themessenger Monthly Newsletter of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church JANUARY 2014
VOLUME 103
ISSUE 1
IN THIS ISSUE: Consecration Sunday Page 2 Search Committee Page 3 Adult Formation Page 4 Parish Retreat Parish Annual Meeting Page 5 Music Notes Page 6 Epiphany Frontal Dedication Page 7 Youth News Page 8 Children & Family News Page 9 Birthdays Page 10 Memorials & Other News Page 11 Epiphany Baby Shower Page 12
ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 315 E. Pecan St. San Antonio, Texas 78205 (210) 226-2426 www.stmarks-sa.org stmarks@stmarks-sa.org Office hours: Monday thru Friday 9:00a.m.-5:00p.m. Emergency Pastoral Care: 210-507-0256
Last January, we as a congregation had just experienced a joyful Christmas season with the return to our newly restored Church: our worship space renewed and refreshed, new sound and lighting, new organ, and a newly oriented altar, facing the congregation. Little did we know that on the horizon was more change and transition. And in the months of 2013 came many changes: an interim rector, a new assistant, new staff members. We began a new adventure as the people who are St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Calling a new Rector is not unlike looking for a new spouse. What do we want, what do we need? Will we find the right person? This year has shown the depth of love and devotion that this community has to one another. Changes big and small have been met with openness, all while staying in touch with our long and rich history and traditions, which have shaped us to be who we are. This kind of change is no small task! We, the people who are St. Mark’s, are called to recognize that the soil in which we grow has been loosened. Some feel a little ill at ease, some feel more relaxed, others perhaps feel left aside or perhaps left out. Loose soil makes good matter for things to grow, and familiar resistance to growth might take a differing shape. Be sure of one thing: God is in the midst of what is happening around us. Circumstance is important, but God’s presence is primary and very real. As we continue this year together, the changes will continue. God is present along the journey. Be listening as God works not just in our corporate life, but also in our individual lives in 2014. What does God have in store for you? Will there be changes in your life, your routine, your heart as the soil is loosened? This requires the biggest transition of all: being God’s people, and not just our own. Let us remember “Who we are” and “Whose we are” as we move together during these times of change and transformation. Let us live in grace! Faithfully in Transition through Jesus Christ,
The Reverend Ned Bowersox Interim Rector
The Reverend Carol Morehead Assistant Rector