11may23

I have been so encouraged by the vestry members who have been presenting the Next Six. The work we do this next few months will be very important as we work to grow our church. Many of these ministry initiatives require us to work together to make them happen. 

Yours in Christ,

Father Grant +

These titled three words fall easily from our lips these days but not from our hearts. We mistake cheap imposters like sex, infatuation, and delight for love. The love of which Jesus speaks, expresses my willingness to forgive, sacrifice and gift you with myself. Such genuine love is deceptively difficult, but would you now select one person whom in the next twenty-four hours you will truly love, and thus become Christly? (Norm Carroll)

Our next ECW meeting will be held on Saturday, May 13th at 10 am in the Ministry Center. Hope to see all you gals. Please bring your Lenten Cards to church if you haven’t turned them in yet. We will be discussing what we can do to help Saint Mark’s. One of the items to discuss is the planning for the Christmas potluck luncheon in early December. It’s never too early to start. We certainly had a lot of food and fun this past December. Let’s do it again! (Becky Fogleson)

We have a wonderful flutist, Dr. Robert David Billington (pictured left), who is coming to perform for us on Mother’s Day! A Canadian-born flutist, Robert David Billington earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree, majoring in flute performance, from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. Dr. Billington currently performs as principal flutist of the Miami Lyric Opera Orchestra and has an extended tenure as principal flute and solo flutist with the Miami Bach Society Orchestra, where he performed as a soloist for Bach Brandenburg Concerti 2, 4, and 5 and for the Bach Triple Concerto in a minor. For more information regarding Dr. Billington, please visit his website at www.rdbflute.com.

Also, here are two songs our choir has performed recently; I May Never Pass This Way Again; https://youtu.be/eH8tFrXwN7w, and My Lord What a Morning, a spiritual performed by soloist Aaron Venable; https://youtu.be/XraCXN82I74 Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com@saintmarksepiscopalchurchc12 (Robin Dreyfuss)

Pastoral Care by All “In our Sunday bulletin and weekly newsletter, under the caption Congregational Care, are two sentences referring the reader to Fr. Grant with contact details. Hopefully, our days as a “Rector centric” church is behind us, and in any event, there are far more pastoral concerns than one person could attend to with timeliness and regularity. One of our strengths as a parish is that we are hospitable and relational, and our parishioners have caring hearts. These gifts align perfectly with an initiative to transcend from pastoral care to congregational care. If you are interested in being a part of a ministry of practical service that complements the ministry of the Word, please indicate such interest to any member of the Vestry. Help us to become a church family that cares for one another.” (Harry Richardson)

Saint Mark’s Life “We would like to take this time as an opportunity to ask parishioners for their ideas about new fellowship and ministry opportunities. We ask that everyone think about where your skills, talents and passions lie, and what career experience and expertise can be shared to enhance and enrich the lives of Saint Mark’s Church and School communities. So if you have experience in Marketing, IT, Technology, the Arts, Music, Gardening, Playing Cards, etc., then you have been blessed with wonderful gifts. For example, if you are a “techie”, think about sharing your expertise with people in the congregation who struggle with using their smart phones, tablets, and laptops, and conduct a seminar in the Ministry Center and train them on using our parish Realm application. Also, think about how your gifts can be shared to enrich the experience of the children of St. Mark’s by volunteering at the school. One of the messages in last Sunday’s Gospel was the Lord calling us to do greater things. We welcome your ideas, so please feel free to reach out to Mike Mullins, Senior Warden at mike.mullins.fl@gmail.com, Ken Arruda, Junior Warden at kenarruda@comcast.net, or Fr. Grant at gwiseman@saintmarks.com “. (Ken Arruda, Junior Warden)

Name tags for our church members are on the table at the entrance of the church on the counter. If you do not see your name tag, please request one by signing up on the sheet on the table. Whenever you are visiting our campus on a weekday during our school hours, your name tag will grant you easier access to the campus. Please remember to keep your name tag in your car, so you will have it when you arrive at the campus.

During the summer, many of us are traveling. The Family First Saturday events will not be held on the first Saturdays of June or July. They will come roaring back starting August 5th. We all look forward to their return.  

Our church web address is www.saintmarksftl.com. To view up-to-date, easy-to-read church and school schedules of meetings and activities CLICK HERE, this is a very useful tool. If you want to receive the weekly Parish Newsletter via email please sign up at https://saintmarksftl.com/#subscribenow and complete the Constant Contact form located on the right side of the web page. If you are interested submitting an article to our weekly Parish Newsletter email dorothyseibert@comcast.net. 

Father Grant has a daily prayer blog which he starts each morning. He shares this with all who would like to pray together at www.atwinfather.com. When you go to the prayer of the day, there is an option to receive the daily prayer in your email inbox so that you don’t have to type it in every day.

While there are certainly times where a priest is the appropriate caregiver, or perhaps is someone specifically requested, the responsibility for ‘the love and care of one another’ is bestowed on each of us by baptism and commandment, and not by ordination. Congregational care is provided when faithful people are present and listening compassionately while the faith of others is being tested; and also, when we can utilize our ‘spiritual’ gifts and acquired skills to address someone’s ‘temporal’ needs. In so doing, we are preaching, practicing, and personifying Christ’s unconditional love. If God has placed upon your heart a desire to grow this ministry, please seek out a member of your Vestry and share your thoughts on how best to proceed, and how you can contribute.

Father Grant can be reached by email at gwiseman@saintmarks.com, or at 954-334-0131. Our congregation can be reached by contacting the church office . . . seeking your input.

We invite you to post on our church website blog, https://saintmarksftl.com/submit-post/, which helps us keep up with the sharing of information. All information will be reviewed and considered for posting on the church website, Facebook page, and Instagram, as well as in this Parish News.