Spiritual Formation Resources

St. Mark’s has compiled a list of resources that can help you as you continue your spiritual formation journey. In particular, we are offering resources that can aid you in your prayer life, bible study and general life of Christian discipleship.

Prayer

The Daily Office is the backbone of the Episcopal Christian life. Distilled by Thomas Cranmer from the eight monastic offices in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, it offers a way of turning to God morning and evening. Here are a few resources below to aid you in praying the daily office.

Daily Office How-To is a tutorial created by the Society of Saint Nicholas Ferrar which aims to demystify the structure of the Office so beginners can start praying with the Book of Common Prayer.

Venite.App is an online app that makes it easy to pray the Daily Offices.

The Mission of St. Clare is an ecumenical website and app offering Morning and Evening Prayer using the order set out in The Book of Common Prayer. It is a free resource that allows anyone to follow the Daily Office readings online. It was created in 1995 by a group of passionate laity in Silicon Valley to facilitate worship for people whose schedules make attending services difficult.

Daily Office App is a website and app which uses the Daily Offices as set out in the Book of Common Prayer with initial options according to the customary of The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory.

Below are resources on Christian meditation and contemplative practice.
Lectio Divina
World Community for Christian Meditation
Contemplative Outreach

Join us for Morning and Evening Prayer!

Our parish community practices parishioner-led morning prayer on Zoom every weekday morning and evening prayer on Mondays and Fridays. See our service schedule page for the link to join. Beginners welcome! No need to be an expert in the Daily Office or Book of Common Prayer - we’ll help you along.

Study

Daily Lenten Meditations Available from Episcopal Relief & Development

As Lent approaches this year, we lament. We lament all those whose lives were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hearts break for all of the people who are no longer with us. We also lament other losses that include jobs and livelihoods, the opportunity to travel to visit loved ones and the ability to worship together in our church buildings. So much was lost, with little or no time to lament that which was lost. Because of the magnitude of these collective losses, we decided to focus on lament as the theme for the 2021 Lenten Meditations.

You are invited to meditate on these reflections daily and to engage the “Four Steps of Lament,” by resting, reflecting, repenting and ultimately being restored to God and to one another. Many of the authors share deeply personal and painful experiences related to a variety of issues including disease, violence, racial injustice and poverty. You are invited to come to these meditations with an open heart. The meditations are available in English and Spanish here. If you would like to subscribe to receive these meditations daily in your inbox, please subscribe here.

VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BIBLE BRIEFS

Virginia Theological Seminary has published a helpful series of "bible briefs” that are especially good at teasing out some of St. Mark's theological emphases. We are currently working our way through lectionary Year B. Learn more about Virginia Theological Seminary.

THE REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY

The Revised Common Lectionary is a table of scripture readings that are appointed for worship. The practice of having specific texts for a specific day began as early as the fourth century and continues to our present day. Over the year there have been different versions of lectionaries and today we use the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for the Episcopal Church. Each Sunday, there are readings from the Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament, and the Gospels. Learn more about the RCL here.

You can also easily stay up to date with Sunday and Daily Bible readings with the Satuket Lectionary. It’s an online tool to help you know where we are in the readings each day.

THE WAY OF LOVE: PRACTICES FOR A JESUS-CENTERED LIFE

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has invited the whole church to take up The Way of Love, a "rule of life" focused on practices for Jesus-Centered Life. Please click here to learn more about this invitation and read about these seven spiritual practices.

Retreats

Each year we offer several retreats or “quiet days.” These days give participants an opportunity to revitalize their personal prayer practice and to slow down and reflect. This year these retreats will be held online using Zoom. Click here to learn more about upcoming retreats.