St Mark's Episcopal Church

Free Yoga with Alan Twhigg
2026-03-14 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Whether you do yoga for physical, mental, or spiritual health — or all three — here’s an opportunity to practice together during the Lenten season! Parishioner Alan Twhigg, a certified yoga instructor, is offering free yoga classes on Saturdays, March 7, 14, 21, and 28, from 11:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Room. Intended for adults and teens with a reasonable level of mobility; no prior yoga experience required. Contact Alan at keltek1@att.net if you have any questions.

8 a.m. Liturgy in Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene
2026-03-15 08:00 - 09:30, 2026-03-22 08:00 - 09:30 | Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, 600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94306
Join us for a spoken 8:00 a.m. service from the Book of Common Prayer held in the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene.

10 a.m. Liturgy
2026-03-15 10:00 - 11:30, 2026-03-22 10:00 - 11:30 | Sanctuary, 600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94306

Lenten Parish Read & Book Forum 4
2026-03-15 11:30 - 12:30
During Lent, please join us in reading Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human. In this evocative collection, New York Times bestselling author Cole Arthur Riley offers creative prayers, poems, and liturgies which center Black lives, and invite us to reflect on love, lament, healing, hope, and wonder in our world of both beauty and brokenness. Black Liturgies is available for purchase wherever books are sold. If you need help acquiring a copy, please contact our clergy. Throughout Lent, we will share our thoughts and responses to the book during our Sunday forums.
For our forum discussion on March 15, please read “Justice,” “Repair,” “Rest,” & “Joy” (135-170)
Future readings:
For March 22nd (Lent 5):
“Love,” “Memory,” & “Mortality” (171-202)
“Palm Sunday,” “Maundy Thursday,” “Good Friday,” “Silent Saturday,” & Easter (256-263)
Reading Tips from Rev. Debie
Black Liturgies invites a slow, meditative approach. We are reading not to glean information, but rather to reflect on our journeys with God and with each other through images, metaphors, questions, and prayers designed to both console and provoke. Here are some suggestions to guide your engagement with this multi-layered text:

Read slowly: Don’t feel pressured to rush through each week’s readings. Allow Cole Arthur Riley’s letters, prayers, and poems to wash over you. If a particular line or section captures your attention, linger over it for as many days as you need.
Read aloud or with others: Liturgies are meant to be voiced in community. Choose a prayer or poem each week, and read it aloud to enhance its communal quality. You might find a reading partner, and share a call-and-response experience with sections of the book you find compelling.
Use the breath prayers: Choose one breath prayer for each day or week. Memorize it, and then incorporate it into your daily routine. Allow the rhythms of inhaling and exhaling in prayer to guide you into a state of rest whenever you feel harried, anxious, or overwhelmed.
Notice the author’s names for God: Cole Arthur Riley begins each prayer with a specific name or invocation of God: “God of forgotten things,” “God of the night,” “Fluid God,” “Defiant God,” etc. Which names particularly resonate for you? Why? What would it be like to pray using some of these names? Are there names missing that you’d like to add?
Allow yourself to be de-centered: Consider what it means to read a text that is not white-centric. Notice and embrace what you feel as the author centers Black emotion, ancestry, memory, and embodiment. How might you hold a posture of curiosity, humility, and grace as you encounter experiences that don’t necessarily relate to you?
Attend to your resistance: There might be sections of the book that are hard for you to get through. Go gently, pausing as needed. When you can, approach your resistance with compassion and curiosity. Is there an invitation at the heart of what you find most challenging?
Keep a reading journal: Jot down your reactions and questions as you read. If a particular section inspires you to compose your own poem, prayer, or letter, allow your creativity to flow. Write out an answer to at least one of the author’s “Contemplation” questions each week. At some point during Lent, use Cole Arthur Riley’s “Liturgical Template for Alternative Occasions” (282-285) to compose your own liturgy.

Morning Prayer
2026-03-16 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-17 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-18 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-19 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-23 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-24 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-25 08:00 - 08:30, 2026-03-26 08:00 - 08:30 | Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene, 600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94306
All are welcome for morning prayers in the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

St. Mark's Book Club
2026-03-17 14:00 - 15:00
In March, the St. Mark’s Book Club will be reading and discussing Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck. We’ll meet on March 17 at 2:00 in the Kennedy Room. Mary Murphy will lead the discussion.

Centering Prayer
2026-03-18 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-03-20 09:00 - 10:00, 2026-03-25 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-03-27 09:00 - 10:00 | Kennedy Room – St. Marks, 600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto, California, 94306
Gather to spend time with God in quiet communion and Centering Prayer

Good Reads Book Club
2026-03-19 16:00 - 17:00
In March, the Good Reads group will be reading and discussing Ophelia by Lisa Klein.
The group meets bi-monthly via Zoom on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. Contact Marie Highby at mhighby@gmail.com for the Zoom link!

Choir Rehearsal
2026-03-19 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-03-26 19:30 - 21:00 | Sanctuary, 600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94306

Outdoor Parish Workday
2026-03-21 09:00 - 12:00
Spring into the season with us for an outdoor focused Buildings & Grounds workday! All ages and skill sets are welcome. Any amount of time you can give is appreciated – and it’s a great way to meet and socialize with members of our community! Questions? Contact Mary Murphy or Marius Milner: mkemur@yahoo.com and mariusm@gmail.com

Taoist Tai Chi
2026-03-21 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-28 10:00 - 12:00
Taoist Tai Chi introductory sessions are held at St. Mark’s Palo Alto in the Parish Hall every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Beginners are welcome to join a Taoist Tai Chi™ arts introductory sessions at any time. Group leaders will guide you through the practice which is part of an ancient tradition dating back to the 13th century. Read their Frequently Asked Questions to learn more.

Free Yoga with Alan Twhigg
2026-03-21 11:00 - 12:00
Whether you do yoga for physical, mental, or spiritual health — or all three — here’s an opportunity to practice together during the Lenten season! Parishioner Alan Twhigg, a certified yoga instructor, is offering free yoga classes on Saturdays, March 7, 14, 21, and 28, from 11:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Room. Intended for adults and teens with a reasonable level of mobility; no prior yoga experience required. Contact Alan if you have any questions.

Lenten Parish Read & Book Forum 5
2026-03-22 11:30 - 12:30
During Lent, please join us in reading Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human. In this evocative collection, New York Times bestselling author Cole Arthur Riley offers creative prayers, poems, and liturgies which center Black lives, and invite us to reflect on love, lament, healing, hope, and wonder in our world of both beauty and brokenness. Black Liturgies is available for purchase wherever books are sold. If you need help acquiring a copy, please contact our clergy. Throughout Lent, we will share our thoughts and responses to the book during our Sunday forums.
For our forum discussion on March 22, please read “Love,” “Memory,” & “Mortality” (171-202) and “Palm Sunday,” “Maundy Thursday,” “Good Friday,” “Silent Saturday,” & Easter (256-263)
Reading Tips from Rev. Debie
Black Liturgies invites a slow, meditative approach. We are reading not to glean information, but rather to reflect on our journeys with God and with each other through images, metaphors, questions, and prayers designed to both console and provoke. Here are some suggestions to guide your engagement with this multi-layered text:

Read slowly: Don’t feel pressured to rush through each week’s readings. Allow Cole Arthur Riley’s letters, prayers, and poems to wash over you. If a particular line or section captures your attention, linger over it for as many days as you need.
Read aloud or with others: Liturgies are meant to be voiced in community. Choose a prayer or poem each week, and read it aloud to enhance its communal quality. You might find a reading partner, and share a call-and-response experience with sections of the book you find compelling.
Use the breath prayers: Choose one breath prayer for each day or week. Memorize it, and then incorporate it into your daily routine. Allow the rhythms of inhaling and exhaling in prayer to guide you into a state of rest whenever you feel harried, anxious, or overwhelmed.
Notice the author’s names for God: Cole Arthur Riley begins each prayer with a specific name or invocation of God: “God of forgotten things,” “God of the night,” “Fluid God,” “Defiant God,” etc. Which names particularly resonate for you? Why? What would it be like to pray using some of these names? Are there names missing that you’d like to add?
Allow yourself to be de-centered: Consider what it means to read a text that is not white-centric. Notice and embrace what you feel as the author centers Black emotion, ancestry, memory, and embodiment. How might you hold a posture of curiosity, humility, and grace as you encounter experiences that don’t necessarily relate to you?
Attend to your resistance: There might be sections of the book that are hard for you to get through. Go gently, pausing as needed. When you can, approach your resistance with compassion and curiosity. Is there an invitation at the heart of what you find most challenging?
Keep a reading journal: Jot down your reactions and questions as you read. If a particular section inspires you to compose your own poem, prayer, or letter, allow your creativity to flow. Write out an answer to at least one of the author’s “Contemplation” questions each week. At some point during Lent, use Cole Arthur Riley’s “Liturgical Template for Alternative Occasions” (282-285) to compose your own liturgy.

Speaker Series: Judge LaDoris Cordell
2026-03-22 14:00 - 15:00
The Becoming Beloved Community Task Force invites everyone to the next talk in its series COMMUNITY, FAITH, AND JUSTICE. The series explores various issues of social injustice in America and seeks to define a path toward justice, healing, and reconciliation. The date is March 22, 2026 at 2:00 pm in the Parish Hall. Register for free tickets here.

Our speaker will be Judge (Ret.) LaDoris Cordell. Judge Cordell is a Former Superior Court Justice, Legal Commentator and Police Reform Advocate. Her theme is: “The Eleventh Commandment: How Activism Has Been and Continues to be Critical to the Preservation of Our Democracy.”

Judge Cordell is a legal commentator and police reform advocate whose public service record spans decades. The first African American female to serve on the Superior Court in Northern California, she has overseen commissions that investigated violence and mental health care in the Santa Clara County jail system, accounts of racism in the San Francisco police department, and allegations of misconduct in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The recipient of numerous awards for her work, Judge Cordell founded the African American Donor Task Force and co-founded the African American Composer Initiative and California Parks for All. Her memoir, Her Honor: My Life on the Bench . . . What Works, What’s Broken, How to Change It, was published in 2021.

Scripture Discussion: Revelation for Normal People
2026-03-24 19:00 - 20:30
Starting in November, the Scripture Discussion group will be reading and discussing Revelation.
We read aloud passages of Scripture and then have discussions following Study Guide materials. All are welcome; no prior Scripture background is needed,
The group meets every-other week in the Kennedy Room (or the Library) on Tuesday Evenings 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM
Contact Ken Bencala [kenbnc@hotmail.com] for more information.
For our discussions we will be using the Study Guide Revelation for Normal People: A Guide to the Strangest and Most Dangerous Book in the Bible by Robyn J. Whitaker
It has never been more important to read Revelation well. Whether you love it, hate it, or avoid it like the plague, the last book of the Bible’s influence permeates our cultural, political, and religious landscapes. From the so-bad-they’re…still bad actually…Left Behind series, to conspiracy theories about microchips and barcodes, to all-too-real political discourse and actions, John’s visions in Revelation reach far beyond anything their ancient author could have imagined. But what did John imagine? Who was he writing for and why? And what’s the deal with all the hideous horned beasts? Join New Testament scholar Robyn Whitaker as she uncovers the real-world contexts behind this ancient apocalyptic text. A world occupied by an oppressive empire, a marginalized people, and a God committed to justice. Where a beast overthrown was a declaration of authority and a falling star was a statement of evil’s demise. Where symbols gave voice to resistance and visions provided a glimpse of hope. A world utterly and entirely ancient. Only when we understand Revelation’s ancient contexts can we begin to find meaning from it for our own.

Men's Breakfast
2026-03-25 07:00 - 08:00
The Men’s Breakfast is open to all men of St. Mark’s. We meet every other Wednesday morning at 7:15 a.m. in the Parish Library. We typically choose a book to discuss based on a consensus of what’s on the minds of our members. Breakfast is truly spirit driven with folks bringing what they like, or nothing but themselves…all are welcome! Lively and open discussion are always on the menu.
