THE WEEKLY NEWS - St. Mark's Episcopal Church

Pilgrimage to Kenya Builds Partnership with St. James
St. Mark’s to forge new school
partnership in Kenya
Carrying bags of pencils,
pens and boxes of crayons ‐
‐ not to mention pockets
full of candy, ten St. Mark’s
parishioners will walk off
the plane and across the
tarmac in Eldoret, Kenya,
on October 20. Dozens of
Kenyans will be anxiously
waiting to welcome them.
For five days, our
parishioners will build
lasting partnerships with
our friends at St. James
Anglican Church in
Kebuson. The group will
visit schools where the 31
students being supported
by St. Mark’s Church and
School attend, and they will
visit some of the 34 farmers
we support each year by
purchasing seed and
fertilizer. These farmers
are mostly older and very
poor women who are
raising the children of
whose parents have died
from AIDS. During their
stay, our parishioners will
live in shambas (small
homes made of dirt and
cow dung).
Pastor Lisa, St. Mark’s
School chaplain, will forge a
new partnership between
St. Mark’s School and
Kaplelach School. The team
will also visit with diocesan
Bishop Christopher Rutto
and other good friends,
including the Rev. Paul
Korir, who visited St. Mark’s
several years ago, and
Mama Ada Kuto, who is the
visionary of this
partnership.
The Rev. Jim Cook and
his wife, Karen, and son,
Nate, will also travel along
with the Rev. Michael
McManus and his wife,
Cathleen; Donna Raney,
Marlene Everitt (senior
warden), Renee Restino
and Devon Placido. For
more information about
the partnership between
St. Mark’s and St. James
and how you can help send
a student to school, provide
seed for farmers, or assist
with start‐up funds for
small businesses, visit
mamaadafoundation.org or
watch for information after
our team returns from the
pilgrimage on October 28.
St. Mark’s to Host “Hearts of Palm” Mission
Hearts of Palm will host five,
one‐week sessions from
mid‐June through mid‐July
Imagine 150 missioners
from churches around the
country serving northern
Palm Beach County for a
week’s visit, while sleeping,
eating and resting at
St. Mark’s Youth Center and
Gymnasium, and you will
see the vision of Hearts of
Palm, a new mission being
created by St. Mark’s.
Modeled after other
mission sites that our youth
visit each summer, Hearts
of Palm will host five, oneweek
sessions from mid‐
June through mid‐July.
Our staff and other local
leaders will coordinate
work sites around the
county where service work
occurs during the day. At
night, the visiting groups
will stay in the youth center
and gym and have access to
showers, the athletic fields
and the safe, secure setting
of St. Mark’s.
Hearts of Palm will also
organize meals and social
events that are typical for
summer mission work so
popular among churches of
all denominations and
sizes.
Although Hearts of Palm
is in the early stages of
design and development,
St. Mark’s is excited to take
a leadership role in offering
a quality mission site in
south Florida. Access to
the beaches, proximity to
Disney and the wide range
of service opportunities in
Palm Beach County make
this a great mission‐site
location.
“Hearts of Palm also has
the potential to become a
serious revenue stream for
St. Mark’s,” says the Rev.
Jim Cook. “Not only can we
do God’s work in the local
community, we can be
good stewards of our
buildings and other
resources at the same time.
We are excited about this
new opportunity made
possible by the new
building at Robb Field!”