Sunday, October 5th at both our 8:30 and 11:00 services, we celebrate the ministry of St. Francis, the blessing of creation, and the gift of our pets with the Blessing of the Animals. Animals of all shapes and sizes are welcome to attend worship and be blessed. Please be sure that all animals are safely…
A Place of Grace
Worship (Page 44)
The celebration of “Holy Cross” occurs on September 14th. Pastor Beth shared her personal struggle with understanding the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross. She wondered, Why did Jesus have to die? Wasn’t there another way for God to redeem humanity? We do not have to completely understand the cross to stand under it…
We welcome you to “God’s Work Our Hands” Sunday, this Sunday, September 7th at St. Mark! We are gathering food (and/or monetary donations) for the Thurston County Food Bank. The Food Bank especially needs protein items such as canned meats, chili, canned beans, legumes, and peanutbutter. Also popular is dried pasta (a jar of pasta…
In Matthew 16:21-28, Jesus told his disciples, ” If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The second reading for this Sunday, Romans 12:9-21, Paul goes into detail as to how to follow Jesus’s example. Pastor Eric asked us what does that mean and…
Yes, indeed! The “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” has come to St. Mark! A member of St. Mark nominated Pastor Beth for this challenge–to dump a bucket of ice water over her head and give a donation in support of research for ALS. This member lost her husband to this disease. Pastor Beth accepted this challenge!…
Lessons for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, from Matthew 16 and Psalm 138, beg us to ponder identity. Who is God? Who is Jesus? And who are we. We live in a world with violence, hatred, illness, poverty, brokenness. Pastor Beth’s sermon reminds us we have to ponder this, but we cannot let the world define who…
In our Gospel today, the 14th chapter of Matthew, we are reminded of the story of Jesus reaching out to save Peter as he was sinking, asking “Why did you doubt?” As Jesus reached out to his disciple Peter, he sends us out to pick people out of the water. He is always challenging us…
Matthew’s gospel, 14:13-21, shows us once more Jesus demonstrating his compassion by performing one of his greatest miracles….the multiplication of the five loaves and two fishes to feed the thousands of followers who were with him in ‘a deserted place.’ Pastor Eric gave us examples of compassion in our present life stressing that every time…
The story of the mustard seed from the Gospel of Matthew is just one of the parables Jesus used in his teachings. It illustrates how the smallest seed planted can grow into something much bigger…like a great tree from a seedling, or loaves of bread from yeast. Jesus described the Kingdom of God as “like finding treasures”, “like casting…
Jesus told parables and allegorical interpretations of these parables became popular for a long time, but not for hundreds of years.
Matthew’s gospel today talks about the conflict of good and evil but uses the parable of wheat and weeds and how to take care of either.
(Ret.) Pastor David Nelson explained how those of us that believe in God have a hard time explaining the present day mess of our world.
God asks us to tolerate a mixed field of wheat and weeds.
The best and only solution to evil is God in reconciliation of the world through unshielded Love for each other.