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Aug 2023
By Rev. Lynn Bartlow St. Mark’s has shown once more what an amazing community you are. You have lived out our mission to care for all people as you stepped in after Pastor Kim’s car accident. Earlier this week, I delivered a Ties That Bind quilt you prayed over and a stack of cards showing your care. You have offered to help fill in while she’s recovering, including retired pastors Evy McDonald and Judy Boroto, who will be visiting those who are hospitalized. (Pastor Kim is improving daily, by the way. Thanks......
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At Home With God
By Rev. Kevin Lester Over the last 10 years, home renovation shows have become a phenomenon on television. Remember chanting “MOVE THAT BUS!” at the end of “Extreme Home Makeover” episodes? Since then, there...
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Blessed to be a Blessing
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...
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God and Fire
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...
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Greetings From Daytona!
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...
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Holding Space for Conflicting Emotions
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...
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Our Pastors and Their Roles
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...
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Audacity
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...
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Skipping the Messiness and Giving the Highlights
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,...
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On Inclusivity and Becoming One Church
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...
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