All of us at St. Mark’s share a commitment to our faith and to our community, and we welcome visitors regardless of religious background, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Everyone is welcome!

Christus appret apostolis et discipulis in Galilee, created between 1340 and 1351 by Jean Ravy and Jean Le Boutellier, medieval polychromed wooden choir screen at the altar 

of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France.

Rector's Message

Dear Church,

This is a longer-than-usual message this week, so forgive me for being so verbose.

Last week the slate of four nominees for the 28th Presiding Bishop was announced. The Primate and Presiding Bishop is the executive clergyperson of our denomination, headquartered in New York (the Episcopal Church now is an international body, though, with provinces in the Holy Land, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico and many more).

There was immediate reaction on social media from clergy and laity across the Church, primarily negative. The slate (Scott Barker, Daniel Gutierrez, Sean Rowe, and Rob Wright, pictured in that order left to right, above) is all male, all cisgender, all straight. For a large contingent of our faith, after decades of steady progress on the ordination of women and queer persons, this initially felt like a step backwards for the Episcopal Church. Many have peers and colleagues have voiced their anger and frustration, and some have verbally attacked the nominating committee - whose work stretches back over a year now.

The reality of the situation is complicated, from my vantage point at least. We are faced with some parameters to eligibility that makes the nominee process for Presiding Bishop quite challenging. First, a nominee must be a bishop, and an active member of the House of Bishops. Next, the mandatory retirement age for all clergy in the Episcopal Church remains 72. Right there, we have a constraint: many of the recently-elected female bishops are well into their early 60s and are thus ineligible.

With respect to the queer bishops, there are two challenges: first, there are only five active bishops who identify as openly LGBTQ+ (Mary Glasspool, Thomas Smith, Bonnie Perry, Phyllis Spiegel and Jeffrey Mello) and many of them are early in their episcopate - that is not a disqualifier, but may be a factor as to why each is not on a slate. But moreover, the likelihood of them being elected Presiding Bishop at this time in our history, with a fraught relationship with the wider (read: far more conservative) Anglican Communion, would make the potential Presiding Bishop's ability to serve quite difficult to say the least. We are still repairing the wounds from the ordination of queer clergy in 2003 that caused schisms, as well as our decision in 2015 to perform same-sex marriages. With the exception of a few provinces, the Episcopal Church remains a bit of an island in Anglicanism today.

There are still some wonderful candidates who meet all the criteria for a Presiding Bishop who are female and/or queer, but for reasons not known to us all, probably discerned out of self-nomination. It is a hard job. It is a very, very public job. Some of these bishops have been through a great ordeal just to be elected and ordained, and have committed themselves to their contextual ministries. Just as some Christians are not called to ordained ministry, some are not called to be a bishop (see me raising my hand!). Therefore, even some bishops are not called to be a Presiding Bishop.

The petition stage is open now and closes April 15th. During this period, additional nominees may step forward or be nominated. Things could change, or the slate may remain intact.

In the meantime, I simply suggest that we all be mindful of the polity of this global denomination and its process of electing leadership. Big sweeping change takes decades or longer. And by all accounts, these four nominees are outstanding candidates for the job, and we should be proud they have put themselves forward for election. It is still a diverse slate which includes the first Latino nominee, the youngest nominee ever (a young Gen X-er) who was also at the time of his consecration the youngest bishop ever, as well as an African-American. All four have decades of experience in leadership in the Church.

So, three of these four men will be disappointed in the election this June at the 81st General Convention in Louisville. One will find himself with a great deal of work on a national and global scale. Do keep Scott, Rob, Sean and Daniel in your prayers, and join me in thanking the work of the search and nominating committee. We can't ever know the behind-the-scenes work of evaluating the applications and nominations, but have to trust that this group did their work faithfully and prayerfully.

Easter blessings,

Greg+

P.S. In addition to the links embedded above, you can view the biographies and video presentations of each nominee, and all the details about this process HERE.

This Week at St. Mark's

Save the Date

Sunday, April 21

• 4pm - Earth Day Eve - Interfaith Litany for the Earth at Raymond Park, Evanston - details to follow 

Monday, April 22

• 12pm - Spring Concert Series: Noon Concert featuring Michael Brazile, harpsichord, in the Sanctuary.

April 26-27

• Province V "Big Provincial Gathering" in South Bend, IN (More info below)

Sunday, April 28 :: St. Mark's Day

• 8am - Holy Eucharist, Rite II
• 10am - Festal Choral Eucharist with Holy Baptism
• 4pm - May Day Celebration, a continuation of the Feast of St. Mark's hosted by St. Mark's and St. Matthew's at St. Mark's Church

Sunday, May 5

• 7pm - Choral Evensong in the Sanctuary, followed by a Reception in the Parlor

Sunday, June 2

• 2-5pm - Interfaith Family LGBTQ+ Pride Fest at Raymond Park, Evanston (See flyer below)

Sunday, June 16

• Race Against Hate 2024

Announcements

Adult Forum 9am Series: Easter Resurrection at the Movies!

Greg+ leads an Adult Forum series each week at 9am in the Parlor over coffee and breakfast treats, and beginning today the topic is Easter and Resurrection in the Movies. This Sunday, April 7th, we look at clips from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, from 1982. Join us as we discuss this film and its religious allegory.

The film is streaming on multiple platforms including Max, Paramount+ and for rent on Apple TV+, or is available to rent at a library. Click here to learn more.

All are welcome to attend, even if you’ve never attended one before.

Red Cart Sunday - Sunday, April 21st

Help the Wednesday Lunch Program! Bring jugs of juice/non- carbonated drinks (apple juice, cranberry juice, lemonade, or iced tea) or powdered mix for iced tea or lemonade. Package cookies (Oreos, windmill, and fudge stripe, etc. are preferred). We also need grocery style plastic bags that we use to pack lunch items for people who request a lunch to go. Place items in the cart at the back of the sanctuary.

Mulching Party - Sunday, May 19th after the 10am Service

It’s time for mulching our beautiful grounds and property for the summer season. As we have done in previous years, we are calling on all parishioners to join together to make the work go by super-fast. Sunday, May 19th is the Feast of Pentecost, and the last Sunday before Memorial Day Weekend and the unofficial start of the summer season. Wear jeans and outdoor clothes to the 10am service and plan to stay to pitch in, if you are able. Coffee Hour will be both inside and outside as a treat (weather-permitting). For more info or to volunteer in advance, please let Lola know at Lhimrod@comcast.net.

Spring in the Garden

Rain and warm weather are bringing flowers and new growth to the gardens. If you are interested in providing annuals or cold-hardy perennials for up to 5 planters in the front of the church please contact Lola Himrod at Lhimrod@comcast.net or 847-864-7815. Or, if you are interested in ordering and/or organizing a planting party this fall of spring bulbs, she would be happy to hear from you.

On Sunday, April 21st, in anticipation of Earth Day 2024, there will be an interfaith gathering called “Prayer for the Planet” at Raymond Park, 1501 Hinman Ave. in downtown Evanston. (Rain location is St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 939 Hinman Ave.) Join houses of worship from across Evanston in an interfaith service of prayer for “this fragile Earth, our island home” (BCP p.370). 

St. Mark's Day (Apr. 28) - Consider Giving to our Trust

This year St. Mark's will be celebrating St. Mark's Day on April 28th. Our tradition since the creation of St. Mark's 1970 Trust Fund, our "rainy day" fund, has been to deposit our open collections on that day, along with any specially designated contributions, into the 1970 Trust. Over the years, this Fund has provided much-needed money for various extraordinary purposes, including both unanticipated operating and capital expenditures. So, please keep this important goal in mind as St. Mark's Day approaches, and give generously to ensure our future financial stability.

Race Against Hate Set for June 16, 2024

Join with our Episcopal kin in saying NO! to Racism in Evanston as we support our friends at the YWCA in their battle to End Racism. St. Matthew's, St. Augustine's (Wilmette), St. Andrew Pentecost, St. Luke's and St. Mark's are participating again in this annual event, a walk/race for a cause: to support the equity work of the YWCA. Last year, the Episcopal team was the top fundraising team. What will we do this year? To register, go to tinyurl.com/racehate2024 and look for the team: Episcopalians Unite Against Hate. And Save the Date, June 16th.

Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) - 75th Anniversary

The Episcopal Church Foundation designates April 16th as ECF Day to celebrate 75 years of service.

2024 marks the Episcopal Church Foundation’s (ECF) 75th year of dedicated ministry and service to The Episcopal Church. ECF is designating April 16th as ECF Day and invites Episcopalians everywhere to participate in thanksgiving celebrations for the ministry of the organization.

On its 75th anniversary, ECF stands as a testament to what can be achieved when faith meets action. ECF continues to be a wellspring of support for Episcopal faith communities, providing resources for financial management, leadership development, and community transformation. ECF’s mission today is to be a catalyst, agent, and advocate for transformation and growth in The Episcopal Church in innovative and spiritually-grounded ways.

Click Here to Read More about this important organizations work for the Church.

EICL Interfaith Letter to the Community

Last week, the Evanston Interfaith Clergy and Leaders (EICL) published a letter resolution in the Evanston Roundtable in response to the crisis in Israel and Gaza, as well as addressing the rash of Islamaphobia and Antisemitism in our community locally.

The letter, which includes the signature of our rector, has been sent to the Evanston City Council, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.

Read the letter and coverage on the Roundtable HERE.

Presiding Bishop - Nominee Slate

The Episcopal Church’s next presiding bishop will be chosen this June from a slate of four nominees, whose names were released April 2: Nebraska Bishop J. Scott Barker, Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez, Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright, and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bishop Sean Rowe, who also serves as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York.

Those four bishops – and any additional candidates nominated by petition – will be presented for election at the 81st General Convention, which convenes June 23-28 in Louisville, Kentucky. The nominees’ names will be formally submitted June 25 during a joint session of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies. On June 26, the bishops will elect, and deputies will be asked to confirm, the church’s 28th presiding bishop, who will succeed Presiding Bishop Michael Curry beginning Nov. 1.

“We appreciate the many Episcopalians who prayerfully set us on our way to discerning this slate of nominees,” Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime said in a news release announcing the slate. Lattime and Steve Nishibayashi, a lay leader in the Diocese of Los Angeles, are co-chairs of the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. The committee began its work in the fall of 2021. The committee’s slate is marked by geographical and racial diversity, though it includes no women or LGBTQ+ nominees. The nominee bishops also draw on a range of experiences in seeking to become presiding bishop for the office’s next nine-year term.

To read the biographies of each candidate, please go to this link: tinyurl.com/pbtec

Westley is the BPG Musician!

(from the Province 5 Website):

Westley Art Hodges is a native of New Orleans and resides in Chicago, IL, as of 2018. Westley is the Director of Music Ministries at St. Mark's Episcopal Church (www.stmarksevanston.org) in Evanston, IL. Before being at St. Mark's, they served as Director of Music for The Annunciation of Our Lady Episcopal Church in Gurnee, IL, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Peoria, IL, St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, McDonough, GA, St. Aiden's Episcopal Church, Alpharetta GA, and St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, Long Beach, MS. Outside of church work, Westley performs as an accompanist and solo artist and teaches private music lessons to a studio of 24+ students.

Westley earned their Associate of the Arts in Music Education at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Perkinston, MS, studied Clarinet Performance at Delta State University, Cleveland, MS, under Dr. Andrea Cheeseman, earned a Bachelor of the Arts in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Women and Gender Studies at The University of Illinois Springfield and is currently completing a Masters of the Arts in Liberal and Integrative Studies with a focus in Women and Gender Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield. 

Outside work, Westley enjoys spending time with their fabulous husband, Joseph, and their eleven-year-old black lab, Daylie-Lark. Westley and Joseph are both Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band (www.lakesidepride.org) members, and Westley is also the clarinetist in the Amethyst Wind (www.amethystwinds.com), a professional woodwind quintet in Chicago. For more information about Westley, please visit www.westleyhodges.com

Amethyst Winds Concert

Thank you to all who came out last Saturday for the wonderful Amethyst Winds Concert. We had over 60 people in attendance - our concert series just keeps growing!

Michael Brazile Concert

The next event in our series is just around the corner: on April 22, Michael Brazile will offer a Noon concert on harpsichord! You heard that right—harpsichord! Michael will be moving his harpsichord in for the concert, and we are sure it will be a fabulous concert.

2024 Spring Concert Series:

4-22, Noon—Michael Brazile, harpsichord

Sun. 5-5, 7pm—Evensong

Sat. 5-11, 7:30pm—Coriolis, a cappella choir

Pictured Above: Our next concert performer on harpsichord: Michael Brazile

Creation Care Corner

In Our Prayers

Celebrating Birthdays

Sandra Howard (4/5)

Elizabeth McElhatton (4/6)

Ellen Bergman (4/7)

Dan Whitmore (4/9)

Bob Barr (4/10)

Jeremy Greene (4/16)

Rudy Burke (4/23)

Timothy Himrod (4/23)

Dick Brooks (4/28)

Holly Benz (4/28)

Michelle Mbuki (4/30)

Celebrating Anniversaries

Andrew & Sandra Howard (3/26)

Gary and Elizabeth McElhatton (4/19)

Nathan Waller and Michael Schoen (4/26)

Have we missed your birthday or anniversary? 

If so, please send an email to elion@stmarksevanston.org

so we can correct our records and include you in the next issue of the eLion.

Clergy, Staff & Ministry Chairs

The Rev. Gregory L. Millikin, Rector

(847) 864-4806, ext. 114

(310) 721-6356 (mobile)

rector@stmarksevanston.org

Westley Art Hodges, Director of Music Ministries

(847) 864-4806, ext. 118

(312) 241-5308 (mobile)

music@stmarksevanston.org

Andrew Schaeffer, Interim Parish Administrator

(847) 864-4806, ext. 102

office@stmarksevanston.org

Rudy Burke, Sexton

(847) 687-9172 (mobile)

sexton@stmarksevanston.org

Tim Heuer, Senior Warden

srwarden@stmarksevanston.org

Nancye Kirk, Junior Warden

jrwarden@stmarksevanston.org

Chris Schultze, Treasurer

(847) 864-4806, ext. 112

treasurer@stmarksevanston.org

Allison Ashley, Creation Care Team

creation@stmarksevanston.org

Donna Richardson, Outreach & Social Justice Committee

outreach@stmarksevanston.org

Patrick Furlong, Investments Committee

investment@stmarksevanston.org

Vestry

Gretchen Constantine, Adrianna Dangremond,

Julia Ferguson, Aina Gutierrez,

Kathy Hart, Deane Johnson,

Hardy Murphy, Chris Schultze

and Dan Whitmore  

vestry@stmarksevanston.org

Have news to contribute to the eLion? Send it to elion@stmarksevanston.org