Pahokee, FL -- St. Mark's Episcopal Church and School is thrilled its Nativity Campus in Pahokee is open for ministry. After a $1.3 million, two-year renovation of the former Episcopal Church of the Nativity, St. Mark's welcomes BRIDGES, a community resource center managed by Community Partners of South Florida and a program of the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County.
 
A formal ribbon cutting and celebration will be held on Friday, June 13, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s Nativity Campus, 1020 E. Main Street, Pahokee, FL 33476.
 
“We are extremely grateful for all who have given financially to the renovation of the former Nativity Church as their gifts will change lives for generations to come,” said Paul Gardner, senior warden of St. Mark’s vestry. “St. Mark’s strives to build community while trusting that God’s love for us will always lead the way. This congregation is deeply committed to investing in partnerships with local communities and other entities that serve the local population.”
 
St. Mark’s new building and facilities will be a gathering place that connects local families to community resources creating a vital hub for the Pahokee community, housing both a sanctuary for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and a range of community programs, including a BRIDGES neighborhood hub. BRIDGES sites serve as local systems of care, connecting families with essential supports and resources aimed at ensuring healthy births, school readiness for children, and the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This new location is one of ten BRIDGES sites across Palm Beach County.

BRIDGES offers a variety of valuable resources to families, such as workshops for parents of young children focused on healthy child development and learning, connections to community resources, and access to lending libraries and business centers equipped with computers and fax machines.

“The BRIDGES sites are incredibly important to the fabric of our community, acting as vital connection points for families seeking support,” said Kelly Powell, CEO of Community Partners of South Florida. “The Pahokee community is known for its strength and tight-knit spirit, and it is truly an honor for CPSFL to partner with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on this joint community venture. We are excited about the positive impact this center will have on so many children and families in the area.”

St. Mark’s is well known in Palm Beach County for its local, regional and global outreach to those in need. Now with the opening of its Nativity Campus, St. Mark's continues to shine as a beacon of faith, hope and light and expands its reach to serve the Pahokee and surrounding communities.
 
About St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School
For more than sixty years, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School has been a beacon of faith, hope and light in northern Palm Beach County. From its humble beginnings in a local farm house, St. Mark’s has grown into one of the largest Episcopal churches in the nation with a congregation of more than 1,800 persons, and home to a thriving school community where nearly 500 students in preschool to grade 8 are nurtured in a challenging academic environment and sustained in their faith. St. Mark’s is a leading institution for transforming lives while serving others, and its facilities are used by groups large and small. St. Mark’s has three campuses: its main campus in Palm Beach Gardens, Nativity Campus in Pahokee, and in Riviera Beach, where it will soon break ground on its newest Hearts of Palm Center location. Additionally, St. Mark’s Hearts of Palm Ministry (HOP) serves those in need by painting homes, cleaning yards, and repairing roofs, and so much more. HOP finds temporary housing for displaced families and led to St. Mark’s purchase and renovation of a home that is leased to families in transition. For more information, contact St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School at 561-622-0956 or visit www.stmarkspbg.org.
 
About Community Partners of South Florida
Community Partners of South Florida is a $19 million comprehensive community development nonprofit agency headquartered in Riviera Beach that provides services to families facing social, emotional, and financial adversity. By using a unique, breakthrough approach integrating housing and financial empowerment, child and family mental health, and community services, Community Partners of South Florida creates self-sustaining families and communities and serves as a driver for growing its local economy. For more information about Community Partners of South Florida, visit www.cpsfl.org. Community Partners of South Florida is a proud chartered affiliate of NeighborWorks America, a national, nonpartisan nonprofit striving to make every community a place of opportunity.