03
Mar 2023
Guest writer: Marsha Dean What does the future hold for St. Mark’s and Sanctuary UMCs? I wish I knew the answer. I have been serving on the Merger Task Force for a couple of months along with Pastor Lynn, John Cecilia and Rich Howell, as well as Pastor Kevin from Sanctuary UMC and two of their lay people. The task force has been wrestling with that question, and frankly, we don’t have the answer. What we do know is that by merging our congregations and creating a multi-site church, we can accomplish......
Read More
Welcome to Lent!
This is our first Sunday in Lent. Lent began with Ash Wednesday this week and continues until Easter Sunday. It’s 40 days, plus Sundays. This season, we invite you to read through the Gospel...
Read More
Happy Anniversary!
What were you doing 20 years ago? 20 years ago, I was appointed to my second churches, a two-point charge just south of Marshall, Illinois. Ron and I had been married almost two years,...
Read More
Welcome!
Several times over the last few weeks, I have been in discussions with people who ask about advertising and about reaching new people. Let me share with you some best practices and some reminders...
Read More
Grace / Sacraments
On Sunday as we join around the communion table, the pastors will pray, “Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in...
Read More
Town Hall Meeting
What is our mission field? In worship a few weeks ago, Kelly Deyoe invited us to consider witnessing about our faith to other people. This is an important habit and spiritual discipline for every...
Read More
The Trinity
Thank you, church, for being the church. As Kelly Deyoe shared in worship last week, God calls ALL of us to be the hands and feet of Christ. We share with others about Jesus...
Read More
Evangelism and St. Mark’s
What has God called and equipped you to do? We often talk about calling when we talk about how pastors enter ministry, but our scriptures tell us that all are called and God equips...
Read More
Happy New Year
As we get started on the new year with our resolutions to change our eating habits and change how much we exercise and change what we spend our money on, I wanted to ground...
Read More
Covenant Renewal Service
“1785. Saturday, January 1. Whether this be the last or no, may it be the best year of my life! Sunday, 2. A larger number of people were present this evening at the renewal...
Read More