Today (12/8/2019) marks the unveiling of the new “Chrismon” Christmas Tree ornaments here at St Mark. St Mark has previously been using “Chrismons” which were several decades old, dilapidated, and sorely in need of replacement. “Chrismons” are handmade by St Mark members. Listen to the audios below to find out more about what “Chrismons” are,…
Today was a John the Baptist Sunday. At the heart of our Advent preparation stands John the Baptist, who calls us to repent and make a new beginning. Just before Jesus begins his public ministry, John the Baptist appears in the Matthew 3:1-12 Gospel, calling people to mend their ways and speaking of a powerful…
Our Gospel from the 24th chapter of Matthew tells how the Son of Man will be coming at an unexpected hour. And so we must wait. On this First Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that waiting is what the season of Advent is all about. Pastor Eric began his reflections by singing a song…
In our Gospel reading for the day, John 6:25-35, Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life.” Jesus advised they need only to believe in Him to receive that which will sustain them. Bread only quells hunger for a day. But the…
23rd Sunday after Pentecost The whole point today, the theme was ‘imagination’. Pastor Eric asked us to imagine, reflect, connect and enjoy today’s service. Being in a sacred space, we just needed to let the songs and scripture readings flow over, in and around us. Enjoy! Click below for the service recording.
How does our world define people in our world? By age, race, occupation, gender, religion, where you live, income, political affiliation, relationship status and other ways. Today we had a baptism whereby the child became a loved and forgiven, named and claimed child of God. At some point in her life, she will be questioned…
The Gospel for today is a familiar one…including a golden rule most of us learned as children. When Jesus described to his disciples how we should treat others, he advised, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. Pastor Eric reminded us that although the Golden Rule may seem simple to fulfill,…
September 13, 2019 “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). “Racism — a mix of power, privilege, and prejudice — is sin, a violation of God’s intention for humanity” (Freed in Christ: Race,…
For those of you who worshiped with us last Sunday you saw the beautiful quilts done by the women of St Mark’s Quilting Ministry and helped take part in the blessing of the quilts. A total of 85 quilts were created and the majority of those quilts will be shipped to Lutheran Word Relief for…
By the end of the 17th century, many Lutheran churches celebrated a festival commemorating Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-five Theses, a summary of abuses in the church of his time. At the heart of the reform movement was the gospel, the good news that it is by grace through faith that we are justified…