Community Connections

Kairos Prison Ministry is a lay-led interdenominational ministry in which men and women volunteers bring Christ's love and forgiveness to prisoners and their families. St. Mark's members are actively engaged several times each year in bringing the Christian message to inmates at the state prison in Ridgeland, South Carolina. For more information on this ministry, please contact Ken Kraft at [email protected].

Family Promise of Beaufort County - In partnership with other area congregations, a devoted group of St. Mark's parishioners delivers home-cooked meals and gift cards for families enrolled in the program.

Lowcountry Pride Group - St. Mark's is an annual participant in the Lowcountry Pride Festival in Port Royal, SC.

Walk for Water - - St. Mark’s is a sponsor of and active participant in Walk for Water held annually in Port Royal. Walk for Water provides funding for Water Mission, a Christian engineering nonprofit that designs, builds, and implements safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has used innovative technology and engineering expertise to provide access to safe water for over four million people in 55 countries. For more information on Walk for Water or Water Mission, please contact Carter Hoyt at [email protected].

Martin Luther King Day Parade - Numerous St. Markers gather with other community members to recognize and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Port Royal Elementary School - St. Mark's has partnered with Port Royal Elementary School, a Title 1 school, to provide resources and assistance to its students and the school as needed and requested. This has taken many forms from start-of-the-year school supplies, to toiletries and uniforms, and funding for books selected by students at the annual book fair. Numerous parishioners volunteer as readers at the school and our women's group, Women of Grace, sign up to be "Santas" for the school's angel tree.

Monthly Food Drives - St. Mark's conducts a monthly food drive, donating alternately to the pantries at HELP of Beaufort and the St. Francis Center on St. Helena Island.

Sock-it-to-'Em - Each January, parishioners at St. Mark's are asked to donate new adult and children's socks. St. Francis Center is the recipient of the adult socks, and Port Royal Elementary School receives the children's socks. Since the inception of this program, the number of pairs of socks has increased each year with this year's total exceeding 1000 pairs.

Support for seniors in our community - Periodically throughout the year, St. Markers join with residents at assisted and senior living facilities in a sing-a-long. Members of the congregation also write cards that are delivered to these same places for special occasions such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving.