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Dear Saint Mark Family,
God’s grace and peace be with you.
I must begin by saying a big thank you to the staff, who continued the good work of ministry while I was away on vacation. It was good to be off and have the opportunity to spend time with family, and to slow down for the wellbeing of my soul and body. Knowing the staff is capable of doing what needs to be done allayed any fear I would have had about being away. Thanks to each of them for stepping up to the work.
I want to invite you to 2 listening sessions, regarding our denomination’s upcoming General Conference, which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, from April 23 to May 3. This is the postponed 2020 General Conference, which was delayed because of the pandemic. General Conference is the official legislative body of our denomination that is able to revise The Book of Discipline – the polity that governs our denomination, and The Book of Resolutions – the statements on social issues that represent the position of the denomination. The decisions that are made at General Conference will impact conferences and local churches across the denomination.
The first listening session will be Sunday, April 7, in the chapel, following the 11am service. The second session will be on Wednesday, April 10, in Wade Hall, during Wednesday Night Supper. I hope you will be to attend one of these two sessions.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our mission outreach for Wellroot Family Services this past Sunday, packing Easter Baskets and Essential Kits for young adults in foster care. We packed close to 20 baskets and up to 33 cleaning kits, at this point. Wellroot Family Services, formerly known as the United Methodist Children’s Home, is one of our extension ministries in the North Georgia Conference. Wellroot has been a long advocate and support for families and children across our state, with a mission to restore families and children from trauma through Jesus Christ. Later this year we will have the opportunity to hear from Rev. April McGlothin-Eller, their Director of Community Development, who will share with us about the life-transforming work they are doing in the lives of families and children throughout Georgia.
We are continuing our journey in the way of the cross, and will soon be entering Holy Week. There will be multiple services and opportunities to worship throughout the week, and I encourage you to come on out and finish well the 40-day journey we have started together.
This Sunday, which will be Palm Sunday, we will have outstanding music and worship at both services. We will be processing with our palms from the terrace at each service, as we sing hosanna to Christ, our Lord.
On Holy Thursday, we will have a dramatic reenactment of The Last Supper by the talented members of our congregation, at 7:00 PM. It will be a dramatization to remember. There will also be a meal before this service in Wade Hall at 6:00 PM, which replaces our usual Wednesday Night Supper.
Our Good Friday service, at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary, will be set around the Seven Last Words of Jesus, incorporating sermonettes, musical pieces, with a reenactment of Peter’ denial. There will also be an earlier opportunity in the day to participate in an ecumenical Station of the Cross with other churches in Midtown, starting at 1:30 PM at All Saints Episcopal. More information about this opportunity will be available in the Remarks.
On Holy Saturday, from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM, we will have our Eggstravaganza here at the church. This will be a fun time of games, food, and egg hunting for the children in our community.
There will be 3 services on Easter Sunday - the Sunrise Service with our Bell Choir at 7:00 AM on the terrace, and the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM services in the sanctuary, with our choir and visiting musicians. I encourage you to invite your family and friends to come out and be a part of these services, and then later join in the feast at our Easter Brunch at 12:30 PM.
I pray you will make every effort to be here in the week ahead. I look forward to seeing you and worshiping God with you.
Peace and All Good,
Pastor Carolyn.
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