Church School

Religious education is available for all ages (3 years old to adult) on Sunday mornings. Children's classrooms are in the education center, the youth meet in the youth room, and adults meet in Langley hall. Church school is held from 11:10 am to 12:00 pm every Sunday from September to May.

The Children's Chapel is for the young children who do not yet read, so their service is directed by a video at 10 am. The video steps through many of the elements of the complete Episcopal service that is occurring downstairs for their parents and older brothers and sisters. Click here to see information, pictures and a video of our Children's Chapel.

Preschoolers through fifth graders follow the "Godly Play" curriculum. This program is modeled on the Montessori approach of teaching. "Godly Play" provides an environment in which children feel safe and welcome . . . where they can learn the art of using religious language to encounter God and to find meaning in their lives.

Middle and high school youth follow the “Journey to Adulthood” (J2A) curriculum. "Journey to Adulthood" is a spiritual formation for young people that provides a liturgical frame for their experience in the modern culture and celebrates their individuality and their creative potential. They are instructed with skills needed for successful participation in church and society.

The "Journey to Adulthood" program is all about friends. We get them together and they form friendships. We want them to develop these friendships so that they have "fellow pilgrims" on the road to adulthood--a support network for getting through adolescence.

Getting them together also provides an opportunity for them to get to know an adult who is not their parent that they might use as a resource person for the many decisions they will have to make. Finally, all this friendship is happening in an environment of faith exploration. They are moving from their faith being the faith of their parents to making the faith their own.

While meeting together they become involved in lots of outreach projects, social functions and weekly group discussions.

Three offerings are available for adults during the Church School hour:

• The first is a class on the New Testament lead by the Rector. Each week, participants view a televised lecture by well-known New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman and then engage in a group discussion of the material.
• A second choice is the Coffee Hour series, with a variety of speakers covering a wide range of topics, including reconciliation, Buddhism, organ donation, and a special Advent series on the visual arts and the nativity.
• Finally, Anne Vouga will lead a Journey Class for new Episcopalians or for adults interested in joining the Episcopal Church.

During church school, the nursery remains open for infants, toddlers, and 2 year olds.

Church School for all ages takes place immediately following the 10:00 a.m. worship service.

Young members of the church are taught all the steps required of a good acolyte. They serve during the main church service every week.

Education For Ministry

Education for Ministry (EFM) is a program of the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. This excellent educational experience provides a comprehensive, experiential education in the foundations and message of the Christian faith for the laity of the church.

When you participate in this program you commit to one year at a time, for a total of four years, to complete the program, meeting regularly in seminars to study the Bible, Church History, and Twentieth Century Theology.

Two Education for Ministry groups meet at St. Mark’s and both are led by the Rev. Dr. Charles Hawkins and graduates of the program.The day group meets on Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm and the evening group meets Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

New classes are being formed now! For more information about the EFM program, click here. To sign up, call the parish office at (502) 895-2429.

Virtually-biblical and ask the priest blog links

St. Mark's offers an online bible study called "Virtually-Biblical."  "Virtually-Biblical" is a great way to ask the rector bible questions. To subscribe email virtually-biblical@yahoo.com .

In addition, you may find this link to an Episcopal Blog interesting: http://askthepriest.typepad.com . It is a resource to get many questions answered.