St. Mary's Chapel

For information on the offerings below,
please view the reader board in the Narthex
or call the church office at 563-3341.

We hope to update you on the Adult Education program starting after Labor Day in the near future.

Christian education comes alive each Sunday at St. Mary's for our children and youth! We have Sunday School classes September through May, between the two morning Services, starting at 10:30 and continuing until 11:20 a.m.  Students 3 years of age through those entering 12th grade can register and throughout the year.  We are blessed to have at least two dedicated teachers in every classroom. Most teams are couples, providing both male and female role models. The “Episcopal Children's Curriculum” is used predominately for preschool through sixth grade.   The Junior and Senior High classes revolve around life application of faith formation in an informal setting, led by an experienced and enthusiastic male/female teaching team.

For more information see Children's Ministry

Education for Ministry (EFM) is a four-year non-degree program of theological education at a distance.   EFM is an international and interdenominational program for the laity with approximately 9,000 students enrolled around the world.  The academic content of the course is rigorous and captivating.  The Episcopal Diocese of Alaska supports the EFM program by contracting with the School of Theology at Sewanee.  This enables participants within Alaska to enroll in the program at a reduced annual rate.

Participants enrolling in the program are asked to commit for one year at a time.   Seminars run from September through May.  The cost per year is $340.00.  At the end of the four-year course of Education for Ministry, 72 continuing education units (CEU) may be awarded by The University of the South, School of Theology at Sewanee.

EFM was first conceived as a way of preparing people for ordained ministry without demanding a move to seminary.  It quickly found a niche, however, providing quality theological education for people who had reached that time in life when they truly sought the answer to the question: “What does my life mean in relationship to God and my neighbor?”  This is a spiritual as well as an ethical question.  The answers arise from theology, as we discover inklings of ultimate meaning in development of our theology and how that theology can shape our ministry.

EFM enhances the quality of our theological understanding.  We learn to think theologically in a community of people in which Christ exists.   This community we call the Church.  We learn by active discussion and engagement in theological thinking.  During the four year process we are brought to an awareness of our cultural backgrounds and biblical traditions, using them to examine our personal assumptions (Positions) and personal behaviors (Actions).  We draw on the experiences and reflections of the whole group as we seek to reach a deeper, richer understanding of our issues.

St Mary's Episcopal Church hosts three seminar classes a week.

Contact the staff at St. Mary's office for more information, or Ann Scally, Diocesan Coordinator, at scally@alaska.net.

One long-time Bible Workbench leader says, "The basic assumption of the method is that the biblical text is in my life and that my life is mirrored in that same Bible text.  The trick is trusting the text and letting it have its say."

Bible Workbench offers a chance to work individually and in a group to reach a fuller appreciation of each Sunday's Bible readings.  Class members work on their own with a series of questions and activities based on readings for the next Sunday in a workbook, then meet for an hour and a half to share ideas and consider the reading as a group.  Discussions focus on what the text is saying, how it speaks to the world and to the events in our lives.

     2nd Wednesday: Dinner together at the Greek Corner Restaurant, 6:30 p.m.
     1st & 4th Wednesdays: Study & discussion at Title Wave Books, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

St. Mary's Creative Playschool for 3 and 4 year olds offers a weekday enrichment program for preschoolers.  Call the Playschool at 563-7840.

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An amazing group of women (really!) who meet starting in fall on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.  The meetings begin at 11 a.m. in Cay's room.  There is time for study, fellowship and prayer.  All women are welcome.

Please bring your own lunch.

Clergy and Lay Pastoral Ministers provide pastoral care for anyone who is ill, shut in, or otherwise in need. Immediately after the Sunday congregational communion service, Lay Eucharistic Ministers take communion to the sick and shut in. Call the church office for more information.

Stephen Ministers are carefully selected, trained, supervised, and commissioned to care for the needs of people at St. Mary's.  They reach out to individual members in time of need and visit newcomers in a one-to-one ministry. A continuous, conscious effort is made to maintain the bond of trust between the person receiving care and the caregiver. The helping relationship focuses on the unique needs of each person and lasts as long as the needs exist.

A group of dedicated individuals committed to prayer. Call the church office for more information.

Martha's pantry provides a way for St. Mary's to help parishioners who have had temporary trauma in their lives through a hospital stay or illness, a new baby, or moving to a new home.  We supply food for two or three days at most.  Donated food items are kept frozen and then delivered by volunteers as needed.  If you are cooking something that can be easily doubled, you may put the portion you want to share in a disposable container. Please mark it with a note briefly describing the contents and the date it was cooked.  Bring it to church or call the office and someone will help you to find the freezer for Martha's pantry.

The Bean's Team spends about one hour on one day each month serving lunch at Bean's Cafe. Additional helpers are always welcome. Call the Outreach and Service person on the Vestry or the office for more information.

We provide dinners once a month for up to 45 women and children staying at Clare House, a shelter for women and children. Call the Outreach and Service person on the Vestry or the office for more information.

Provides lunch one day each month.

Includes the Altar Guild, ushers, greeters, acolytes, teachers of adults and children, spiritual directors, and members of the Vestry and of Vestry Committees.  These ministries offer diverse ways for us to become involved and to support the life of our parish. Call the office for more information.

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The Fellowship Committee organizes get-togethers like Jesus' Birthday Party (after the children's Christmas Eve service), Seder Dinner (before the Maundy Thursday service), potluck dinners, picnics and other social functions and celebrations throughout the year. Call the Fellowship person on the Vestry or the office.

The Coffee pot is on and snack food is available at the kitchen end of Waldron Hall every Sunday morning so people can gather for conversation and get to know one another between and after the Sunday services.  Open to everyone to drop in.

Three wonderful choirs offer musical praise and enjoyment.   The 9 a.m. choir offers more traditional worship music, the Praise Singers are a folk and gospel choir, and Sing! Worship is a more contemporary group. During the summer, the three groups take turns providing music for the 10 a.m. service.

September through May, two services provide music, one at 9 a.m. and one at 11:30 a.m.   The more traditional choir sings at the 9 a.m. service. They rehearse at 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays, and Sunday mornings at 8 in the sanctuary.   If you'd like to sing, simply come to practice.   For more information, call Marilyn Barry at 243-4039.   The other two, Sing! Worship and the Praise Singers alternate singing for the 11:30 morning service.   The Praise Singers sing on the first and third Sundays, with Sing!Worship singing the second and fourth.  

The Praise Singers practice in the sanctuary at 10:20 a.m. prior to the 11:30 service on the Sundays which they sing.   If you're interested in joining, call Wade Hampton Miller at 688-4418.   Sing!Worship practices on Sunday mornings at 9:30 in the Chapel.   All are welcome to join Sing! Worship.   For more information you may call Patric D'Eimon at 279-6900.

St. Mary's Youth gather by the Jesus Java coffee cart on Sunday mornings before and after Sunday school classes.  They work at the coffee cart as a fundraiser for their activities.  You may call the vestry person or the office for more information on youth activities.

Throughout the year special work parties help out by preparing the grounds for summer, preparing the church for Christmas, Easter and other special occasions, and by completing special projects as they come up.  All are welcome to lend their own talents.  Watch for announcements and come as needed

They meet the third Tuesday of each month for a delicious dinner which they cook for themselves and the community. There is a program with speaker after dinner.  They earn funds for special projects by catering banquets for various groups around town.  Call the office for more information.

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This is a week-end retreat of spiritual renewal and refreshment.  It is an opportunity to share with others and to discover what Christianity and the Episcopal Church are all about. It is held in the Spring time.  Call Tay Thomas (346-3468) or the office for more information.

Boy Scout Troop 8, for boys ages 11 to 18 meets Monday evenings.  Call  the office for more information.

Friends In Service to Humanity is an ecumenical program founded and housed at St. Mary's.  It provides food to hungry families in the Anchorage area.  We support F.I.S.H. by supplying 15-20 pounds of peanut butter a week and with gifts of other food and money.  Call Grace Johnson (376-6770).