Please note that the parish office will be closed from Tuesday, December 23 and reopening on Monday, January 5.  Melody will be in the office briefly on January 2.  The parish email, and letter mailbox will be monitored throughout this time.

If there is a pastoral emergency, please contact a warden.  The Venerable Bill Clarke will be available to respond.

From Melody, Sandra, Ted, Heather and Susan, we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Blessed New Year.

Having successfully ‘hung the greens’, on December 7, we now must plan to take down the tree and all the Christmas decorations and pack them safely so they will be available for next year.  Therefore, we are inviting Parish members to meet at the church at 10:00 am on Friday, January 9, 2026 to help take down and store our decorations.  Many hands make light work.

Can you help restore the church for post Epiphany services?  If so, drop by the church at 10:00 am on January 9.

Start Time: Doors open at 9 a.m., Program begins at 9:30 a.m. sharp

Finish Time: 12: 30 p.m. 

Location:  St. George's Cathedral, Kingston

The Ven. Jane Humphreys (Diocesan Executive Officer) is facilitating a "Safe Church  Training" workshop for volunteers, clergy and staff who are involved in both medium risk and high risk ministries in the churches of Frontenac Deanery on Saturday, January 17 at St. George's Cathedral, Kingston. 

High risk ministries include: ministries with vulnerable persons (eg. children, youth and elderly persons), positions of authority which allow a person to establish long-term relationships of trust, and/or positions in which a person has access to significant amounts of financial resources or sensitive and confidential information. 

Topics to be covered will include: 

(1) A Review of the Diocese of Ontario Screening in Faith Policy (Sections 1 & 2)

(2) Training w.r.t to the diocesan Sexual Misconduct Policy

(3) Ministry Guidelines

(4) Healthy Boundaries.

St. Mark's Book Club will be meeting at the home of Alan Rumsey at 2:30 on Monday, January 26 to review and discuss the book Testament.

From Governor General’ s Award-winner Nino Ricci, one of Canada’s most highly acclaimed literary voices, Testament is a bold work of historical fiction. Set in a remote corner of the Roman Empire at a moment of political unrest and spiritual uncertainty, it re-tells the life of a holy man of enormous charisma who alters the course of human history. Grounded in extensive research, and written with the poetic sensibility that has earned Ricci an international reputation, Testament vividly recreates first-century Palestine in elegant but accessible prose to explore the story of the man we know as Jesus.

Provocative, ambitious and rich in the sights and smells of the ancient world, Testament brings a new perspective to the greatest story ever told.

New members to the book club always welcome.  Please let Alan know if you plan to attend this meeting at alan@planetrumsey.ca.