28sep22

I hope that all of you had minor damage from the hurricane. This was my first experience of being anywhere near the coast during a hurricane. And I now have respect for the power of just being on the edge of the storm. This weekend we have a lot of activities that are scheduled. We will have our first Family First Saturday event at 5:30 pm, and I hope to see you all there. I am honestly still trying to decide what to make. On Sunday, during both services, we will offer a blessing of the animals. Also, I look forward to meeting the additional members of your families. 

We will begin the five-week Wednesday Night Dinner Series on the 12th of October, and I look forward to sharing the menus and topics with you next week. 

May God Bless each and every one of you. 

Yours in Christ,

Grant +

All Church and School families are invited to Family First Saturdays, the first Saturday of most months, beginning this Saturday, October 1st. The theme of the inaugural event will be A Taste of Home potluck dinner and then a game not for all ages, or sit outside on the new seawall decked patio with fellow guests and enjoy the rest of the evening. Bring a dish that most reminds you of home and please share the recipe with us for inclusion in the cookbook the Saint Mark’s School Diversity and Inclusion Committee is putting together. Bring your family’s favorite game. Future fun and instructional activities are being planned for the future Family First Saturday dinners.

“I believe in God the Father Almighty” begins our Creed at every Eucharist. This expresses our beliefs, but not necessarily our faith. Beliefs refer to our Church and its teachings. Faith denotes, however, our acceptance or the explanations of Jesus to the fundamental questions of life; for example, is God really present in us and all beings and what is our destiny? Am I truly willing to accept the answers of Jesus? He likens our faith to a large deeply rooted mulberry tree which follows our commands to be uprooted and planted in the sea. This pictures our faith as abiding, invincible, and effective. Jesus had such faith in his Father, and calls us to follow Him. (Norm Carroll)

The Blessing of the Animals is often celebrated on October 4th, The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi or a Sunday closest to that date. This Sunday bring your pets for a blessing at the 8 am or the 10:30 am service, in the Church. All pets must be leashed or in carriers.

On the first Sunday of every month, Saint Mark’s Church collects food for the Pantry of Broward. The cupboards can be bare during the months beyond Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most recipients of canned and boxed food are grandparents raising their grandchildren. During the height of the hurricane season, the supply of nonperishable food items is necessary. If you want to add a toy, game, or school supply item, please go for it. There is a section within the pantry for personal items, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, etc., are welcome. The Pantry of Broward is very appreciative of our donations and consistency. Please place your donations in the boxes, located at the entrance of the church. Thank you for your love and generosity

The Fall weekly Wednesday Night Dinners will start October 12, 2022, and run through November 2, 2022. The buffet dinner begins at 5:45 pm and will be catered by our school’s dining hall chef. The dinner will cost $10.00 per person or $25.00 per family of 3 or more. At 6:25 pm choir members will leave for rehearsal and there will be a program for the remaining parishioners. The program for October 12 will be instruction and assistance for enrolling in our Church Realm. Volunteers will also be taking pictures if you don’t have one you want to upload or they can help you upload a picture from your phone, iPad, laptop, etc. Fun and inspirational topics are being planned for the future.

Father Grant has a daily prayer blog with 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.

It is great to have the choir starting the fall season. Seeing everyone robed and processing adds dignity and tradition to the Sunday, 10:30 am service, which is uplifting. I hope to develop the choir into a strong-musical entity. We are always looking to grow the choir and invite all who are interested to join us at rehearsal on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm and/or Sunday mornings at 9:30 am. Give us a try, and you may like us! (Gordon James Roberts)

Invitations to join our Church Realm have begun being sent by email, as of last week, with many other invites on the way. Please check your email and sign up by creating your personal log in and to upload your digital photo. If you have not received an email invitation to join our Church Realm, please contact Kelly Harris at kharris@saintmarks.com. Church Realm will serve as a great opportunity for our parishioners to connect with one another. Also, this will be an online directory and gateway to church information. This will be an online directory and the gateway to church information. You will have the option to choose which information you want just the church office to have and what contact information you want to share with fellow parishioners.  If you do not have a digital photo , Father Grant or a parishioner will be available to take a photo of you at the October 12th parish dinner.

Now that the cases of COVID have thankfully abated, wearing a facial mask is encouraged, but not required. Please respect the space of those who choose to be more cautious.

Father Grant, our rector is currently available to provide pastoral care for our parish. You may contact Fr. Grant at 954-334-0131, or by email at gwiseman@saintmarks.com.

Please check for our parish updates on the church website at: https://saintmarksftl.com/parish-news/

Got news to share? We’d love to receive your submission at: https://saintmarksftl.com/submit-post/