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"What's an Intergenerational Prayer Partner Anyway?"
We're trying something new to help cultivate and strengthen intergenerational relationships among Saint Mark’s parishioners! Sign up to participate and you'll be matched with a prayer partner in a different age group, someone with whom and for whom you will intentionally pray through the weeks of Lent and Eastertide.
What will this look like? You decide! We hope you'll meet up in person on a Sunday morning and perhaps at some other Saint Mark's events, but you can leave notes for each other, connect over email or Zoom, or go for a walk together in Volunteer Park.
What you share and how you share it is up to both of you, but perhaps each week, you can share one thing: your favorite table grace, a bedtime prayer, a line of scripture you love. You can tell your prayer partner that you're worried about x or thankful for y, and they can hold that in prayer. You can even use the reflection questions or conversation starters in the Lenten devotional that's available to pick up at the cathedral (see below).
The goal is to form a new friendship or deepen a casual connection with someone of a different generation, with different experiences, and prayer is a powerful way to do that. Learn more and register here!
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Shrove Tuesday
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 6–7:15 P.M., in the cathedral nave. Suggested donation: $6/child; $8/adult; $25/max. family; registration requested.
NEW THIS YEAR: Due to the terrific turn-out to this event last year, we are requesting advance registration to assist in planning. Register using this form.
Please gather in the cathedral nave on Shrove Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras), March 4, to end the season after Epiphany in the traditional way—by gathering in community, eating pancakes, and having fun! There will be live music, crafts, and games. Chef Marc Aubertin and the youth will be preparing our meal. In addition to pancakes, sausage, fruit, and toppings, Vestry members will provide jambalaya and gumbo.
The celebration in the nave will conclude with a brief liturgy to "bury the Alleluias" and close the great doors until Easter. (This is a treasured tradition unique to Saint Mark's—find links to some views of what the Closing of the Doors looked in recent years here.) Finally, on the patio, palms are burned to create ashes for the Ash Wednesday services the next day.
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Ash Wednesday
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, services at 7 a.m., noon, and 7 p.m. (noon and 7 p.m. livestreamed)
The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on March 5. (Easter Sunday will be April 20, 2025.) A service of Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes will be offered at 7 a.m. in Thomsen Chapel, then at noon and 7 p.m. in the cathedra nave. Both the noon and 7 p.m. services are livestreamed. The 7 p.m. service will include music offered by the youth of the Cathedral Schola.
NOTE: No Cathedral Commons forum OR community dinner on Ash Wednesday.
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OFFERINGS & OPPORTUNITIES | |
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Sunday Forum on Ways to Pray in Lent with Canon Barrie
SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 2025, 10:10–10:50 A.M., Bloedel Hall
Each year on Ash Wednesday we are invited to observe a holy Lent, and among the ways we do that is through prayer and reading and meditating on scripture. Come explore what this can look and sound like, in poetry and music, in the Lenten devotional we have for you, perhaps even with an intergenerational prayer partner, and plan to share a practice that's meaningful to you in this season of repentance.
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2025 Lenten Devotional
Coming Back to Life: Devotions and Activities for Lent from our friends at Salt Project is full of meaningful suggestions that "help us wake up, preparing our hearts, minds, and communities for Easter’s great celebration."
Each week, biblical texts and creation’s wonders inspire practices you can try as an individual, as a household, or with friends at your kitchen or dining room table. The beautiful printed booklets will be available at the 10:10 a.m. forum on Sunday, March 2, or in the rear of the nave beginning on Ash Wednesday. (For copyright reasons, we cannot share the booklet electronically.) Canon Barrie also has a limited supply of tea lights and colored index cards that will help you make the most of the ideas in the booklet—available at the forum and in the nave while supplies last.
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THE SAINT MARK'S MUSIC SERIES
Mystery of Winter Skies with James Falzone
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 7:30 P.M., in the cathedral nave and livestreamed. Tickets ($20–25) here.
The next offering of the Saint Mark's Music Series is Mystery of Winter Skies with acclaimed composer, improvisor, multi-instrumentalist, and Saint Mark's community member James Falzone. The title is taken from a phrase in the expansive-language Eucharistic Prayer used at 9 a.m. Sunday service during Advent.
James will share a sonic exploration of the expansive beauty of creation, through James' own new musical compositions for penny whistles and string quartet. Many of James' compositions have grown out of ideas developed in his solo improvisations during the Sunday 7 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist in Thomsen Chapel, and seem to express the combination of the intimate and the sublime that characterizes that liturgy. The string quartet is comprised of Luke Fitzpatrick & Alex Guy on violin, Erin Wight on viola, and Rose Bellini on cello. Reserve your tickets here.
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Godly Play Core Training
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 9 A.M.– 5 P.M., in the St. Nicholas Bldg, 2nd floor. Subsequent trainings on April 5 and May 10. Registration required.
The most comprehensive training on Godly Play practices and theology, Core Training is recommended for every adult leading Godly Play sessions, or anyone who is interested in learning more.
Over the course of three monthly sessions, participants experience all aspects of the Godly Play method and begin to become fluent in the Godly Play core stories and fundamental practices. Additionally, Godly Play’s guiding “Theology of Childhood” is introduced, so participants become more deeply connected to their work. The training will be led by Saint Mark's own Canon Vicar, the Rev. Canon Emily Griffin, who, in addition to her role at the cathedral, has also been a Godly Play Trainer since 2007 and serves as President of the Board of the Godly Play Foundation.
Participants are encouraged to attend all three trainings, but are welcome to attend whichever their scheduled allows. Each session is $50, but the promo code SMC unlocks a 50% discount for cathedral community members. Scholarships are available—email faithformation@ecww.org
Find more information and register here. Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch and snacks.
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High School Youth Justice Pilgrimage
SATURDAY–SUNDAY, MARCH 8–9, 2 P.M.–2 P.M., departing from Saint Mark's; registration required
High School Youth will visit sites on Bainbridge Island and Seattle to explore the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. On this 24-hour pilgrimage, the youth will stay overnight on Bainbridge Island, hosted at Grace Episcopal Church and then will worship at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Seattle, founded by Japanese Christians in the early 1900s. Together we will reflect on themes of detention, exclusion, and advocacy for the just treatment of those being marginalized in our midst. Register using this form.
While this pilgrimage is open to youth and chaperones only, participants will share what they experienced and want the community to know during the 10:10 a.m. coffee hour in Bloedel Hall on Sunday, March 30.
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In-Person Morning and Evening Prayer, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Lent
TUESDAYS IN LENT (March 11–April 15), 8:15–8:45 A.M., in Thomsen Chapel
WEDNESDAYS IN LENT (March 12–April 9), 5:30-6 P.M., in McCaw Chapel (behind the altar in the cathedral nave)
Hosted by 20s/30s Group—All are welcome
During Lent, the 20s/30s Group invites all who are interested in deepening their experience of the Daily Office by joining them for morning or evening prayer together in person. Gather in Thompson Chapel on Tuesdays at 8:15 a.m. for Morning Prayer and Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. for Evening Prayer in McCaw Chapel. Questions? Email julia7cooper@gmail.com
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Intergenerational Council March Meeting—You're Invited!
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 7–8:30 P.M., via Zoom
In 2025, meetings of the Intergenerational Council will be held over Zoom on Monday evenings, usually every other month, and open to all members of the Saint Mark's community. We hope you'll join the council on Monday, March 10 from 7–8:30 p.m. as we plan and discuss opportunities to foster spiritual growth and nourishing relationships across the age spectrum and to broaden and deepen intergenerational perspectives, participation, and leadership. This month, we'll be looking ahead to Holy Week, Eastertide, Cathedral Day, Ministry Fair, Convene, and at the ongoing work of the Accessibility Task Force.
Please email Canon Barrie to add to or receive the meeting agenda in advance. Join using this Zoom link.
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Pádraig Ó Tuama: The Better Angels of Our Nature
A special Thursday evening Wisdom School forum with the acclaimed poet, theologian, and scholar of peace and conflict
THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 7–8:30 P.M., in person in Bloedel Hall and livestreamed; registration required
We live in fraught times when violence seems to be the common denominator in a calculus based in mistrust and misanthropic othering. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind… Drawing on inspiration from his work with language and religion, conflict and peacemaking, this truth-teller of our time will draw us into an orbit of soulful wisdom and poetic grace. Learn more here. Fee: $15 (for in-person and livestream participation). Register using this link.
NOTE: Due to this special Thursday evening event, there will be no Cathedral Commons forum on Wednesday, April 2, although Wednesday evening community dinner will be offered as usual.
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Register now for Easter Vigil Baptisms and Cathedral Day Confirmations
The Great Vigil of Easter (Saturday, April 19, 2025) is sometimes called the Queen of liturgies and the jewel of the church year, and it's an especially meaningful occasion for youth and adult baptisms. At Saint Mark's, the service also includes a Rite of Enrollment for those who will be confirmed or received on Cathedral Day a few weeks later, in which candidates for confirmation are presented to the community and to the Bishop and blessed.
At the Great Vigil of Easter, the congregation gathers in the darkness of the cathedral nave. The Bishop kindles new fire, from which the Paschal candle is lit. We hear the stories of God's saving deeds through history, and the baptisms take place by candlelight just before the alleluias ring out, the Great Doors swing open, and the Easter Gospel is proclaimed.
Register here if you wish to be baptized at the Easter Vigil.
Use this form if you wish to be confirmed, received into the Episcopal Church, or reaffirmed in your baptismal vows in on Cathedral Day (Saturday, May 3, 2025). Those who plan to be confirmed on Cathedral Day are invited to participate in the Rite of Enrollment during the Easter Vigil, but this is not required. You can indicate your preference on the form.
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The Questions Easter Asks Us: A Palm Saturday Event for All Ages
SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 4 P.M., in the cathedral nave
Canon Emily Griffin and pianist David Poortinga will lead us using art, story, and song through the life of Jesus as we prepare to enter Holy Week. The Godly Play story usually shared over the weeks of Lent, The Faces of Easter, will be told in large scale, and familiar hymns and tunes will be woven throughout with opportunities to sing, wonder, and pray together as we reflect on the journey to the cross and the mystery of the Resurrection.
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Holy Week & Easter 2025
April 13: Palm Sunday
- Palm Sunday liturgy at 8, 9 and 11 a.m. (procession at 9 and 11)
- 12:30 p.m. communal Stations of the Cross liturgy
- 4:30 p.m. The Saint Mark's Music Series presents: The Seven Last Words of Christ
- 7 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
- 9:30 p.m. Compline
April 14: Monday in Holy Week
- 7 p.m. Contemplative Holy Eucharist]
April 15: Tuesday in Holy Week
- 11 a.m. Chrism Mass
- 7 p.m. Holy Eucharist with Prayers for Healing
April 16: Wednesday in Holy Week
April 17: Maundy Thursday
- 7 p.m., Maundy Thursday Liturgy
- Vigil at the Altar of Repose continues until sunrise Friday
April 18: Good Friday
- 11 a.m. Stations of the Cross liturgy
- Good Friday liturgy at noon and 7 p.m.
April 19: Holy Saturday
- 12 p.m., Holy Saturday Liturgy
- 8:30 p.m., The Great Vigil of Easter
April 20: Easter Sunday: The Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ
- Sunrise Service at 6:30 a.m.
- Easter Sunday liturgy at 8:30 and 11 a.m.
- Easter Egg Hunt on the cathedral lawn following both morning services
- 7 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
- 9:30 p.m. Compline for Easter Sunday
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EASTERTIDE 2025
Radix 14: Stories of Healing
NEXT OFFERING: EASTERTIDE 2025. Registration is now open
OPENING PLENARY: SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 7–8 P.M., via Zoom. Open to all; no registration required.
SMALL GROUPS MEET: ONCE A WEEK FOR SIX WEEKS, STARTING THE WEEK OF APRIL 29*, in person OR online via Zoom, registration required
Started in January of 2020, The Radix Project was created at Saint Mark's as an opportunity for individuals to gather in small groups, share their stories, reflect on Holy Scripture and sacred art, and pray for one another with intention. This popular program has been offered 13 times over the last five years. Radix 14, coming in Eastertide 2025, will be on the theme of Healing in Holy Scripture and in our own lives.
A fuller description and Zoom link for the opening plenary will be posted here soon, but registration is open now. Register using this form.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 5 P.M.
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The family of beloved parishioner Dave Harms, who died in January, is looking for a loving home to take in his cat, Clary. Clary is a 12-year-old long hair cat. She can be skittish but is very sweet and calm. She has a condition that has caused some growths on her mouth so will need ongoing medication and help grooming herself. She is litter trained and loves to be petted.
Dave's niece Kathryn Harms needs to find a home for Clary ASAP, so please contact her if you can help. Call 971.400.9912.
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Saint Mark’s Cathedral acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of all the Coast Salish tribes. [Learn more] | | | | |
