For decades, a hallmark of St. Mark’s community life has been intellectual curiosity and a focus on lay-organized classes that help participants wrestle with the hard questions of life, relationships, and theology.
We are St. Mark’s Christian Education program
Our mission is to present a range of educational opportunities that strengthen, enlighten, inspire, and comfort us.
Current Announcements
Workshop: New Reality / My Life Post Covid
Please Note Date Change for this Workshop:
New Date, November 8
Since March of 2020, our world has moved into a “new reality” courtesy of the Global Pandemic.
We were challenged as a Nation, a Community, and most importantly as Individuals.
How do we function in this new world? How have our expectations of our lives and ourselves shifted? Where do we find ourselves, and each other, knowing that we have experienced a profound “shaking of the ground”?
Please join us for a one-day Workshop co-led by Don Lipscomb and Annabelle Swift on Saturday, November 8. We will explore how we connect, work, and live in 2025, and how we sustain ourselves going forward
Childcare will be available upon request. If you are interested in joining the class, please sign up in the foyer or email Annabelle Swift with “New Reality” in the subject line.
We will ask for a $15 donation to offset the cost of lunch.
Current and Upcoming Courses
Belonging: Your Touchstone to St. Mark’s
Everyone brings a story with them when they walk into the nave. From past religious experiences, one may wish to leave behind to traditions that sustain one, no two parishioners are the same.
Are you joining St. Mark’s, rejoining, or seeking reconnection? Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to exchange stories and explore what belonging means in 2025. Do you feel more connected to your neighbors, friends, and community than before the pandemic or less? Which elements of your faith sustain you, and which have been tested? How do we, as a community, support and sustain all the parts which make us whole?
A sense of belonging – of knowing that you are a part of another’s life or the life of a group important to you – is one of our basic human needs. We hope you will join this class for an opportunity to look at both birth and chosen belongings, as well as ways in which each of us is facing the joys and challenges of renewing our connections.
This class is especially designed for newcomers as you consider St. Mark’s as your church home. Getting to know a core set of parishioners with whom you’ve shared deep understanding can provide a touchstone within the larger St. Mark’s community. We also invite veteran parishioners to join us as well.
Instructors: Susan Kyle, Luke Giannini, and Rev. Caitlin Frazier
Format: Six in-person weeknight sessions and one weekend retreat, late winter / early spring dates TBA.
Dates: Five Tuesdays – Oct 21, Oct 28, Nov 4, Dec 2, Dec 9 plus one half-day retreat on Saturday, Nov 15
Sign-up: Check the bulletin board in the foyer or email Rev. Caitlin at caitlin[at]stmarks.net
Wednesday Noon Bible Study (WNBS): Every Wednesday from 12noon to 1pm on Zoom
What do we do in WNBS? We actually read the text, the whole genealogy, then study the text (what do you know, five women are listed in the genealogy of Jesus!); then remember the historical context of both the Gospel itself and its author; review their rhetorical approach; ask questions; seek to deepen the meaning we derive from our study; and, share in our loving community.
This year, as the walls of our Constitution are breached, the temples of government institutions are dismantled stone by stone, and our people are scattered from their jobs, can we remember solid ground and basic trust by studying our Biblical tradition and lore? Yes! In our conversations with one another and our biblical ancestry we can find resilience, resistance, and renewable faith.
Curious? Email Peter Mosley – Peter.Mosley[at]cox.net
Workshop: New Reality – My Life Post-Covid / New Date November 8
Since March of 2020, our world has moved into a “new reality” courtesy of the Global Pandemic.
We were challenged as a Nation, a Community, and most importantly as Individuals.
How do we function in this new world? How have our expectations of our lives and ourselves shifted? Where do we find ourselves, and each other, knowing that we have experienced a profound “shaking of the ground”?
Please join us for a one-day Workshop co-led by Don Lipscomb and Annabelle Swift on NEW DATE: Saturday, November 8. We will explore how we connect, work, and live in 2025 and how we sustain ourselves going forward.
Childcare will be available upon request. If you are interested in joining the class, please sign up in the foyer or email Annabelle Swift with “New Reality” in the subject line.
We will ask for a $15 donation to offset the cost of lunch.
Judgment Class: Be Ready for your Family Meal at Thanksgiving
Part 1 – Understanding Judgement – Explore what judgment is, why we judge, what our faith tradition says about judgement and what it reveals about ourselves.
Part 2 – Moving Beyond Judgement – Learn practical tools to reduce harsh judgments and reframe them with empathy and discernment.
Dates: Wed Nov 12 and Nov 19
Time: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Location: St Mark’s – Elder’s Room/Baxter Hall
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
RSVP – ednaboon[at]gmail.com or sign up onthe bulletin board in the foyer
Judgement Class: Be Ready for your Family Meal at Thanksgiving
Join parishioner Edna Boone and guest facilitator Steve Roberts for this two part class in November:
Part 1 – Understanding Judgement – Explore what judgment is, why we judge, what our faith tradition says about judgement and what it reveals about ourselves.
Part 2 – Moving Beyond Judgement – Learn practical tools to reduce harsh judgments and reframe them with empathy and discernment.
Two Sessions: November 12 & November 19.
Time: 7:00pm to 8:30pm at St Marks – Room TBD
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
~~ Mother Teresa
Whatever You Believe or Do Not Believe
This provocative conversation begun last fall will continue under the guidance of Bill Jordan and Rebeckah Taylor, St. Mark’s Seminarian. Join this one day workshop on Saturday, December 6. Contact Bill Jordan (jordans4[at]verizon.net) to sign up!
Whatever You Believe or Do Not Believe
St. Mark’s Seminarian, Rebekah Taylor, and Bill Jordan will lead a one-day workshop on Saturday, December 6, from 9:30am to 2:30pm in Baxter Hall.
We will explore key pieces of our Christian faith and tradition: Jesus’ miracles, the problem of evil in the world, and the sacrament of Baptism.
There is a sign-up sheet in the Entrance Hall. Lunch and childcare will be provided. We will gladly accept donations to cover costs.
Please reach out to Bill Jordan with questions.
More about the history and vision of Christian Education at St. Mark’s
You are St. Mark’s. Join us. Contact our Christian Education co-directors at annabelleswift31[at]gmail.com .