Fall Parish Retreat - “Spirituality of the Heart”    Friday – Sunday, October 1-3.   Wellspring Retreat Center at the Wessendorff Ranch on Ranch Road 12.    This retreat is for members and friends of St. Mark’s who are interested in a spiritually enriching weekend in the Hill Country.  Keep reading here > Fall Retreat. 

To register, click here > Register. 

Prayer and Sacraments During the Week    Daily prayer in solidarity with the whole Church is offered at 8:00 each morning (“think eight”), 5:30 each Monday evening, and at noon on Wednesdays (healing service).  On Tuesday, we celebrate the feast day of Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, and on Thursday, The Martyrs of New Guinea.

Tai Chi Class For Beginners    June Tidwell is offering a beginner’s class in Tai Chi at Christ Chapel, 510 N. Guadalupe.  Join her on Thursdays at 2 pm in the church if you are interested.

Angel Food Ministries   is a non-profit, non-denominational food co-op type organization dedicated to supplying good nutritional food to all who are interested in stretching their food dollars. 

Blessing of Animals - Celebrating Our Animal Companions!   The eighth annual Pet Fest, sponsored by PALS —Pet Prevent A Litter of Central Texas — will be held on Saturday, September 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at San Marcos City Park.  Admission is free, but attendees are asked to bring a donation of dry pet food. 

Festivities will include live music, a 5K run and dog jog, wiener dog and Chihuahua races, a demonstration by the Texas Service and Hearing Dogs, dog washes, pet costume contests, and a visit from the Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile.  There will also be activities for children, a variety of food vendors, and various booths with helpful information about pets.  The blessing of the animals will be led by Father Bruce.

Animals will also be available for adoption from several rescue groups.  For more information about PALS visit http://preventalitter.com.

Walking   A team of walkers from St. Mark's Episcopal Church will be participating in the Austin MS Walk 2010, one of 600 Walk events taking place this year.  Participants walk together to make a powerful statement and to raise money to keep us moving toward a cure. 

WHAT:     Walk MS: Austin 2010 (1-mile & 5K routes)
WHEN:    Sunday, October 24, 2010

                 Registration and Check-In is at 9:00 am

                 Walk steps out at 10:00 am
WHERE: Dell Diamond, Round Rock

Participants will enjoy free food and entertainment before and after the event.  Registration for the MS Walk is free, and there is no minimum pledge.  We will meet at St. Mark's at 7:30 a.m. and carpool to the event.  A special Liturgy will be said during worship so that the entire congregation can be a part of this important journey. 

Follow the link below to get more information on this event, on raising pledges, or to sign up to walk:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/TXH/fundraising-events/walk-ms/index.aspx. To join the team, contact Jenny Henderson at jenny.henderson@sanmarcosepiscopal.org or at 512-964-8483.
 
Please join us, and hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and be a part of an experience like no other.

600 Walks. One Destination. A World Free of MS.

Youth Ministries Kickoff Meeting – Sunday, September 5    Dear Youth of Saint Marks, it’s time to regroup after our long summer apart.  Following the 11:00 service on Sunday, September 5, we will gather in the in new parish hall for pizza and talk about our plans for the upcoming year.  After pizza we’ll go down to Sunset Lanes for a few games of bowling.  I look forward to seeing all of y’all then.  Peace Out, Nick Hoover

Children’s Chapel is starting again!  Who can help?    Starting Rally Day, August 29, Children’s Chapel will be offered every Sunday during the 11:00 service.  We will use Celebrate the Good News Children’s Chapel.  This curriculum strives to gather children ages four to twelve together in a joyful celebration. 

Children process out of the church following the Cross.  When they arrive at the Godly Play room in the Parish Hall, all sit in a circle around the candle.  There is a quick gathering activity that prepares the children to hear the Gospel story.  Then, the Gospel reading is told in story form and proclaimed.  Children are invited to respond to God’s word with their own reflections during the homily time through the use of celebration centers.  After this, the children have their own Prayers of the People as well as a chance to respond to the Gospel reading in prayer.  In closing, a song is sung, the candle is extinguished, and the children return in procession to the church in time for The Peace and Communion with their families.

We are looking for people who are interested in volunteering to lead or assist with Children’s Chapel (a few times a year, once a month, whatever you can give).  Check your schedules and calendars to see when you are available!  The curriculum is designed to be very user friendly and does not require much planning.  Youth, you are especially invited to be assistants!  Please let us know as soon as possible when you will be able to help!