The Rev. Mark Story Retires from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Edmond

The Rev. Mark Story, Rector of St. Mary’s in Edmond, has announced his retirement at the end of this year. Fr. Mark has faithfully served 23 years of ministry in Edmond, having begun his tenure on August 11, 2002. He guided St. Mary’s through a major transition, including the construction and relocation to their new church home in Edmond. We recently interviewed Fr. Mark to reflect on his many years of remarkable ministry.

When asked about the highlights of his ministry, he shared: “There are too many to mention. Baptisms always provide a spiritually emotional high because of the hopefulness that is embodied in the rite, but I would be negligent if I didn’t mention flexibility and the vitality of the St. Mary’s community that executed the construction and relocation of our parish building during Covid. This relocation, that physically reunited our parish and our school, will be celebrated for decades to come. It was a spectacular visionary success that was embraced by our Vestry.”

Fr. Mark also spoke about what he will miss most and his hopes for the future of St. Mary’s: “I will miss sharing the spiritual journeys of the amazing people of our parish and serving as the Chaplain at our school. Our students continually reminded me they possess a rich spiritual awareness that lacks only the vocabulary to express it. My deepest hope is that our school and our church will continue to consciously and conscientiously work to create a more significant Episcopal presence in Edmond by taking advantage of the 75 acres of land that is now available to us. I am also hopeful that we can expeditiously complete the school’s Strategic Plan, and that the church will continue to attract and incorporate young families.”