08
Sep 2023
By Rev. Lynn Bartlow One of the essential tasks of the Implementation Team has been to help form a community as two congregations merged into one church. As we wrestled with how to do that, we knew we needed to provide opportunities for conversation and getting to know each other. We decided to revive a model of community called Food With Friends or Dinner for Eight or Tables of Eight. In this program, you get together with people and eat. That’s it! You are grouped with people that you might not even......
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Being the Church
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...
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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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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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Remembering Our Methodist Heritage
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...
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Pastor Stuart’s Last Sunday With Us
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...
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Guest Post from Rich Howell
On April 30 both the congregations of St. Mark’s and Sanctuary UMCs will vote on whether to merge. I have served as part of a task force team made up of Pastor Lynn, Marsha...
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The Hard Work of Change
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! This isn’t just a mantra we share on Easter Sunday, but it’s the reality that we live each day. Christians believe that Jesus was crucified, died,...
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