Full Calendars

One of the happiest days in the year for me is the arrival of the new Presbyterian Planning Calendar. 

I know this sounds a little sad, but, after nearly two decades of ordained ministry, I have grown accustomed to the ritual of writing down appointments on the fresh paper. It normally appears in late July, but the summer months came and went, and all I had was an empty mailbox. They finally arrived a week ago, and there was much rejoicing in my office. It reminded me we do not always get things when we expect, but we can be doubly thankful when they appear.

As we prepare for October, we have already filled our calendars with appointments, family obligations, and a sundry of other activities. I keep my schedule on the computer and my phone, but I prefer the routine of pencil meeting paper because it allows me to prioritize the most important things over other items that can wait. This is at the heart of St. Mark’s new CREDO. The session could have used a multitude of sentences to describe what we believe, but we decided less is more and chose: Seek. Discover. Share. There are only three words, but I believe they speak volumes about our mission and ministry. We will continue to pan the Scriptural stream for the richness of our CREDO in worship in the coming weeks.

It took a long time to receive the planning calendar and finish the CREDO, but it was worth the wait. The search for a new Associate Pastor took even longer, but the Lord blessed us with a wonderful candidate who will begin on November 1.  Please mark your calendars, and plan to join us as we welcome Marilyn Panco to St. Mark.

We are also excited to introduce Rev. Carol DeVaughan to our church,  Pastor Carol will serve as our part-time Parish Associate through the end of the year. There are plenty of things to celebrate as we move into the harvest season: The Fall Festival was on October 13, the beginning of Stewardship Season on October 27, and we have a number of special worship services along the way.

Our schedule is full. It’s a good thing we have extra calendars.

In Hope and Confidence,

Pastor Dave