In worship this summer, we have followed the path of the patriarchs of the Jewish and Christian faiths. The Hebrew Scriptures — or Old Testament, as Christians have called it for generations — routinely talk...
What did the fireman say when the church caught on fire? Holy smoke! (Is it too early to joke?) As you know, we had a fire at the Wesley House early Wednesday morning. The fire...
By Rev. Kevin Lester It’s been a great week at Youth 2023! This is our national UMC conference just for youth that happens only once every four years (so it’s a big deal). We have...
My daughter turns 14 this week. She’s my youngest, the one who thinks and acts a lot like her father but who looks so much like me. We have photos of each of us at...
At Annual Conference this year, I took photos with several former Associate Pastors from here at St. Mark’s. You’ll see in the photo above Jonathan Arnpriester (1992-1996), Jennifer Hageman (2006-2011), Tom Jelinek (2005-2006) and DeeDee...
Audacious! So many of you mentioned my shoes on Sunday. Mine are in the photo above, the pair on the bottom left. They are high, impractical, a little too big (the danger of online shopping!),...
On May 30, my Covid test came back positive. We had flown the day before from Paris to Manchester, preparing for the Wesley Tour portion of our trip. With a positive test in hand, I...
Our family just returned from an epic three-week trip to Paris and England. One of the things we noticed was how inclusive everyone was. It wasn’t some political statement; it just was. Vegetarian? Got you...
Did you miss me?!? The Bartlow family has returned from our three-week epic vacation and Continuing Education opportunity in Europe. We spent a week walking around Paris, joined the Wesley Heritage Tour for an introduction...
Greetings Friends, Have you ever had so many wonderful choices that you had trouble making a decision? This is the situation I have been in for the last several months. I knew this upcoming Sunday...