Pastoral Thoughts

Grace and Peace be to you from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

For as in one body, we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
Romans 12:4-5

Grace and Peace be to you from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

The Winter months and weather are hopefully gone until next year. I say that with caution, as the morning lows are still in the 30s.  At last, the hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, and lilies are budding around the parsonage.  The sun shines a bit brighter and longer.  It feels like a fresh start!  The most important reason for us as people of faith is that through the life, death, and resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ, we celebrate this Easter, reminding us that God gives us a fresh start.  In the church's life, it reminds us to share God’s love and the world.

One of the reasons I find Holy Week and Easter to be very spiritually uplifting is that within a week, we observe how death gives life. The dark and thunderous times of Jesus’ death are brought to life in the resurrection. The church is adorned with Spring flowers, and the smell imbues the sanctuary with a freshness that removes the dankness in the air of Winter and the brightness of Spring. Visually, we see how the church is “brought” back to life.

As we marvel at the area coming “back to life” as we enter the spring months, may we be reminded of the new life we celebrate at Easter, which invokes and challenges all of us. Let us ask ourselves how we individually and collectively do to build St. Mark’s church and make it bloom into a ministry of God. We all need to make this body a beacon of God’s love to all.

Peace,

Pastor Brian