“Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.” As the season of Lent continues, a lovely Lenten observance is the recitation of Morning Prayer. Members of the St. Mark’s community gather virtually each weekday morning to praise God, hear scripture, and raise up our prayers of petition and thanksgiving. Please join us and participate in this lovely tradition. The link is in the bulletin and can be found below.

Episcopal Relief & Development continues to work with Anglican and ecumenical partners to provide aid to people displaced by the crisis in Ukraine.

International Program staff are in close contact with church and ecumenical partners including the ACT Alliance, The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, the Diocese of Europe, the Anglican Alliance and United Society of Partners in the Gospel. These organizations are coordinating immediate and long-term humanitarian responses through their local partners in Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

“We are extremely grateful to all of our generous donors and supporters who are enabling us to provide assistance through our partners,” said Abagail Nelson, Executive Vice President, Episcopal Relief & Development. “While we appreciate the offers to donate physical goods, the most effective way to help right now is through prayer and by making a financial contribution. This will help us equip our local partners to get the specific emergency supplies they need, from local and regional sources, which will support the local economy.”

Episcopal Relief & Development does not accept in-kind donations, such as food and clothes, since it involves receiving and storing the goods in the US and spending money to transport them. The organization does not recommend traveling to Ukraine or the surrounding areas due to safety concerns. Untrained volunteers can also add strain on the already limited resources for local partners.

Learn more about the three phases of a disaster and how you can help at episcopalrelief.org/disasterhelp. Donations to the Ukraine Crisis Response fund will help meet critical needs created by this crisis.

We are starting up a new initiative at St. Mark’s Cathedral which is hosting the After Service Coffee Hour each Sunday. We would like to invite a family or two people who would be responsible for providing snacks. We kindly suggest a sweet and a savory snack. It also would be nice if we could provide a gluten-free item. Suggested items could include cookies, nuts, crackers, chips and dips, a vegetable tray or fruit tray. Whatever items you wish to bring will be much appreciated. You should prepare for approximately 50 people. You will simply drop off your food in the kitchen and John O’Shea will put it on trays and then onto tables. The Cathedral will provide all coffee, tea, and punch.

A quarterly schedule will be prepared and e-mailed to those of you who participate in the Coffee Hour Program. If a scheduling conflict prevents you from hosting, you will be provided with the names and contact information of other hosts and you can then trade dates for hosting. IF THIS OCCURS, PLEASE NOTIFY THE CHAIRMEN so that the proper information can be posted in the Sunday Bulletin.

We all enjoy our Coffee Hour so much and these snacks will make our time together even more fun! After the pandemic our socializing is even more important than ever.

Please call Carla Lloyd 315-885-7406 or Sheila Bilbrey 801-656-9589 to become part of this new initiative to secure your first Sunday to host.

Thank you,

Carla Lloyd and Sheila Bilbrey Co-Chairmen

Please join us on Friday, March 25th at 5 p.m. as the Rev. Holly Huff is ordained, God willing and people consenting, to the Sacred Order of Priests. A reception in the Dean’s Hall will follow. Contact Josie Stone at (801) 557-0670 or josieSRN@aol.com if you’d like to bring something for the reception.

Join us for another evening of good food and community! Our next 20s/30s Dinner Group get-together will be Saturday, April 2nd, right after the Saturday Light in the Darkness service. Please join us right after the service (around 6:15pm) in the foyer of St. Mark's Cathedral or meet us around 6:30pm at Curry Up Now (152 E. 200 S.). Feel free to join us even if you aren't able to make it to the service! 

If you have any questions, text Madi Rooker at (801) 839-6703 or email her at mrooker23@gmail.com. Feel free to invite anyone in their 20s or 30s to dinner, even if they aren't already part of the St. Mark's community. If having to pay for dinner precludes you from joining us, please reach out to Madi - we don't want money to keep anyone from being a part of our group!

We're looking forward to seeing you all on April 2nd!