As we enter the month in which we at St. Mark’s celebrate our seventieth anniversary as a congregation, a distinct memory comes to me. It was approximately 1992, and I was a pastor at a Baptist Church in Bloomington. I decided to take a Sunday off from my church to attend other worship services. That was my first time to ever attend St. Mark’s. I still remember the sermon David Owen preached that day, a proclamation marked by his deep and very human sense of the spiritual. An equally powerful memory is the experience of Holy Communion that came near the end of the service. Taking turns, all gathered at the altar rails surrounding the chancel area to receive communion. I had never received the sacrament in that manner. To me, it was very powerful for all of us, any who wanted, to kneel and be served with others. These saints were, in my case, intimate strangers in the experience of eating the holy meal together.
Why do we continue to celebrate Holy Communion? Nora Gallagher recalls being asked to write an article about Communion as a spiritual practice. She said she was surprised, because she hadn’t thought of it as practice but only a sacrament. She then realized that a practice was a “place” where the heart and mind wrestle to discover and embrace what is life giving. In the sacred table, we discover and embrace the many ways Christ is present with us. One of those ways is in the community that gathers with us.
Once Jesus’ disciples were asked why their “teacher” ate with “tax collectors and sinners.” The question led them, and still leads us, into the very basic experience of not only communion, but of our faith. We’ll talk about that Sunday in worship, as the sermon is titled, “No Matter What, We Must Eat to Live: The Power of Our Shared Table.” The sermon arises from Psalm 34: 1-8, which will be read by Leigh Richey, and Matthew 9: 9-13, which will be read by Suzanne Godby Ingalsbe. We will have a stewardship moment offered by Ken Beckley, and an anthem by the Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Lois Leong. In addition to a moment for children, we will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.
To connect to our livestream worship Sunday morning,
click the link on our website www.smumc.church.
The service starts at 10:30am. Livestream starts at 10:25am.