St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Shelby

St. Mark’s connects with the town of Shelby in many ways, some of them very invisible. Here are a couple of the more public connections. Ignited Ministry For several years, St. Mark’s has been a supporter of Ignited , a residential ministry which aims to spark hope in the lives of women struggling with addiction or battling life controlling problems. Our church building has a small apartment building attached, where several of the women live, and we are able to provide some financial help as well. The Old Spokes Home If you look at the side of our building which faces West Whitney Avenue, you will see a sign which advertises the Old Spokes Home Bicycle Shop. It is not a conventional shop—you cannot simply walk in with cash and ask for an inner tube. Instead, the project is to rehabilitate junk bicycles (police departments often send them to us) and give them away. Several retired men put in hours of volunteer work every week, and the re...

One of the truest things about being human is that we talk to one another. And another truth is that every little group gets its own language started. You did it too, when you were a teenager—and you sort of enjoyed your parents’ puzzlement when you used a word that EVERYONE uses (but they couldn’t figure out). It happens everywhere—your job, your ethnic group, the friends you hang out with. So it is not too surprising that the Episcopal Church has some words that you might not know. After all, we have roots that go back centuries and across the ocean, and some of our scholars work their way through Latin and ancient Greek. Here, in no particular order, are a few that tripped me up (because I came in as an adult after a long time in a Presbyterian background). Sanctuary: In most churches, this means the big room where people gather to sing, pray, and listen to sermons. Properly speaking in Episcopal tradition, though, it is that small ar...

One of my coffee mugs has Robin Williams’s Top 10 reasons to be an Episcopalian on the side. (Yes, he was one of ours.) His list is funny and smart—and it’s largely true. Here I want to zero in on a couple of his items that visitors to St. Mark’s (or any other Episcopal church) might find problematic. Pew aerobics Several years ago, I visited a huge church in the Chicago area. The main auditorium was set up with very good theater-style seats and a stage up front where everything happened. That wouldn’t work for us. If you watch any Episcopal church on a Sunday morning, you will see a lot of action. People sit, stand, kneel, stand up again, kneel again, and then wander around shaking hands. After that they sit down, then kneel some more and finally make their way to the front of the room. And kneel. When they get back to their seats, they sit, kneel, and stand up to sing. Mixed in with all this, people do things lik...

I am not asking this in a theological sense. Our Presbyterian friends across the street might refer to the Westminster Shorter Catechism and say, “Question: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” An excellent answer, and one that I thoroughly believe. Instead, in this little article, I want to write about why I am HERE in Shelby at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. At my age, nearly 80 years old, I have knocked around a lot, both geographically and ecclesiastically. About six and a half years ago, after a particularly nasty encounter, I was counting myself as Christian but unchurched, and Daniel Orr called me up. He asked, “Are you OK?” He wasn’t trying to recruit me or anything like that—he just wanted to know if I was surviving and if he could do anything to help. That personal touch really meant a lot, so I decided to give St. Mark’s a t...

I am writing this very personal, very informal blog mainly for people who are not yet part of our parish. Current members and friends get a weekly email with pictures and news about what people are doing—births, travels, and so forth. (If you want to get on the list, just ask.) This one is for everyone else. It is, as I said, very personal, very unofficial, very informal. I have enabled comments so you can talk back and ask questions. (The comments are moderated, so your writing will not appear immediately—you would be amazed at some of the inappropriate stuff a blog collects!) Any time a person thinks of visiting a new church, there is a lot of stage fright. Will I know what to do? Will everyone stare at me? Am I wearing the right clothes? And to be honest, an Episcopal church makes it worse. If you have ever seen a YouTube video of a worship service at Washington National Cathedral (yes, that’s ours), it’s overwhelming. Ceremonial robes, pipe organ mu...