This Sunday is St. Mark’s 67th birthday! October 31, 1954 was the date of first worship service of this new congregation. In those early days, relationship with neighbors was essential. As there was no church building, Day Funeral Home welcomed St. Mark’s to hold worship in one of their rooms at no cost. Other local businesses reached out, as well.
In the first 7 months, Rev. Dick Hamilton, knocked on 398 doors of neighboring homes to invite people to join. First Methodist provided some financial help, and a few families from there came to St. Mark’s for a time to help get this new church started. The St. Mark’s community also partnered with neighbors in addressing needs in our local and global community, and advocating for peace with justice for all.
As people of faith, we again challenge ourselves to discern some of our next steps to live out Jesus’ call to us “to love our neighbors as ourselves”. That includes being open to the wisdom and diversity of those across generations and life experiences.
We will explore this together on Sunday. The sermon is titled, “Take the Next Step: Embracing the Wisdom of Generations” (including reflections from a conversation with John & Helen McFarland and Arianna Ray). The scripture passage is based on Mark 12:28-34, which will be read by Yena Park. Amy and James Thomas will share a Stewardship Reflection. Stephanie Conklin will lead us in singing, with Matthew Wachtman accompanying. We will have a moment for children, prayers and reflections, hymns, and the gift of community.
If you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for decades, or will be joining us for the first time, we look forward to connecting with those of you here in-person or joining on the live stream at www.smumc.church at 10:30am Sunday morning!