Youth Group Resumes September 23

Mark your calendars! The first youth group meeting of the year will be held on Sunday, September 23 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Youth Lounge. Please come--and invite your friends!--as we prepare to kick off another new year.

The Youth Group will continue to meet the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month (the schedule varies around certain holidays--any changes will be announced).

Please join us on September 23 to catch your first glimpse of what's in store for Youth Group in the year ahead!

Sunday School Begins September 9

Be sure to pick up your registration forms and get them turned in--the first day of Sunday School is coming soon: September 9! Please contact Amy Keller with any questions or comments at 740-548-8545.

St. Mark's utilizes the Godly Play curriculum and holds Sunday School classes for preschoolers through fifth graders. They meet at 9:45 a.m. on Sundays, except for the first Sunday of each month (September through May). Students gather in their classrooms for approximately one hour, rejoining their parents in the sanctuary in time to participate in Holy Communion.

Children are welcome to join Sunday School at any time! Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend Sunday School as an observer or as a volunteer assistant. If you would like to volunteer your time with the children of St. Mark's, or if you would like to donate crachers or juice, your help is always welcome. Please contact Amy Keller for more information (see above).

Noon Day Book Group - Location Changed

The location for the September 4 meeting of the Noon Day Book Group has been changed to the home of Martha Wheeler.

Members of this group read books of their choice and offer brief reviews of them to the rest of the group. They meet at 12:00 noon on the first Tuesday of the month--Newcomers are welcome and invited to join the group at any time!

Please contact Martha Wheeler, 486-3313, for more information.

Thank You from Father Philip

Dear Members of St. Mark's,

Thank you all for the lovely farewell reception and for your gifts. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity. I look forward to seeing you on occasion in deanery or diocesan meetings, or around town. Please come visit me at St. John’s in Worthington!

Thanks again.

Philip College+

Director of Youth Ministry Resigns

On Tuesday, August 7, our Director of Youth Ministry, Erin Richards, resigned her position effective immediately. She and her husband, Tim, will also be leaving the Episcopal Church to attend the Greek Orthodox Church where Tim has been worshipping for some time.

The vestry and staff will be working closely with our new rector, The Rev. Paul St. Germain, to make plans for the fall youth ministry program.

Deanery Work Day at St. Edwards, Whitehall

On Saturday, August 25, the clergy and parishioners of St. Mark’s are invited, along with those of the rest of the deanery, to help clean the interior and exterior of St. Edward’s and help with basic landscaping around the church. We will gather at 9:00 a.m. (or anytime later that morning as your schedule allows) and lunch will be provided. We will work until we’re done. Please contact St. Mark’s member Gregg McFarlin, 614-734-9017, if you have any questions or are interested in helping out with this project. St. Edward's is located at 214 Fairway Blvd. just off Hamilton Rd. in Whitehall.

St. Edward’s is a church that serves the eastside of Columbus in many ways—notably hosting a vibrant outreach to local neighbors through a year-long pre-school program.

This special work day will help the small congregation of St. Edward’s prepare for a celebration of new ministry on Sunday, September, 9 at 3:00 p.m. The Rev. Carolyn Keck, St. Edward’s intern pastor for the last two years, will be instituted as vicar of the congregation that day, and the whole deanery is encouraged to be part of the celebration.

Epistle Deadline - August 17

Reminder:
The deadline for the submission of any items to be included in the September issue of the Epistle Newsletter is Friday, August 17.

The preferred method of submission is via e-mail sent to Kristy Messler, the Office Manager.

Farewell to Philip College, Interim Rector

We are approaching Father Philip's final days in the office here at St. Mark's...

This Sunday, August 12 will be Philip's final Sunday services. Please join us for a special farewell reception following the 10:00 a.m. service.

Philip will have limited office hours through Thursday, August 16, with the 7:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist being his final function. Officially, he will remain the Interim Rector throughout the month of August, but his last two weeks will be taken as vacation.

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to congratulate Philip on his recent call to be the next (permanent!) Rector at St. John's Episcopal Church in Worthington.

Sunday School News!

New family/new child orientation to Sunday School will be held on Sunday, August 26 at 9:45 a.m. Please meet in the Gathering (K-2) Classroom in the Education Wing.

All Sunday School families: please pick up registration forms from the bulletin board in the Education Wing or the Announcement Table in the Parish Hall and return them to the Church Office.

All teachers and volunteers: on August 26 we will have a brief teacher's meeting for ALL new and returning teachers and volunteers. Please plan to attend even if you are a seasoned veteran. The meeting will be held after the 10:00 a.m. service, in the Gathering Room.

Please contact Amy Keller for more information or to volunteer for Sunday School: 740-548-8545.

B.R.E.A.D. - Rethinking Justice Workshop

B.R.E.A.D.

People of Faith, Building Power, To Do Justice

Rethinking Justice Workshop

Thursday, September 6, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

at the Jewish Community Center,

1125 College Avenue, Columbus, OH 43209

B.R.E.A.D. (Building Responsibility, Equality, And Diginity) is a local congregation based community organizing group in Columbus that works with local congregations in order to build power to fight injustice in the Columbus area. B.R.E.A.D. has been in Columbus for 11 years and is made up of 51 member congregations (both interfaith and diverse).

The Rethinking Justice Workshop is being presented by local clergy at the Jewish Community Center located in central Columbus. Over 100 people are anticipated in attendence from different congregations in the Columbus area. The purpose is to get people to rethink justice in our lives.

The workshop is organized around five sessions:

"The Prophetic Call" helps participants understand their individual and collective calling to hold the systems accountable to what God created them to be.

"How BREAD Answers The Call" provides a brief overview of how our goals, accomplishments, and current work answer the prophetic call.

"Values, Justice and Power" is intended to challenge participants on their understanding of power and the necessity to build it to fight justice.

"What Are We Required To Do" challenges participants to think about their congregations' call to do what the Lord requires: Justice.

"Building Power for Justice" outlines a vision for Justice Ministry Networks as a powerful response to the call to do justice.

Food will be provided. All are invited to come and to invite friends.
Contact information: Bill Brumbach (614) 220-9363.