A Forum with Braver Angels

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 7–8:30 P.M., in Bloedel Hall or online via Zoom

NOTE UPDATED TIME!*

Register here to attend in person in Bloedel Hall*

Register here to participate online via Zoom

Capacity for the in-person event is strictly limited. If you register, but your plans change and you can no longer attend in person, please email Erik Donner in the cathedral office at edonner@saintmarks.org to cancel your reservation. You may register to participate online via Zoom at any time up to the day of the event.

*PLEASE NOTE: Both in-person Evening Prayer and Community Dinner will be offered as usual this Wednesday, at 5:30 and 6 p.m., respectively. As always, food service will end promptly at 6:30. To allow time to re-arrange Bloedel Hall, the forum itself will begin at 7 p.m. and continue until 8:30 p.m. (slightly later than a normal Cathedral Commons offering).

Civil discourse requires mutual respect. Respect, not agreement, is an essential key for a healthy discussion. This workshop addresses how we may inadvertently be complicit in, or possibly even encourage, polarization.

What is the Depolarizing Ourselves Introductory Workshop?

The Depolarizing Ourselves Introductory Workshop is designed to help you lessen the effects of polarization when you encounter them in your political conversations. Note that by “polarization,” we are not referring to healthy disagreements over issues or philosophy. We are talking about how we regard and talk about large groups of ordinary people on the other side of our own politics as if they were enemies.

This is a group session that is approximately 1.5 hours long. It is led by a volunteer Braver Angels Facilitator. Braver Angels is a non-religious organization that develops educational tools to build bridges between people divided over politics. We also partner with religious and other groups who use our tools in the context of their own traditions.

Goals

To teach participants:

• How to be more aware of their own “inner polarizer”.
• How to interact without demonizing, dismissing or stereotyping large swaths of the population.

In our current political climate, much of our conflict stems not from healthy disagreement over policies, issues, or philosophy. Instead, it’s created by the often emotional, rancor-escalating, and highly polarizing conversations that we typically have with others. Braver Angels has created our Depolarizing Ourselves Workshop to help you reframe how you view the other side in the face of disagreements around politics. Successfully ‘taming’ our inner polarizer starts with recognizing our tendencies around harmful generalizations about the other side. This requires acknowledging how we often attribute negative intent and motivations to the other side without first trying to understand them.

Register here to attend in person in Bloedel Hall*

Register here to participate online via Zoom

*NOTE: Capacity for the in-person event is strictly limited. If you register, but your plans change and you can no longer attend in person, please email Erik Donner in the cathedral office at edonner@saintmarks.org to cancel your reservation. You may register to participate online via Zoom at any time up to the day of the event.

From January 26 through February 23, 2025, almost one hundred members of the Saint Mark’s community responded to a Social Media Survey conducted by the Saint Mark’s Communications Committee to learn more about current social media usage in the cathedral parish. Using a combination of online Survey Monkey and paper surveys, ninety-eight adults provided information about their general social media usage and specific information about how they use social media in their day-to-day lives about events and news related to Saint Mark’s and more generally. Their responses provided a helpful picture of how parishioners learn about events and use the various communication resources at the Cathedral.

Who participated in the survey?

Of the ninety-eight respondents, 14% were in the 25-39 year range, 21% were 40–59 years of age, and 64% were sixty years old or more. Service participation was distributed with 3% from the 8 a.m. service, 30% from the 9 a.m. service, and 49% from the in-person 11 a.m. service.  Fourteen percent reported they were primarily online attenders of the 11 a.m. service, and three percent participating in other services, such as evening prayer or Taizé. Respondents participated with paper surveys or online surveys that were based on QR code links and publicized in Saint Mark’s publications for a four-week period, starting at the parish annual meeting on January 26.

Results

When asked about their general usage and frequency of posting on social media, Facebook and Instagram were the clear favorites with 62% using Facebook and 43% using Instagram Sometimes or Often. X/Twitter was frequented by about 6% of the respondents, and Bluesky was used by about 17% of the respondents. TikTok was not frequently used with this older group of respondents with only about one percent reporting having used it in the past three months.

With respect to Saint Mark’s related events and news, 57% said they had used Facebook and 22% used Instagram over the past three months. Slack was used by 11%, and Bluesky by 3%. X/Twitter and TikTok were around almost nonexistent since Saint Mark’s does not use these social media platforms for cathedral communications. When asked about their actual posting of content, Facebook was the clear winner with 35% posting something Sometimes or Often. Instagram was 19%, and Slack and Bluesky were not far behind—14% and 10%, respectively.

With the social media landscape constantly changing, especially with the arrival of Bluesky on the scene, 61% percent of the respondents expected their social media choices to remain the same in the near future, fourteen percent expect it to change, and 24% marked Unsure at the time of survey.

Comments and Suggestions

Respondents also had the opportunity to provide some narrative responses, and these reflected the larger landscape of communications at Saint Mark’s. Three questions were used to provide information in this area. When asked about where and how respondents most frequently find out about Saint Mark’s events and news, the responses provided a broader picture of communications usage in the parish. The emailed newsletter on Fridays was cited by 52% of respondents and 44% of respondents mentioned the service bulletin insert Sundays & Beyond as a place they turned to for information. Thirty-four percent utilized Saint Mark’s website for information. A handful of respondents mentioned “coming to church” and word of mouth as ways they learned about events, including announcements made during services. Two respondents said they rely on their spouse for information. Almost twenty percent [19.4%] mentioned direct email communications from Saint Mark’s about specific events such as upcoming programs and concerts as well as deaths in the parish as a form of communication they relied on.

With respect to what they enjoy about Saint Mark’s social media content on Facebook and Instagram, the answers varied widely. Photographs were mentioned by 26% of the sixty-nine respondents to this question with specific praise for Kevin Johnson’s contributions in this area. Other things that were mentioned included information about events in the parish, and sermons and liturgies and programs that are both livestreamed and available on YouTube or through the Saint Mark’s website. Stories of personal engagement by parish clergy and members were also valued. Some 30 percent of the respondents to this question reiterated their non-use of social media.

When asked what Saint Mark’s should be doing differently on social media, to this question twenty one out of fifty-two respondents (50%) said they did not know, but others had clear opinions. There was an emphasis on focusing on various ministries, especially linking Saint Mark’s ministries to other groups and programs in the Seattle community.  One person wrote that it would be helpful to include short-form stories of parishioners, ministries, and ministry partners to help “create a greater sense of connection, curiosity, and understanding within the church and beyond.” Another person stressed the need to follow the social media preferences of younger parishioners “because the future depends on them.”  Another respondent stressed the need for “promoting what it means to be an Episcopalian and a Christian in these challenging times.” Others mentioned ethical and privacy concerns about the use of some social media platforms and urged consideration of this complex topic and possible changes in Saint Mark’s social media choices.

Questions about this survey and its results can be directed to Communications Director Gregory Bloch at gbloch@saintmarks.org.

Blessing of the Animals and St. Francis Day Celebration

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2025, 4:30 P.M., on the front patio and outdoor labyrinth 

On Saturday, October 4, Saint Mark’s will once again offer its beloved Saint Francis Day tradition. This Saturday afternoon outdoor offering has a truly festive community atmosphere. The cathedral extends a special invitation to folks in the neighborhood who may not usually attend Saint Mark’s. Dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, ponies, chickens, and all creatures great and small are welcome.

The service at 4:30 p.m. includes prayers for healing humanity’s relationship with the earth, and for all the creatures who share the earth with us. Music will be offered by the young choristers of the Choir School. After the service, animals can receive an individual blessing from a priest if desired. A festive reception with treats for pets and people will conclude the afternoon.

All are invited to attend, with or without their animal companions. Stuffed animals are also welcome to be blessed, as are photographs of pets who would not find attending the event a blessed experience. Animals should remain leashed or kenneled. You are welcome to bring your own chair to use on the lawn, although chairs will also be provided.

"Celebrating Creation"

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2025 (Labor Day), 10 A.M.–2 P.M., in the cathedral nave

A cathedral open day of wonder, experiences, making, and learning about the natural world.

AT 10 A.M.

• Gather on the outdoor labyrinth for Forest Bathing in the Saint Mark's Greenbelt led by Saint Mark's Community member Brian Sellers-Petersen.

AT 11 A.M.

• An information chat/Q&A with the Saint Mark's Cathedral beekeepers• Join the Saint Mark's Quilt Ministry to design and construct a quilt with fabrics inspired by nature, to be given to Donna Jean's Place women's shelter. No quilting/sewing experience necessary!

Ongoing opportunities indoors and out

• explore the Saint Mark’s Greenbelt and gardens• learn about our watershed and local wildlife• self-directed nature meditations• nature scavenger hunt

Activities for all ages

• water play
• giant bubbles
• windowsill gardening
• make seed balls
• decorate a walking stick
• make a nature mandala

AT 1 P.M.

• Live music in the cathedral nave with Clarke Reid

ONGOING OFFERINGS

• CATHEDRAL TOURS: A tour of the cathedral, telling the story of this unique building and visiting some little-seen spaces in the crypt, is offered immediately following the 11 a.m. service on the last Sunday of each month. Gather under the clock in the rear of the nave after the liturgy concludes. At about 12:30, the group will move to Thomsen Chapel to begin the tour.

• LABYRINTH: Walk the outdoor labyrinth on the front lawn (accessible 24 hours a day) or the indoor labyrinth in Compline Corner (whenever the nave is open). Finger labyrinths will also be available, along with a selection of books and materials for all ages about engaging with the labyrinth as a spiritual tool.

• GARDENS: Bring your own picnic on the front lawn and enjoy the beautiful ornamental plantings by the Garden Ministry, explore the Saint Mark’s Greenbelt, and visit the Leffler Vegetable Garden (when it is open on Sundays and Wednesdays). Check out the Seed Library in the cathedral nave, where you can take seeds for planting and bring seeds from your own garden for others to use. Engaging with the gardens and gardening serves as an invitation to consider Creation Care as a spiritual practice.

• CHILDREN'S CORNER: Whenever the cathedral is open, so is the Children's Corner, with a variety of creative and reflective activities appropriate for a range of ages, along with a curated selection of picture books and toys. A cathedral coloring book and a family guide will be available.

Art Installations by Sandy Nelson 

Three large-scale installations by artist, designer, and cathedral community member Sandy Nelson, titled Communion of Saints, Waters of Baptism, and Hands of Pilgrimage, will be on display in the cathedral nave for the duration of the Sacred Spaces offerings. All three were created in collaboration with members of the Saint Mark's community of all ages. Hear Sandy explain each of the works in the videos below.