23jun23

As we celebrate our 70th anniversary as a church on July 5th, I think about the foundation of a faithful journey that began with a morning prayer meeting, in the beginning at Birch State Park Garden Club and relatively quickly began to build the campus we know today. At each step along the way, Saint Mark’s has stepped out in faith. We still have a couple of members of Saint Mark’s who were there for those early days and were children at the time. With every generation that followed, there were challenging and exciting times. Times of growth and times of struggle have marked the past 70 years, and the next 70 will be no different. We will likely be a very different church than we are today. The work we do, like that of our founders, is to build a place where Christ is proclaimed, people worship and are encouraged to their unique ministry. During this next year, many changes will happen on our campus, and I believe they will be the first of many over the next several years.

I look forward to what God is calling us to become and watch as we continue to minister to one another and the world around us. I have been pleasantly surprised at the attendance over the past few weeks. We had 95 and 85 people at the 10:30 services the past two weeks and 34 and 41 for the early service. Those are great numbers for the offseason. Many of our regulars are out of town for some or all of the summer, and it bodes well for what the fall has to offer. What an exciting time to be at Saint Mark’s.

Yours in Christ,

Father Grant +

Sunday’s Gospel; Matthew 10:40-42; I Trust You – 7/2

Can you imagine God ordering anyone to murder his/her only son? Of course not! This indicates next Sunday’s first proclamation is a story designed to point out the depth of faith in God present in each other to which we are called. Because God dwells in you with His goodness and honesty, I trust you, and hopefully, you trust me. This requires courage for both of us, but Jesus, our hero, gives us full example. (Norm Carroll)

Please bring non-perishable items to either of this Sunday’s services. The web site for The Pantry of Broward is www.thepantryofbrowad.org. The Pantry serves seniors in need on low, fixed incomes and grandparents raising their grandchildren throughout Broward County. The need is even greater, since many of Saint Mark’s winter parishioners are now North and many permanent residents are travelling on vacation. For the past 90 days our parish has donated over 120 pounds per month. Thank you for your continued generosity!

If you have requested giving envelopes, please note that your numbered envelopes are located on the counter at the entrance of the church. Please remember to sign for your envelopes, as they are registered in our Realm giving system. If you did not order envelopes, but would like to receive a set of envelopes, please contact Kelly Harris (kharris@saintmarks.com).

Due to construction taking place in the Ministry Center, coffee hour after each service, is held in the South Chapel of the Church and can spill out to the Memorial Garden weather permitting. Please note that there are tables and chairs set up in the South Chapel for all to sit and visit comfortably. We are seeking coffee hour sponsors. You may sign up by filling in the form (8 am or 10:30 am) that is located on the table at the church entrance. Thank you for your support.

In recognition of the Fourth of July our church and school offices will be closed. We hope that you have a safe and blessed Independence Day!

The Guild will be traveling to the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University for the 2:00 pm matinee performance of A Chorus Line. The cast is composed of professionals and FAU theater students. You may take the Saint Mark’s School van from the church parking lot to Panera Bread, 5975 N Federal Highway, Ft. Lauderdale, 33308, for lunch. After lunch the Guild will travel to Florida Atlantic University. If you choose to not have lunch, you can meet the van at Panera after lunch for the ride to FAU. You may also drive yourself directly to Panera or Florida Atlantic University. The ticket price will be $27.00 if we have less than 15 attendees, and $15.00 if we have over 15. Please contact Lynne Coughlin at 954-741-6566 or lynnescoughlin@gmail.com to arrange for ticket(s) and/or van transportation.

During the month of July we will have some exciting musical happenings at Saint Mark’s:

This coming Sunday, July 2nd (July 4th Patriotic Sunday) we will have the Chancel Choir doing several wonderful arrangements of well known patriotic pieces. And a special solo, The House I Live in, sung by Aaron Venable. This piece was made famous by Frank Sinatra at the end of the Second World War. You can read about that iconic performance on YouTube. Sinatra used it many times during his career. Another interesting YouTube version was when he sang it at the White House in the mid-seventies.

On July 9th, we will have a special guest soloist, mezzo soprano Adriana Portales, who will be singing Laudate Dominum by Mozart. She is a wonderful talent and I’m sure will add a lot to the worship experience.

On July 23rd, we have the good fortune to have an international string quartet, Quartett Orfeo based in Rome, who will be in South Florida for one week only, performing several concerts. They are part of the Music for International and Music for America outreach program. On the afternoon of July 23rd, after our service, they will be performing at the UCC church down the street from us (East of US 1) with full string orchestra. It should be a very exciting musical service for us. (Gordon Roberts, Choir Director)

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.