WHAT: of three churches in the southeast corner of Utah, part of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland.
Building a relationship between the communities of St. Mark’s and the area mission Episcopal Church in Navajoland, we engage regularly and create connection opportunities with the members and clergy of St. Christopher’s Mission and St. John the Baptizer in the southeast corner of Utah. This includes creating opportunities in the St. Mark’s community for increased awareness and understanding in ourselves and our institutions of historical and contemporary experiences and their impact on indigenous peoples in the United States.
Recent activities have included:
- A group trip to see Where We Belong at the Folger Shakespeare Library, a drama about reconciling classic literature with the Native American experience
- Shared commemoration of Veterans Day 2022 with the dedication of a flagpole St. Mark’s gifted to St. Christopher’s Mission Church, Bluff, Utah, and the dedication of the National Native American Veterans’ Memorial at the Museum of the American Indian in D.C.
- Held an online book group on Navajo code talkers with participation from the St. Christopher’s and St. Mark’s communities.
- Engaged adult and youth parishioners in the 2023 class and workshop “Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change—Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples.”
- Coordinated a service and learning trip by St. Mark’s youth to St. Christopher’s Mission in Summer 2023.
- Organized a group trip to the Folger Shakespeare Library to see Where We Belong, an autobiographical drama about reconciling classic literature with “centuries of Mohegan history and colonialist oppression.”
We are currently planning to host a Summer 2024 visit to Washington by Navajo teens and adults as well as additional book groups.
Learn about our partner churches at The Utah Region–The Episcopal Church In Navajoland.
Points of contact at St. Mark’s: Steve Dalzell at dalzellsr@gmail.com and Kit Arrington at kit@tulsablue.com.