Our 17th Annual St. Mark’s Women’s Retreat is coming soon!  We are looking forward to a meaningful and relaxing time away at Pine Valley.

We will be meeting this year May 18, 19, 20 at the Pine Valley Bible Conference Center, located 45 minutes east of San Diego off Interstate 8.  Our speaker will be the Rev. Virginia Brown; the theme is “Shining God’s light in Our Dark Places”; we will be looking at the biblical perspective of how God’s love shines in those dark places so that nothing can overpower you except His goodness.

Registration Process-

1. Complete electronically the registration information form and return by email to 
2. Complete electronically the liability form and return by email to 
3. For your convenience, you may place your check/installment…
   • In the church office drawer marked “Treasurer/ Millie McKibbin” at any time.
   • Mail directly to Millie McKibbin, 7003 Osler St. San Diego 92111
4. Questions can be sent to 

Thank you for taking the time to try this new process which we feel will be more outreaching and available for response and communication 7 days a week.  Further information will go out to you by email as attendance/participation is established.  We look forward to your participation at our weekend retreat.

It’s that time again! The Easter Bunny will be making his annual appearance at St. Mark’s on Saturday, March 31, from 9 to 11 a.m.  All are invited for an egg-cellent time which includes: an egg hunt, cake walk, face-painting, egg decorating, hula hooping, and some other egg-citing things!  Please come out and be sure to invite your friends and family to this kid friendly event!

Palm/Passion Sunday, 9:30 a.m.

We celebrate with 250 youth and adults on mission from Rolling Hills Christian Church in Northern CA. Procession of palms with children.

Holy Thursday 6:30 p.m.

A service of communion remembering the Last Supper which will move into Tenebrae, the service of growing darkness.

Good Friday, 1 p.m.

A service of quiet meditation on the crucifixion.

Easter, 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

A celebration of the resurrection with brass, bells, choir, and holy communion.

February 6, 2018

St. Mark’s Annual Living Nativity

And, something new:

The Bethlehem Marketplace with a Soup Supper

All children everywhere are invited to participate as angels and shepherds in the dramatic telling of the birth of Jesus. No rehearsal necessary. We provide costumes. Simply show up at the church office at 5:00 on the night of Living Nativity, Saturday, December 16. Adult educators will see that your child gets to the stage on time. The action takes place outside in front of the church. All guests will enjoy the presentation of the Holy Family, Magi entourage, crazy camel,  shepherds, angels, and live animals.   Something new this year: The Bethlehem Marketplace. When the drama finishes, guests will process past the nativity on their way to the Marketplace in Bethlehem. There, enjoy a Soup Supper for a small fee in the fundraising efforts of St. Mark’s youth.

Also, kids will enjoy the petting corral with live animals; pound Roman coin; visit the Spice Shop; create royal crowns; pose at the photo booth; revel in Christmas art; and delight in the cookie and hot cocoa reception. Questions? Email Karen at kwscanlon@gmail.com or call the church office 858 273-1480. See you in Bethlehem. Shalom!

Francis of Assisi, Italy, was born October 3, 1182. The son of a prosperous silk merchant, young Francis reveled in the life of his wealthy family. He went off to war in 1204 but experienced a divine vision and later joined the poor in begging at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. The experience moved him to live in poverty, and he began preaching the Gospel in the streets.

The young preacher was never ordained to the Catholic priest-hood, yet Francis remains one of the most venerated religious figures in history. He was proclaimed saint by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. St. Francis is known as the Patron Saint of Animals, and it is customary to hold annual ceremonies blessing animals near his feast day in early October.

St. Mark’s looks forward to having you among us on Sunday morning, October 1, for the fourth annual Blessing of the Animals. Come and meet volunteers who foster and rescue, and others who promote the bond between humans and animals. Enjoy a simple service and a chance to meet other eager pet ‘parents’.

“Every beast of the earth and every bird of the heavens, every-thing that has the breath of life, God has given.” (Genesis 1:30)
No wonder a dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

This women’s retreat is an opportunity for each woman attending to reflect upon who she is and discover what God has and is calling her to do.  It is to acknowledge that barriers are sometimes in the way and to determine when and how God is calling her to break through the boundaries that threaten to hold her back.

We will study three women from the New Testament who were challenged to make those discoveries and then act upon them.

1. A disgraced woman needing forgiveness and new direction
2. An unclean woman needing healing and restoration
3. A foreign woman needing courage to obtain healing for her daughter with an unclean spirit

Through music, discussion, and activities we will have the opportunity to discover who we are, and the One who calls us into boldness. Please remember to bring your bibles and come, let us discover together what God’s written and living Word will show us!

About the retreat leader…

Reverend Virginia Brown is an Honorably Retired Minister of Word and Sacrament, in the Presbyterian Church, USA.  She has always had a passion for helping women and children.  After graduating from college she worked for 19 years in the field of Human/Social Services.  In 1987, as a divorced, single parent of one daughter, she entered seminary.  After 3 challenging years she graduated, earning a Master of Divinity Degree.

Virginia has served as Associate Pastor, Interim Pastor, and Designated Pastor.  In those positions she learned a lot about caring for people, and breaking through barriers. Barriers were erected not only against her as a female pastor, but also toward those she served due to race, creed, age, sexual orientation and religious beliefs.

In 2001, she entered a one year residency program for clinical pastoral education, at Sharp Memorial Hospital.  She subsequently became a chaplain for the next three and a half years at Grossmont and Mesa Vista Hospitals.  She learned again the challenges of barriers against patients with various kinds of medical/mental challenges, and challenges to her credibility to work with a variety of patients due to being a chaplain as opposed to medical staff.

It is Rev. Brown’s conviction that salvation means we are made whole in Jesus Christ, that fuels her to help women, men, and children break through the boundaries which hold us back. She truly believes that in Jesus Christ we are one.

You are invited to a workshop designed for parents of preschool-aged children to develop tools to:

• Make sense of social-emotional, physical, and cognitive development
• Explore self-regulation and how to build your child’s capacity for calm (and maybe yours, too!)
• Harness your own ability to capture everyday learning opportunities

Presenters are mother and daughter:

Karen Scanlon, Early Childhood Educator
Lizzie Scanlon, Pediatric Occupational Therapist

Saturday, March 11, 2017, 9 am to 1 pm

St. Mark’s United Methodist Church
3502 Clairemont Dr. San Diego, CA 92117
Social Hall
Childcare available for ages 2+

Register by March 8

Registration Fee: $10
Includes Lunch

Contact Us

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Name *

First

Last *

Last

Phone Number

Email *

Will you need childcare? (enter number of children & ages)

Do you have any special dietary needs for lunch?

Captcha