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 and Upcoming Courses
The Power of Extravagant Tenderness: Exploring Who God Is
Come join us in exploring who God is (or isn’t) in your life. On Saturday, November 9, in the St. Mark’s Elders Room from 9 am-2:00 pm, we’ll reflect on a God some or even many of us never knew.
Led by Rob Hall and Louise Walsh, we’ll explore what it means to believe in our essential goodness and accept the invitation into our own gracious heart. A book by Rev. Gregory Boyle: “The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness” frames our class. We ask you to read it beforehand.
A few spaces remain and a waiting list is on our sign-up sheet in the foyer.
Questions? Please reach out to Louise Walsh or Rob Hall.
Whatever You Believe or Do Not Believe …
Instructors: Bill Jordan and Thom Sinclair
Format: One day workshop in the Elders Room
St. Mark’s members have long included both “skeptics” and “believers” and every point in between, and “all are welcome.” Join fellow parishioners to talk about central elements of the Christian story and faith. We will invite everyone to share what they believe about topics like communion, miracles, and prayer, and how these beliefs make a difference in our daily lives. We’ll focus on conversation, not conversion.
Belonging: Your Touchstone to St. Mark’s
Instructors: TBD
Format: Six in-person weeknight sessions and one weekend retreat, late winter / early spring dates TBA.
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 2023. 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.
Community: Continuing the Journey
Instructors: Don Lipscomb, Bill Jordan; POC:
Description forthcoming.
Families of Choice & Origin: How We Create, Sustain, and Move On
Instructors: TBD
A short course looking at the different ways we create, sustain, and move on from the families in our lives.
Strangers on the Road
Instructors: Michael Knipe & Thom Sinclair; POC haroldknipe@gmail.com
“Who is my neighbor, and ethically, what does that imply?” Jesus’ teachings in the parable of the Good Samaritan and the Samaritan woman at the well evoke the Christian ethics of empathy, compassion, love, and relationship. But how do they apply to our lives today?
How to Pray
Instructors: Patricia Catelano & Jason Campbell; POC TBD
Spring 2025
Prayer means many things to different people. How can we make prayer a part of our lives and use it to find inspiration, hope, gratitude, and peace?
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 .