St. Mark's Episcopal Church sits between Riviera and Nassau Streets on the Island of Venice, Florida, a short stroll from the historic downtown and within easy reach of neighbors who walk over from nearby blocks. The parish describes itself with a single sentence that visitors hear at every service: "Building community. Sharing God's love. Transforming lives." It is a community of mostly hope-filled, faithful people committed to what the church calls its mission of restoring all people to unity with God and each other through Christ.
The current pastor, the Rev. Michael S. Rau, began his call as rector in January 2021. He came to St. Mark's after serving as rector of Holy Nativity in Rockledge, Pennsylvania, and before that as associate rector of St. Mark's in New Canaan, Connecticut. His path to ordained ministry included a decade in domestic relations leadership with Montgomery County, training in administration and leadership at Penn State University, and seminary at the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He and his wife, Melissa, who serves as Director of Community Engagement, have three children and two Australian Labradoodles named Francis and Philly.
A Parish Built Around Welcome
The rector's greeting at every announcement time is well known: "Whether you're new, in person or online, just visiting, or with us on the regular, welcome home!" St. Mark's goes further than welcome, teaching that visitors already belong. The community is made up of people from all walks of life with different points of view, and the parish holds unity across difference as a central value.
Six core values shape the life of the parish. The community is Affirming, recognizing and celebrating the diversity of all God's people. It is Community, nurturing authentic, caring relationships across generations. It is Outreach, following Jesus's example through witnessing and serving. It is Grace, offering compassion to all and refraining from negativity when personal expectations are not met. It is Spiritual Growth, teaching and joyfully supporting one another to live each day more like Jesus. And it is Our Call, striving to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Four ministry priorities guide the strategic plan. St. Mark's aims to be a church for all ages, generationally sustainable and relevant; indispensable in the greater Venice community; a place that helps people deeply engage in growing in their faith and relationship with God and neighbor; and financially sustainable.
Worship Across Three Services Each Week
St. Mark's offers three Sunday and Saturday services with different flavors so newcomers can pick the style that fits. The Saturday afternoon service at 4:30 p.m. is an abbreviated, relaxed Rite II service with Communion, hymn singing, and contemporary prayers. The 8:00 a.m. Sunday service is a Rite I said Eucharist without hymns. The 9:30 a.m. Sunday service is a Rite II Choral Eucharist.
The worship style is what many Episcopalians would call medium or broad church liturgical. Incense and chimes during communion are unusual. Some kneel during prayers while others stand. Some bow, others do not. Some cross themselves, others do not. The 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the 1982 Hymnal, and a few supplemental hymnals shape the service. Anthems blend modern and traditional pieces. Helpful bulletins guide those unfamiliar with the liturgy, so following along is easy.
The 9:30 a.m. service is livestreamed each Sunday on YouTube, and recordings are kept in the Service Archives. Sunday bulletins are available for download. Communion is open to all baptized Christians of any age or denomination. Those who prefer not to receive may come forward and cross their arms over their chest to receive a prayer of blessing. Gluten-free wafers that have been fully consecrated and are safe from cross-contamination are available on request.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
Children and youth are valued members of the church community. The nursery is staffed by two attendants every Sunday during the 9:30 a.m. worship service and is located in the Day School wing off Gray Hall. It welcomes children four and younger, though children of any age may also join their parents in worship. Activity bags for use during the service are available in the narthex.
Children's Chapel is for children of all ages and their parents. Families gather in the narthex and process behind the star during the processional hymn, then leave the sanctuary for a child-friendly and engaging space until the Peace, when they return to be full participants at the Eucharist.
Youth Group is open to sixth through twelfth graders and typically meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The time includes fellowship, theological reflection, and discussion. Each year the youth plan an annual mission trip on a three-year cycle: a regional Year A trip requiring no airfare, a Year B trip within the continental United States, and a Year C trip beyond the continental United States. Major fundraisers such as an annual art show and auction help offset costs so no one is precluded from participating.
Special events nurture intergenerational relationships throughout the year, including Trunk or Treat, Gingerbread House Decorating, Trivia Nights, and Movie Nights. Occasional Sacrament Training and Instructed Eucharists are offered to help families with children learn more about the sacraments. Parents are recognized as the primary influence on a child's faith, and the parish is reimagining ways to support families to wonder and grow together at home. Baptisms are typically celebrated as infants but are welcomed at any age, and Confirmation is reserved for those who can articulate their desire to be incorporated into the faith community, generally at thirteen or older.
St. Mark's Episcopal Day School
St. Mark's Episcopal Day School has been part of the parish's life for decades. Betty Albee, the Assistant Director, began her career with the school in 1979, when classes ran from Twos through fifth grade. The current Director is Jill Mulloy, who oversees the program along with the Amber Smith, who moved into administration after years of teaching VPK.
The school offers programs for Toddlers and Twos, Threes, and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK). School hours run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with before care starting at 7:30 a.m. and after care running until 5:15 p.m. VPK is a free state program from 9:00 a.m. to noon, with optional wrap care from noon to 3:30 p.m. for an additional fee. A Montessori-based Enrichment Room gives children an hour a week of self-directed exploration.
The Day School uses the Learning Beyond Paper curriculum, aligned with Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards and the CLASS framework. Teachers are state certified, certified in First Aid, CPR, and PEARLS, have cleared criminal background checks, completed Safe Church training, and participate in continuing education. The school is a member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) and serves as an educational arm of the church's pastoral and missionary life.
Admissions gives priority to siblings of current students, then to children of parishioners, then to those on the waitlist. Tours can be scheduled by calling (941) 484-8707 or emailing dayschool@stmarksvenice.org.
Music, Concerts, and the Choir
Music is a centerpiece of worship. Peter Madpak directs a rigorous music department as choirmaster and organist, having joined the staff in January 2012. A New Jersey native, he graduated cum laude from Drew University with a Master of Theological Studies in Sacred Music and previously served as Minister of Music at St. John's United Methodist Church in Hazlet, New Jersey, where he directed ten ensembles including adult and youth choirs, bell choirs, and a contemporary praise team. His early training in the Men and Boys' Choir of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown included performances with the Vienna Boys' Choir and concerts in England and Ireland. He is also the artistic director and conductor of The Venice Chorale and a member of the faculty and staff at Venice Theatre.
The St. Mark's Choir is made up of approximately forty singers with varying degrees of musicianship. Some read music, others learn by ear. The choir performs diverse repertoire for Sunday worship, special services, and concert performances and welcomes new voices at any level of experience.
The Friends of Music Concert Series is now in its twenty-third season, offering free concerts that are open to all and have featured such performers as the Washington Saxophone Quartet, Acoustic Eidolon, Live Hymnal, and the Choir of St. Mark's. Support levels range from Friend at fifty dollars to Diamond Benefactor at twenty-five hundred dollars and above, with all donors acknowledged in the concert programs.
The Campus: Sanctuary, Garden, and Labyrinth
The campus sits between Riviera and Nassau Streets and includes two large parking lots and street parking for the church building, Gray Hall, the church office, and the Day School. Every building on the campus is fully accessible with ADA-compliant ramps and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. The sanctuary is equipped with Hearing Loop technology, large print hymnals and Books of Common Prayer are available, and Braille editions can be requested.
On the south side of the sanctuary sits the Memorial Garden, a quiet place to pray beside the columbarium. Between the sanctuary and the Day School playgrounds lies a beautiful outdoor labyrinth modeled after the labyrinth embedded in the floor at Notre Dame de Chartres in France, dating from around 1220. Anyone is welcome to walk the labyrinth at any time. The walk has three phases: releasing as one walks toward the center, receiving in meditation at the center, and returning along the path with new grounding and energy.
Weddings, Funerals, and the Memorial Garden
St. Mark's hosts weddings and funerals. Couples meet with one of the priests to arrange pre-marital counseling, schedule the date and time, develop the liturgy, and approve the bulletin. Rates depend on the services used. Clergy perform funerals and memorial services either in the sanctuary or at a funeral home. A funeral reception can be hosted using the Funeral Ministry to arrange a luncheon for family and friends. The columbarium and memorial garden offer options for interment, and clergy are happy to meet with anyone interested in planning their own service in advance.
Outreach and Pastoral Care
The parish has a strong culture of service. Outreach ministries include Community Dinners, the CROP Hunger Walk, support for Family Promise, partnerships with Food Banks and Pantries, the Salvation Army Bell Ringers, School Supplies Drives, and the Pillowcase Ministry. The Divine Consign thrift shop is directed by Karen Dehne, who joined the staff in a newly created role to deepen the bridge between the church and the shop and to identify needs across the wider Venice community. Mission Trips are organized for both adults and youth, and the parish hosts a Wednesday Evening Dinner and Coffee Hour hospitality teams.
Pastoral Care offerings include Contemplative Prayer, Eucharist Visitors who bring communion to those unable to attend, and Labyrinth Walks. Friendship ministries are organized for children, youth, and families, for men, and for women. Men's Ministries include Mark's Men and a Tuesday Morning Men's Fellowship. The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) gathers for Small Groups, UTO, Round Robin, Quilts, and a Scholarship Fund. Gift Shop and Prayer Shawls ministries round out the volunteer channels. St. Mark's observes Safeguarding best practices: anyone working with children or youth must be a member for at least six months, complete Safeguarding training, and may need fingerprinting and background checks depending on the ministry.
What Episcopalians at St. Mark's Believe
The parish's statement of belief is short and direct: "We Believe God Loves You - No Exceptions." St. Mark's teaches that Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. The Episcopal Church carries a legacy of inclusion, with women and men serving as bishops, priests, and deacons, and laypeople and clergy cooperating as leaders at all levels. The parish teaches that leadership is a gift from God that can be expressed by all people, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.
All baptized Christians, regardless of age or denomination, are welcome to receive Communion. The parish affirms that LGBTQ+ individuals and families are welcome into the full sacramental life of the church and into ministries and leadership at all levels. Preaching may touch on political realities, but no preacher at St. Mark's is partisan.
The Clergy Team and Leadership
The Rev. Michael S. Rau serves as Rector. The Rev. Dr. Lisa B. Hamilton, known to many as Mother Lisa or Lucy, serves as Associate Rector. She previously served at St. Edmund the Martyr in Arcadia, St. Thomas in St. Petersburg, Christ Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, and as school chaplain at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church and School in New Haven. She has also worked in media ministry as a writer, television producer, and public relations professional for Episcopal Life Media, Trinity Church in New York, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in Pittsburgh. She is the author of three books, holds degrees from DePauw, Indiana, and Yale Universities, and earned a D.Min in preaching. She is a long-time volunteer with Venice Theatre, working with the paint crew and Pinky's Players, the theatre troupe for developmentally disabled adults.
The Rev. Keith Backhaus serves as Deacon. The Rev. Calvin Davis, the Rev. Pat Reuss, and the Rev. Judith Roberts serve as Retired and Assisting Clergy.
The Director of Community Engagement is Melissa Rau, a lifelong Episcopalian and consultant with Ministry Architects. She has worked with the Episcopal Church Foundation, the Forma network, and Bexley Seabury Seminary, and hosts the For People podcast with Bishop Rob Wright of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. Dr. Andrew Coutras, the Associate Director of Discipleship and Youth Ministries, holds a PhD in Biblical Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary and is a postulant for the priesthood in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, with St. Mark's as his sponsoring parish. Karen Dehne directs Divine Consign. Parish governance rests with the Vestry, led by Senior Warden Susan Park, Junior Warden Fred Pardee, Clerk Karen Dehne, and Treasurer Janet Nelson.
Becoming Part of St. Mark's
To be a member in the fullest sense, one is confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church by a bishop, regularly participates in worship and the life of the parish, and makes an annual pledge. St. Mark's welcomes many kinds of people who simply want to worship and be involved without formal membership, and newcomers classes are offered periodically each year with informational sessions, liturgical celebrations, and welcome gatherings at parishioners' homes.
Visitors can dress however they like. Some arrive in Sunday best, others in t-shirts and jeans, and everything in between. The only requirement is that something is worn. Two large parking lots and street parking make arrival easy. The church is in the Diocese of Southwest Florida and connected to the wider life of The Episcopal Church through the Book of Common Prayer, Forward Movement, Episcopal Relief and Development, and the Episcopal News Service.
The church office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., closing at noon on Fridays during June, July, and August, and closed on Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and federal holidays. The office can be reached at (941) 488-7714 or info@stmarksvenice.org.