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Who We
Are |
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St. Mark's
Mission |
As the Cathedral for the Diocese of Olympia,
Saint Mark's seeks to be a place where all people encounter the living God and the
reconciling Gospel of Jesus Christ. |
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| Anglicanism |
Saint Mark's is the Cathedral church of the
Diocese of Olympia. The Diocese of Olympia is a part of the Episcopal Church.
In turn, the Episcopal Church is affiliated with the world-wide Anglican Communion.
(This includes the Church of England, the Church of Canada, and many others.)
Anglicanism grew out of the unique historical circumstances of the late sixteen-
and early seventeenth-century England, which was marked by a powerful sense of national
identity and whose populace was split between Catholics and Protestants. Long
before the Protestant Reformation, the English church was notorious for its sense of
independence. Finally severed from Rome under Henry VIII, the Anglican Church took
shape theologically under Henry's three children: Edward VI, a firm Protestant who
reigned for six years, long enough to institute the first Book of Common Prayer, a
decidedly Protestant document; Mary I, a devout Catholic who reigned for five years,
long enough to reinstate certain Catholic practices that Edward had proscribed; and
finally the Pragmatic Elizabeth, who in her forty-year reign labored brilliantly to forge
not only a society but an established church that was broad enough to include all but the
most extreme Catholics and Protestants.
The result was--and is--a church of astonishing theological breadth. But it
is not breadth in a lax, lazy, anything-goes sense. The Anglican Church, when truest
to its own theological traditions, views the mind not as a potential instrument of the
Devil but as a gift of God. And it takes seriously the idea of the community of
faith as a context within which people from different backgrounds and with varying
perspectives can openly share their experiences of God, can attend to one another in a
spirit of love, and can thereby gain insights that may help every member of the community
to move somewhat closer to God's truth.(From
Stealing Jesus by Bruce Bawer) |
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The People of St. Mark's
Saint Mark's Staff
Saint Mark's Vestry
A Discussion of Our Beliefs
The Catechism: An
Outline of the Faith
The Church Community
The
Publications of Saint Mark's including our Ministry Resource Guide
which lists our many ministries and contact information for each.
Directions to Saint Mark's
Map
& Driving Instructions provided by 
Saint Mark's is easily accessed from downtown by Metro Bus
#49 (Route) or
visit the King County Metro web site at transit.metrokc.gov
to plan your trip to Saint Mark's.
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