The Rev. Mark Andrew Jones, BSG

Prior to his retirement in August, 2025, Fr. Mark Andrew Jones built a legacy of service. As a priest at St. Nicholas, his message of “loving as we are loved” inspired a congregation to reach out to our community and do the work we were called to do in Mathew 25: 31-40. Fr. Mark Andrew understood the assignment.

The genesis of all the outreach ministries of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church grew during Fr. Mark Andrew’s tenure between 2011 through 2025. To name a few:

Established the Holy Grill Mobile Feeding Ministry as our signature ministry, beginning with the purchase a very used kitchen trailer and graduating to a full-service food truck in 2024, dubbed Holy Grill 2.0. At this time, the Holy Grill has provided more than 70,000 hot, spirit-lifting meals to the hungry and homeless, “feeding bodies and souls.”
Expanded the Holy Provisions as a food distribution ministry for the food insecure with a weekly community food bank in Parish Hall at St. Nicholas.
Created the Ministry of Hospitality and Entertainment that instituted and expanded a social ministry of Bingo to generate over $60,000 annually. He also initiated a concert series that continues to feature Camerata di Magdelana (with proceeds benefiting the Holy Grill) and the Tropical Wave of the South Florida Gay Men’s Chorus.

As a priest at St. Nicholas, Fr. Mark Andrew was a source of clarification, comfort and compassion. And, in addition to his endless pastoral duties, he rose to every occasion when called to deal with the nuts and bolts side of the operation. He once said, humorously, “Serving as a church Rector, it seems that a more practical preparation would be having an MBA with a minor in Theology.” Those nuts and bolts issues were as endless as his priestly duties but he carried on relentlessly in keeping the place maintained.

To summarize just a few of the accomplishments related to the upkeep of the St. Nicholas campus: he got our chimes ringing again with the new carillon and bell tower painting and reinforcement; installed an electronic sign to message passing traffic; renovated the parish hall kitchen to include a new range/fryers/oven with a commercial ventilation hood and grease trap; installed a large walk-in refrigerator and freezer; painted both interior and exterior of the church and parish hall; replaced all nineteen air conditioning units including the 20-ton sanctuary system; landscaping upgrades including connecting to the City sanitary sewer system; raised funds to purchase a grand piano for the Sanctuary; generated revenue by renting parking spaces and unused office space; annual grant-writing for Holy Grill ministry; fiscal stewardship of the Church’s endowment and launched a Capital Campaign in 2023 to raise $250,000 over five years ($175,000 pledged so far).

As part of the larger Episcopal organization, he served the Diocese of Southeast Florida on the Executive Board, Parish Finance and Assessment Committee, and Chaired the Disciplinary Board. He also served on the Wind Insurance Task Force and was charged to investigate and mitigate the high cost of wind insurance that plagues most parishes in Dioceses of Southeast United States.

As we evolved with the times, Fr. Mark Andrew moved the emphasis of St. Nicholas parish from maintenance to mission and eased the transition of major ministries to now being lay-led.

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church has been enriched, enhanced, encouraged and endowed by our time with Fr. Mark Andrew and Diane Jones. We now return the words that were spoken to each of us on different occasions:

“Well done, good and faithful servants."