms and events like that already. Our Fleming Community Organization has done work on the property right beside the community hall, and if people want to rent the hall, if they would also like to have a church service, they could rent the hall and church as a package deal. People won’t be charged for renting the church for a baptism, we will provide the space, they just need to make arrangements. We welcome donations but it’s not a requirement,” said Hamm.
The church plans to have at least one service every month, as well as special services for the holidays. “We always want to have an Easter service, Thanksgiving service, and Christmas service,” says Hamm.
They are also encouraging anyone who wants to host other events in the church, such as Sunday School or Bible study, to do so.
St. Mark’s Community Church plans to hold luncheons and fundraisers in the near future, with their annual St. George’s Day Beef Supper coming up on April 27 at the Fleming Community Hall.
“St. Alban’s in Moosomin used to hold a St. George’s Day Beef Supper,” said Hamm. “The Moosomin Visual Arts Centre are now in that space, so the supper was sort of up for grabs. It just seemed to be a good fit. It just happened that we needed to fundraise for the church, so I said we should take over the St. George’s Day Beef Supper.”
Hamm hopes that the St. George’s Day Beef Supper will raise some funds to repair the original stained glass windows in the church, but also hopes the event will get the word out of St. Mark’s reopening. “Not only does the supper bring in some funds, it keeps the church relevant and people involved. If people want to be involved, we encourage people to come support the church. We welcome everyone to come out to the Easter service. It’s the first service the church will be having.”
Hamm says anyone who wants to get involved with the church or hold an event there can contact him at 435-4140 or email hammbros@sasktel.net.
