Welcome from our Priest

If you’ve found your way to this page, you’re likely someone looking for a new church to visit. Since most websites assume this, this is the place where I’m supposed to give you the hard sell about why you should join St. Mark’s, and why we’re better than all the other churches nearby.

You and I have both read those pages before: Church as commodity and how it can solve all of your problems and make your life happy if you just join them. Often there are perfect pictures alongside with people who look more like models than real parishioners. Sometimes it feels too slick, too plasticky. You’re not quite sure what you’ll get when you show up.

The honest truth is that St. Mark’s seeks to be an authentic congregation, and as a priest I try to talk about the connections between real life and faith. What it means to follow the way of Jesus in this time and place. But when we talk about real life, sometimes it gets messy.  We don’t always have it together; the pictures are rarely perfect.

And that’s okay. In fact, that’s exactly the way it should be.

On this website you can learn about our different services, faith formation programs, music, and outreach opportunities to give you a better idea about our community. But what I want to say to you while I have your attention is this: If you are looking for a church where you can be welcomed for who you are, and you want to follow Jesus as best you can (even if you have no idea how to do that), then we might be the place for you. Come and join us for a time—come pray with us—and see where it leads.

If St. Mark’s turns out to be a spiritual home for you, fantastic and I can’t wait to get to know you better!  And if St. Mark’s is not that place, then Godspeed to you in your faith journey!  Wherever God may be calling you next, I trust that this longing in you to find a community to connect and worship with will lead you forward as you seek to follow Christ.

Feel free to email me with questions, a prayer request, or if you’d like to meet over a cup of coffee. You can reach me at phil@stmarks-sb.org.

Blessings,
Phil+

PS: You can also read my blog at RamblingPriest.com.