Christian Formation & Education


Our Mission:
To know Christ and to make Christ known

 

Useful links to further your knowledge

 

For More Information
 Father Dan at 760-346-2697 Ext 105
Shivaun Nelson at 760-346-2697 Ext 147

 

 

The Garden, The Desert, The City - Lenten Quiet Day on February 16th

Get away from the noise, from the overcrowded schedule, from the many distractions that compete for your attention. Come to the St. Margaret’s Lenten Quiet Day entitled "The Garden, the Desert, and the City" on Saturday, February 16th beginning at 10:00 in our beautiful St. Margaret’s Chapel (lower level of the church).

The Rev. Clark Trafton will serve as the Quiet Day Leader. He will offer three meditations to punctuate the Quiet and guide your own reflection: The Garden, The Desert, and The City. After all, the people of God began in the Garden; later in their journey with God they traveled through the desert and their destination became the holy city.

Come to the Quiet, come to see how your journey and maturing relationship with God mirrors the journey of the People of God told in our Bible. The Lenten Quiet Day will finish with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist in our Chapel.

Participants are asked to bring their own lunch, we will provide beverages and snacks throughout the day.

For more information contact Father Dan at 760-346-2697 Ext 105

About the Rev. Clark Trafton

The Rev. Clark W. Trafton, D.D. a priest of the Diocese of California, was born and raised in Iowa. He attended Iowa State University (BA and MA in Mathematics) and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

He was ordained deacon and priest in 1960, and for five years was vicar of three small mission congregations in Iowa. He then joined the Order of the Holy Cross, an Episcopal monastic order, where he served as Prior, Novice Master, and Superior. While a monk, he trained at the Westchester Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.

In 1992 he left the Order and practiced as a psychotherapist in New York City. In the last 15 years he also served as Interim Pastor at seven Episcopal Churches in the New York City area.

He retired and moved to the desert with his partner of 13 years, Lewis Kerman, in the summer of 2005. He regularly assists with Services at St. Margaret's in his "active retirement."
 

Living Well Wednesday Program offers something for everyone

Living Well is Christian Formation and Education at St. Margaret's. The Wednesday Program for our parishioners, their families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances is being offered that all might live well. Our Wednesday Program provides opportunity to grow into the maturity of Christ through fellowship, worship, study, and prayer (and even Service if you choose to help prepare the evening meal).

Program Schedule:

3:00 pm -- Children's Program with Shivaun Nelson and helpers

4:00 pm -- Afternoon classes

5:30 pm -- Service of Holy Communion (Chapel, lower level of the church)

6:00 pm -- Dinner in Karns

6:45 pm -- Evening classes

The classes being offered as we begin again:

At 4:00 pm --

Messy Spirituality

Facilitator: Father Dan

Wednesdays, 4 – 5:15 pm

Office Conference Room

Beginning with everyday experiences, everyday dilemmas, and everyday routines soar into the realm of spirituality with kindred seekers. Using materials from television, radio, the internet, newspapers and magazines, using events in our own homes, schools, workplaces, and community, those who gather will talk about how this world shapes and informs their spirituality and how their unique spirituality shapes and informs their world. All that is necessary to participate in this class is a desire to share, a willingness to listen to others, and a heart open to grace-filled possibilities.

 

At 6:45 pm --

Bible Study

Facilitator: Ed Thayer

Wednesdays, 6:45 – 8:00 pm

Karns Hall

Ed are currently exploring the Book of Isaiah in this segment of our Wednesday Evening Program.

 

It is the intent of the Living Well Board to listen to you: what classes/topics would you like to have offered? What days would you be able to participate in classes? Are there day trips (to museums or special exhibitions) that would be of interest to you and your friends? Contact Father Dan or Shivaun Nelson with your ideas, requests, likes, dislikes, and so on. These will be taken up by the Living Well Board and shape the future of Christian Formation at St. Margaret's.

 

Come and See offered on Sunday Mornings

Living Well: Christian Formation at St. Margaret's will move into the Sunday morning hours as we begin our 3-Service Sundays on September 30th. Two education times are being planned and leaders being recruited so that young and old alike may come to worship our Lord in Sunday Services of Holy Communion and grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord in Sunday morning classes.

Sunday Worship Schedule (beginning September 30, 2007)

Current Sunday Morning Offerings:

 

First Communion Class

Facilitator: Shivaun Nelson

Sundays, 9:45 - 10:30

Family Resource Center (lower level of the church, parking lot side)

This class is for children who have never taken communion before and children who want to have the opportunity to learn a little more about the sacrament. Classes will be after the 9:00 am Service at 9:45 in the Family Resource Center: February 17th, February 24th, March 2nd, March 9th and March 16th. The congregation will recognize their achievement on April 6th at the 9 am service (The children and their families
will take communion first.)

For more information call Shivaun at 760-346-2697 ext 147 or email snelson@stmargarets.org

 

What does it mean? Lectionary Bible Study

Facilitator: Shared within the group

Sundays, 8:45 - 9:30 and 9:45 - 10:30

Lee 1

Using the lessons appointed for the Sunday, the group explores the riches of the Word of God used in worship. Come with an open mind, your bible, your questions, your experiences and understanding, and your willingness to listen to others and share your insights with others. Group members often bring supplemental material (art, essays, research on the passages) to share with the group.

 

Town Hall Meeting

Facilitator: Father Roger and helpers

Sunday, March 30, 2008 (Annual Meeting on Feb 10, 2008)

Karns Hall

Come together as a group to ask your questions and listen to each other as a topic of interest to the parish family is presented and discussed among all who gather. The Town Hall Meeting will be a monthly fare generally on the 4th Sunday of each month. This March meeting will serve to introduce the work of our newly elected Vestry.

 

It is the intent of the Living Well Board to listen to you: what classes/topics would you like to have offered? What days would you be able to participate in classes? Are there day trips (to museums or special exhibitions) that would be of interest to you and your friends? Contact Father Dan or Shivaun Nelson with your ideas, requests, likes, dislikes, and so on. These will be taken up by the Living Well Board and shape the future of Christian Formation at St. Margaret's.

 

Adoptive Parents to meet Sunday, April 6, 2008

You are invited to join others for a Sunday morning meeting of parents who have adopted children into their hearts and families:

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church

Sunday, April 6, 2008

9:30 am in Lee 2 (a classroom adjacent to the patio)

Meet other “adoptive parents”. Ask your questions, share your wisdom and resources, and care for one another. Come and help the group decide how best to be of support to each other.

Nursery Care is provided for infants through five year olds.

The whole family is welcome in worship. At 10:30 am we offer a Service of Holy Communion in a traditional manner with the assistance of our Adult Choir. Children can attend Kids Word, hearing God's word, singing and praying with other children, rejoining parents for Holy Communion in the Sanctuary.

Breakfast is served from 8:30 am until Noon, making it possible to come for worship, for caring and support, and for fellowship over breakfast. Please join the St. Margaret's Family for all or part of the morning.

For more information contact Father Dan at 760-346-2697 Ext 105

 

Parishioners reminded to shop Maggie's Corner for that book to help with Christian formation

Patty Walker, Manager of Maggie's Corner, reminds all parishioners, their families, friends, and neighbors, that the book you heard about in a sermon, on the radio, referred to in the newspaper or on the television is available at Maggie's Corner. If not in the store itself, then it is available to you online through Amazon.com (and if you enter Amazon.com through our site, Maggie's Corner shares in the sale). Not only will you help yourself as you purchase the book, but you will also help this important ministry of Christian Formation at St. Margaret's.

Another starting point for your Amazon order through Maggie's

More about Maggie's Corner--St. Margaret's Book and Gift Store

 

The Labyrinth is always available at St. Margaret's

The Labyrinth is a spiritual tool used for centuries by those seeking to know the Lord and the Lord's will. Learn more about the Labyrinth as a spiritual tool; learn more about the Labyrinth at St. Margaret's: The Labyrinth Brochure as a PDF file (183 KB). The Labyrinth is available for your use whenever the Spirit moves you. During the weekdays of the school year, be advised, the patio area is noisy and energetic with the students of St. Margaret's Episcopal School.

Grace Cathedral in San Francisco features both an indoor and an outdoor labyrinth. The Cathedral website offers further insight into the labyrinth and how to use the labyrinth in your spiritual nurture and growth: The Cathedral Labyrinths

Veriditas is the "Voice of the Labyrinth Movement." The Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress who has written extensively and definitively about the labyrinth is the President and Founder of Veriditas. You will find additional materials and insight about the labyrinth by visiting their site: Veriditas

 

 

Forward Movement Publications only a click away

In their own words Forward Movement Publications "is an official agency of the national Episcopal Church. Since 1935 we have produced pamphlets, booklets, and books to encourage and nourish people as they grow in their lives of prayer and faith. We are best known for the popular quarterly devotional Forward Day by Day, providing daily meditations based on readings from the Bible appointed by the lectionaries."

Parishioners of and visitors to St. Margaret's will find many Forward Movement publications in the Narthex of the church. As a parish, however, we are unable to stock every publication produced by Forward Movement. Now, from the comfort of your home, you can help yourself to the publication that you most want to read. Follow the link (below) to Forward Movement and search for and purchase that help you most need or want for yourself or a loved one. Father Dan uses and recommends the publications of Forward Movement.

Browse and Shop Forward Movement Publications

 

 

General Convention finishes its work in Columbus, Ohio

Every three years Bishops and Deputies (other clergy and laity) from the Episcopal Church gather for General Convention. This year, in Columbus, Ohio, the 75th General Convention met June 13-21. Father Robert was a clergy deputy to the General Convention from our Diocese of San Diego. Bishop Mathes, of course, is a member of the House of Bishops and helped elect our next Presiding Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Bishop Katharine will be our 26th Presiding Bishop beginning November 1, 2006.

Learn more about the General Convention and the work it accomplished by viewing the General Convention Web Page maintained by the Episcopal Church.

 

Opportunities offered for children and youth to grow in the Lord

Children and youth at St. Margaret's are invited to participate in the fun, fellowship, and formation in the Christian life through our Youth and Family Ministries. Shivaun Nelson, our Youth and Family Minister, is constantly creating new ways for our children and youth to enter fully into the life of St. Margaret's Church and the Christian faith: in worship, in service, in fellowship, in learning, in bringing others to Christ.

Check out the current possibilities detailed on our Youth and Family Page.

 

St. John's Bible is an extraordinary contemporary effort to honor the Word of God


The St. John's Bible is a beautiful work in progress, for the greater glory of God. In the ancient tradition, this bible is handwritten and richly illuminated by a team of calligraphers and artists. This extraordinary hand-illuminated Bible interprets and illustrates Holy Scripture reflecting today's cultures and the scientific and technological changes of the world today in powerful imagery.


The Saint John's Bible was born out of a lifelong dream of one man, Donald Jackson, to hand-write the Word of God. In 1998, after many months of collaboration and prayer, St. John's University and Abbey commissioned Jackson to create a hand-written Bible.
 

You can learn more about The Saint John's Bible by visiting their website: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/

 

 

 

Contemplative Prayer Group meets weekly at St. Francis Church in La Quinta

If you would like to learn about Centering Prayer and Contemplative Prayer and this way of living, there is a group that meets every Monday morning at 10 am in the chapel at St. Francis of Assisi in La Quinta. Everyone is welcome at anytime.

The Centering Prayer Group sponsors a work shop in the Spring and again in the Fall. For more information, or if you want to be notified about the workshop, call Fr. Dan at 760-346-2697 Ext 105.

For online information about Centering Prayer see: Introduction to Centering Prayer

Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating has helped many a student of prayer into the holy mystery of Centering Prayer. Your order of this book using the link provided here benefits Maggie's Corner and St. Margaret's and will help you into the wonders of Centering Prayer.

 

 Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating (this link will take you to Amazon.com; your purchase of the book using this link will benefit St. Margaret's)


 

 

New website launched for the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego

In an effort to improve communications the Diocesan Convention initiated work with the Bishop and his staff to revise the diocesan website. The new site has just been launched. You will find places still under construction, but you will also find news, notes, and pictures about life in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego.

See for yourself: http://www.edsd.org

 

The Labyrinth is always available at St. Margaret's

The Labyrinth is a spiritual tool used for centuries by those seeking to know the Lord and the Lord's will. Learn more about the Labyrinth as a spiritual tool; learn more about the Labyrinth at St. Margaret's: The Labyrinth Brochure as a PDF file (183 KB)

The next guided walk on the labyrinth is scheduled for Wednesday, December 13, 2006. A Labyrinth Guild member, will present a short meditation to help participants make their walk. This Labyrinth Walk is an offering of the St. Margaret's Labyrinth Guild and the Living Well Institute.

Every Wednesday evening you are invited to come to a Service of Holy Communion in St. Margaret's Chapel beginning at 5:30 pm, stay for dinner beginning at 6:00 pm, and participate in various course offerings (including these regularly scheduled Labyrinth Walks) beginning at 6:45 pm.

 

Some useful links for information and study beyond St. Margaret's:

 

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