A Heritage Born from Three Courageous Congregations
Tucked along Cedar Ridge Drive in Daleville, just off the road that links the small Botetourt County town to nearby Roanoke, St. Mark's United Methodist Church carries a story that sets it apart from most parishes in the region. More than fifty years ago, three separate congregations, each with a history stretching back more than a century and a half, made the difficult decision to close their doors and come together as one. Plagued by declining attendance and shrinking resources, those faith communities chose faithfulness to Jesus and to one another over holding on to buildings and identities that could no longer sustain them. The church is open about how much that origin story still shapes its identity. Its mission, "to equip caring courageous disciples," borrows directly from the spirit of that founding act, and the language of caring and courage runs through nearly every description of who the church is and who it hopes to form in those who walk through its doors.
Sunday Morning at Ten
Sunday at St. Mark's is built around a single 10:00 a.m. worship service, followed by Sunday School at 11:00 a.m. for all ages. The service is held in the Sanctuary, and everyone is welcome. The congregation celebrates the sacrament of communion every Sunday, and the Chancel Choir assists in worship most weeks. During the summer the choir takes a break, and a rotation of special music fills its place. A Praise Band, made up of rotating singers and instrumentalists, also leads worship on occasional Sundays. The Children's Choir, drawn from children age three through fifth grade, sings in worship several times a year, rehearsing during the FROG and Tadpoles meetings on second and fourth Sundays.
For those who cannot be in the Sanctuary, the service is livestreamed each Sunday on the church's Facebook page and on its YouTube channel, and recordings of recent sermons are available for catch-up viewing.
The Shipyard: Where the Youth Set Sail
St. Mark's has named its youth ministry "The Shipyard," a title borrowed from a John Shedd quote: "A ship stays safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are meant for." The metaphor is intentional. While young people are safe inside the walls of the church, the church insists that Christians are not meant to stay sheltered there. The ministry seeks to teach youth about the grace of God shown through the life and death of Jesus Christ and to send them back out into their schools, workplaces, sports teams, and friendships equipped to share that love.
Shipyard Youth meet on the second and fourth Sunday evenings of each month from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Youth Café on the lower level of the building. Evenings include fellowship, Bible study, and a shared dinner. On Sunday mornings at 11:00, the youth gather in the same Youth Café for Sunday School, where they dig into Bible stories, study the cultures in which those stories first took root, and work out how the same truths apply to their own lives. Jessica Graham coordinates the ministry.
FROGs, Tadpoles, and a Safe Place for the Youngest Disciples
Children's ministry at St. Mark's is built around the acronym FROG, which stands for "Fully Rely On God," the posture the church hopes every child will grow into. FROGs and Tadpoles meet the second and fourth Sundays of school-year months from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., following the calendar of Botetourt County Public Schools. Tadpoles are preschoolers ages three through five who are potty trained. Younger FROGs cover kindergarten through second grade, and Older FROGs cover third through fifth grade. Each meeting includes a lesson or mission project, choir practice, and a shared dinner, with drop-off and pick-up in the Sanctuary. Lee Ann Critz coordinates the program.
For the youngest disciples, the nursery welcomes children from birth through age three every Sunday during Sunday School and the 10:00 a.m. service. Two adults staff the nursery each week, following the United Methodist Church's "Safe Sanctuaries" policies. At 11:00 a.m., children birth through age two gather in the nursery in room 205, preschoolers and pre-K children meet in room 206, and kindergarteners through fifth graders meet downstairs in room 101.
Adult Sunday School and Connection Groups
Discipleship is taken seriously at St. Mark's, and the church offers a variety of small-group settings where adults can study, share, and grow together. Three Sunday School classes meet at 11:00 a.m. The Roundtable class meets upstairs in the Fellowship Hall and works through the International Bible Lesson Series, blending prepared teaching, lively discussion, and warm fellowship. A second class currently meets in the Family Life Center and follows topically based short-term studies that encourage participants to think critically about current issues in light of scripture. A third class, begun in the summer of 2023, gathers downstairs at 11:00 for college-aged students, young adults, and the young at heart.
Beyond Sunday morning, the church organizes its connection groups into three rhythms. Weekly groups include a women's Bible study led by Susan Wagner on Tuesday mornings and a Wednesday morning Bible study led by Pastor Samuel Plymale at 11:00 a.m. Monthly groups include a United Methodist Women gathering on the second Monday of each month at 11:00 a.m., a Men's Fellowship on the second Monday at 7:00 p.m., and the Prayer Shawl Ministry on the last Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m., where members sew, knit, and crochet blankets and shawls for those who are sick, lonely, or in need of hope, and small blankets for newly baptized babies. Sermon-based groups round out the offering. The church also encourages anyone interested to contact the office to learn more.
Hands That Serve: TAME, Flood Buckets, and Backpack Buddies
If the DNA of St. Mark's is caring and courageous, its mission work is where that DNA becomes visible. The church runs a year-round hunger-relief ministry called TAME, "That All Might Eat." TAME hosts the annual Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event, which in a single 2017 Saturday drew the congregation and surrounding community together to pack more than 30,000 meals for school-age children in Haiti. Tens of thousands more meals have been packed in the years since. TAME also sponsors the Roanoke Rescue Mission's Drumstick Dash, supports the Backpack Buddies weekend meal program, assists with Society of St. Andrews gleaning efforts, and donates food and funds to the Local Office on Aging, the Botetourt Resource Center, the Botetourt Food Pantry, and other relief agencies.
Backpack Buddies is a partnership with several other local congregations. Each week, the sponsoring church fills a backpack with food that elementary students can prepare on their own so they have meals over the weekend when school meals are not available. The Flood Buckets ministry assembles five-gallon buckets of cleaning supplies that are sent through UMCOR to families and recovery teams in parts of the country hit hard by hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Healing, Recovery, and Walking Together
St. Mark's is honest that life in Christ is not always easy, and a whole wing of the church's ministry is devoted to walking with people through grief, addiction, and the limits that aging or illness can place on a person's ability to show up. The church hosts four Alcoholics Anonymous meetings each week, including a Women of Hope meeting on Wednesday evenings. Al Anon meetings for families and friends of those struggling with alcoholism are offered on Mondays and Saturdays. A Monday evening gathering from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. supports loved ones of those wrestling with narcotics addiction.
GriefShare, a thirteen-week video-based small group, runs twice a year, beginning in February and again in late August or early September, with both morning (10:00 a.m.) and evening (6:30 p.m.) options on Thursdays. The Shepherding Team, meanwhile, makes visits to members and friends of the church who can no longer easily attend worship, offering presence, prayer, and connection at home.
Joyful Journey and Life Beyond the Building
Joyful Journey is St. Mark's travel ministry, a long-running program that uses day trips and overnight tours through White Star Tours to build fellowship across generations. While the trips are geared toward senior citizens, all ages are welcome, and multiple generations often travel together. New friendships are formed and old ones renewed, sometimes as much on the bus as at the destination.
A Place to Belong in Daleville
From the Sanctuary on a Sunday morning to the Youth Café on a Sunday evening, from a Wednesday morning Bible study to a Thursday afternoon shawl being knit for someone in need, St. Mark's United Methodist Church is shaped by the same conviction that brought its three founding congregations together: that following Jesus is easier, and richer, when it is shared. Visitors are welcomed, communion is offered every week, and a wide range of small groups, classes, and service opportunities open a door for almost anyone who wants to walk through. Those who want to give, join a group, or simply talk with the church office can do so through the contact information on the church's pages.