22nd Weekend after Pentecost

"Longing for Hope"

When the Sadducees encounter Jesus with a technical question, he responds by humanizing and placing divine value upon each character in the Sadducees’ hypothetical scenario. Jesus’ response is about resurrection and about naming people as children of God and of light. The answer Jesus gives the Sadducees is about God, whose presence means life.

This is about God’s promise of resurrection in the face of death, and about life in the face of and in spite of death. The Gospel for this weekend proclaim hope in the face of hopelessness and urge us to do the same. Come to worship for hope and inspiration.

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice.

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table! We hope that you will join us.

All Saints

"Where The Veil Is Thin"

Who are the saints, and what do they have to say to us? Rather than being perfect Christians, the saints are people who have been made whole by the grace of God, through baptism into Christ. The communion of saints is a diverse array of witnesses who remind us of God’s continuing faithfulness, past, present, and future. 

In the picture painted by the gospel reading from Luke, the saints challenge us to embody the surprising, world-reversing ways of the reign of God. 

Hope to see you this weekend!

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.

Reformation/Confirmation

"God's Abundant Love, Our Faith Journeys, and the Glow of Abiding in the Heart of God."

Local power outages interrupted the video streaming and recording of our Worship Service. We captured much of the service from an alternate personal source that limited our ability to record sound. Thank you for your understanding.

This week we celebrate more great moments in our life of faith. In the gospel we hear Jesus calls to abide in the word and be set free to love and serve our neighbor. As we celebrate Reformation Day and Confirmation we focus in on the moments when God's abundant love showed up in our lives and we lived in response to it and showed loved and served others. 

You're invited to wear RED for Reformation to represent how the Holy Spirit is always reforming the church!

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.

Installation of Pastor Krista and Deacon David

"The God of the Yet"

Fourteen years after standing in the same sanctuary for my ordination, I will be returning to celebrate how God is still at work—calling, sending, and creating something new. In a world that often looks backward for meaning, Jesus meets us on the shoreline and calls us into what’s next.

This sermon invites us to honor the past without being defined by it and to trust that God is not finished yet.

As your stewardship season tagline says, God is taking St. Mark's from Transition to Transformation!

I can't wait to celebrate what God is doing at St. Mark's, where my ministry began, and with Pastor Krista and Deacon David, my friends from seminary.

See you all on Saturday!

    Peace,

    Pastor Brian Wise

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.

17th Weekend after Pentecost

"An Attitude of Gratitude"

It’s a miracle! Multiple miracles! The waters of holy baptism have healed us. 

The body and blood of Jesus in holy communion have made us clean. 

We have died with Christ and been raised with him. 

For all this we have returned to offer thanks. 

From this place we are sent on our way rejoicing to share the good news. "Hope to see you this weekend!"

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.

17th Weekend after Pentecost

"Are We There Yet? Faith and the Between Time."

As we reflect on the bridge we're building at St. Mark's between the past and the future, between the Heart of God and the World, and between where we are now to God's visions by the leadings of the Spirit, the Gospel reminds us of the role of faith as we build, labor, walk, and stretch to the other side.

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.

16th Weekend after Pentecost

"Bridge to the Future: A Solid Foundation"

As we continue our stewardship season, Building Bridges, this week we remember that we stand on the shoulders of the many generous disciples of Christ who came before us at St. Mark's. They helped build a solid foundation and now we get to continue strengthening

that foundation in a new time. 

Come to worship this weekend and be nourished with the holy meal to be sent out in service once again.

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.

"Using your Powers for Good: Building Bridges" In the texts this week we see two pictures: one of those using their powers for good to make the world a better place and others who use their powers to serve their own interests regardless of who they trample on. The gospel reminds us that we have been gifted by God with everything we need as individuals and communities to build bridges and make our world a better place. 

Download the Order of Worship here to join in the singing, readings, and prayers.

We invite you to gather elements to participate in Communion: bread or crackers, plus wine or juice. 

St. Mark’s welcomes all to the table!  We hope that you will join us.