Bishop Rehberg to visit St. Mark’s for baptism, reception and gospel mass
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church will observe the feast of All Saints on Sunday, November 3, with a visit by the Right Reverend Gretchen Rehberg, 9th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, along with special music.
Bishop Rehberg will preside at the Holy Eucharist, including baptism and reception of new members of the Episcopal Church. Worship will begin at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s, 111 S. Jefferson, across from the Moscow-Latah Public Library. The public is invited.
The Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day falls on Nov. 1, followed by All Souls' Day on Nov. 2. All Saints’ Day commemorates all saints, known and unknown, while All Souls Day, also known as Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, is an opportunity to remember family members and friends. In the Episcopal Church, these feast days are usually observed on the first Sunday of November.
At St. Mark’s, All Saints Sunday is usually observed with special music, including folk, bluegrass and gospel tunes. Melissa Parkhurst, a member of the congregation, directs the choir and musicians.
After the service, the bishop will be the guest at a reception and respond to questions of the congregation at an informal forum. This will be her fifth official visitation to St. Mark’s since being elected the 9th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane in 2016.
Rehberg grew up on a small farm near Pullman. Before entering the ordained ministry, she was a professor of organic chemistry at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and served her community as an EMT and firefighter.
She holds a Master of Divinity degree from the General Theological Seminary in New York, a doctorate of ministry from Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C., and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. From 2006 to 2017, she served as the rector of the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Lewiston.
The Episcopal Diocese of Spokane encompasses Washington east of the Cascades and Idaho north of the Salmon River. It includes 31 congregations, two specialized missions, two bishop’s chapels and a camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene, Camp Cross, named for a former bishop of the diocese.
