What We Do
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Annual Events
Contact the church office for further information.
Breakfast:
Breakfasts are held on a Sunday in January, March, September and November following the 8 am Eucharist.
Vestry:
This is an annual meeting of parishioners held at the end of February to review the work of the past year, to chart a course for the years ahead and to elect key positions
Pancake Supper – Shrove Tuesday:
Pancakes and sausages are served to parishioners and the local community with continuous sittings from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
Picnic:
Mothers’ Union organize the church summer picnic on a Sunday in June.
BBQ:
The fall barbecue, organized by Mothers’ Union is a social gathering to welcome members back after the summer. This event is held on a Sunday in September.
Bazaar:
Our Annual Fall Bazaar is usually the first Saturday in November, 10:30am – 2:00pm.
It features a variety of hand-crafted items including knitting, crafts and sewing, a large selection of preserves including marmalade, jams, pickles and soup mixes, the ever-popular bake table with breads, pies and cakes, a café for refreshments and lunch and a selection of new-to-you items.
Programs & Courses
Church School and Nursery
Church School is for 5 year olds to teenagers. School is September to June during the 10 am service. It is held in the church hall.
Nursery is available during the 10 am service. It is held in the conference room.
Due to COVID-19, these programs are not currently running.
Baptism, Early Communion and Confirmation
All require preparation courses. Please contact Fr Julian at 613-224-7431 for information and registration.
Pre Marriage Course
This course is offered through the diocese. Please contact St Mark’s office at 613-224-7431 or visit the diocesan website www.ottawa.anglican.ca for information.
Bible Study
Held in the church at specific times throughout the year. Information on current and upcoming Study groups is in the Newsletter and/or Bulletin. Contact the office at 613-224-7431 or stmarks@stmarksottawa.ca to register.
Parish Groups
Church Service Groups
Altar Guild:
Altar Guild is responsible for the care and beautification of the Sanctuary and Altar. It carries out its work in small teams that are on duty on a rotation basis. Training is provided to new members.
Senior Choir:
The senior choir is present every Sunday at the 10:00 a.m. sung Eucharist and at special services throughout the year, including Advent, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter. It has a large varied repertoire. Practices are weekly on Thursday evenings and on Sunday mornings before the service.
Junior Choir:
The junior choir takes part in the 10:00 am sung Eucharist each Sunday. Practices are weekly on Thursday evenings and on Sunday mornings before that service.
Lay Assistants at Communion (LAC):
Lay Assistants at Communion are adults trained to assist the clergy during Eucharist services, including administration of the cup.
Servers:
Servers are trained young people and adults who assist the clergy during services.
Readers:
Readers are individuals who read assigned Scriptural passages during church services.
Sidespeople:
Sidespeople greet, assist and direct worshippers at church services. Generally, they work in pairs on a rotation basis.
Counters:
Counters tally the givings at the end of services and make the deposit each Sunday. They work in pairs on a rotation basis.
Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care and Friendly Visiting:
Currently, there is no formal pastoral care team at St Mark’s. However, periodically, teams are assembled to do friendly phone calls to parishioners, particularly to those who are house-bound and do not have access to the internet.
Prayer Shawl Ministry:
Shawls are lovingly made by parishioners, with prayer. Some shawls are created for specific individuals while others are made to be available for those who need healing grace or comfort. There is a blessing of any new shawls each month. For general information on the international program go to https://shawlministry.com/
Prayer Groups
Prayer and Praise:
Prayer and Praise is a weekly meeting for biblical reflection and prayer. Everyone is welcome. Periodically, there is a Prayers for Healing service.
Outreach
Coffee Company and Conversation (CCC):
CCC is an outreach initiative that began at St Mark’s in September 2018 as a seniors’ activity that provides a welcoming gathering place for social and informative activities, along with coffee and goodies. It takes place every Thursday morning between September and May, except for holidays.
Mothers’ Union (MU):
Mothers’ Union is a world-wide Christian organization which promotes the well-being of families. The MU branch at St Mark’s is one of very few in Ontario. Its members organize the annual Parish Picnic, the annual parish BBQ, and the Advent Giving Tree. For outreach funding, the group sells used books during Sunday coffee time, makes and sells Christmas puddings, and sells church calendars. There is a monthly MU meeting from September to June.
Debra Dynes Family House (DDFH):
Debra Dynes Family House is a multi-service organization that is based just a few blocks from St Mark’s. It assists multi-culturally diverse families, children and youth who are low-income and working poor, through a range of services and programs that are community driven. St Mark’s parishioners support DDFH through monetary donations, in-kind food donations to its food bank, donations to various special projects such as collection of school supplies and provision of hand-knitted items for children, and by volunteering. For more information about DDFH go to https://www.debradynesfamilyhouse.com/ .
Other Groups
Scouting:
72nd-Ottawa St Mark’s Scouting Group is a coed program for ages 5 to 14, with Beavers for ages 5 to 7, Cubs for ages 8 to 10 and Scouts for ages 11 to 14. Programs are held each week at St Mark’s or at St Rita’s School from September to May. For more information go to 72ndottawascouting.ca.
Slim and Trim:
Slim and Trim is a friendly low-impact exercise class that meets 9:00 – 9:30 am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from September to June.
Our Music
St. Mark’s Ottawa is proud of its music tradition. Since the beginning of the Parish, music has played an important part in our worship and continues to do so. At the end of June 2022, Ariane Dind, who had joined us in late 1999, retired. In October 2022, we welcomed Dr Carl Bear as Director of Music.
In 2020, in-person worship was suspended on March 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time has been very hard for the choir. As well as providing music for worship, the choir provides support and companionship to each other and the sudden cessation of both was devastating. To provide companionship, the choir starting meeting by Zoom. It was quickly discovered that singing together was not possible in this format but the companionship remained.
With the suspension of in-person worship, pre-recorded YouTube services, which started on March 22, 2020 and continued until September 5, 2021, supplied our weekly worship. The ability to provide the music that was such an integral part of our services was a key consideration in the format of the videos. The music for the pre-recorded YouTube worship services was provided by Ariane Dind, primarily with Joy Bowerman providing the vocals and former choir member, Alex Dee, teaching his mother to record and mixing all the music. In October 2020, the choir embarked on its first virtual adventure and recorded “Thou Visitest the Earth” by M. Greene with a solo by Bruce Lodge (https://youtu.be/JyAG-VyQjP8). This was followed by another virtual adventure with a service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve (https://youtu.be/3WB9z557KBc) and special music for Easter (https://youtu.be/AiCd7zTnvwc).
On April 11, 2021, Bruce Lodge celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his membership in St Mark’s Choir. Tragically, he suffered a heart attack that same evening and died later in the week. He will be greatly missed when we can all meet together.
In 2015-16, St. Mark’s Choir celebrates 60 years of service, with a membership of 23 choristers … and 4-part harmony. The choir provides musical leadership for our regular and special services. It has nine members, each with over 30 years of service.
A new junior choir was formed in the fall of 2015, with 5 members.
The year 2005-2006 marked the 50th anniversary of St Mark’s Senior choir. The Senior Choir was joined by the Junior Choirs in presenting an evening called “A Walk Down Memory Lane”. An evening of its history, in memory and song, that even included the various choir ‘robes’ through the ages. Many former choristers came for the event, and three choir directors and the widow of the founding director were also present. The Choir produced a DVD and CD of the concert.
That same year the choir recognized three senior choristers, John Kirby, Bobbi Cain and Ray Davidson for their dedicated service to St Mark’s choral ministry. In 2013, Ray became the longest serving chorister and was recognized as such along with two other long-serving members Jenny Morphew and Bruce Lodge. They served for over 130 years between them.
The 1999 musical history link below takes you through St. Mark’s first 50 years, and the start of a musical tradition in the church, with many talented organists, choir directors and choristers who have passed through St. Mark’s.
Listed below are links to three items produced for the Church’s Jubilee year in 1999:
St. Mark’s History of Music (1999)
50th Anniversary Theme. This theme was set to music by parishioner Chris Dicks
St. Mark’s Jubilee Hymn was written by parishioner Norma Mellon, and set to music by a son of our Parish, Wesley Warren, currently the Organist and Choirmaster at St. Barnabas’ Ottawa
Both of the above compositions are copyrighted. Permission is given to print and copy the sheets for use in a single church, provided that it is not sold as a product. Each request to reproduce the material for inclusion in a book, for sale, or for multiple church use requires written permission from St. Mark’s Anglican Church, Ottawa. On