Summer Series at St. Mark

Friends, 

 

And just like that, the summer months are upon us. Congratulations to those who have completed a year or an entire course of study. Congratulations to those who are getting a well-deserved break. Congratulations to those who continue to work but are taking some time off for rest and restoration. Everybody needs Sabbath rest, and there’s just something about the rhythm of summer that is delightfully different. 

 

The Rhythm of our church life is also different during the summer. Many of our commissions will take at least one month off from their usual meetings. Sunday School teachers have a break until mid-September. The choir will take a well-deserved break from June 14 until after Labor Day. And we will have a specific theme of Intergenerational worship that begins this week. I am pretty excited about it and I think you will be also.

 

We will also spend the summer exploring ways to invite children into worship more fruitfully. Starting on June 20, we will have two tables in “The Well” where children in kindergarten through 3^rd grade are welcome to come and find quiet ways to (let’s be honest here) … endure the sermon on Saturdays and Sundays. On Sunday mornings, children younger than kindergarten age are welcome to go to the nursery throughout the summer. And children and Youth are encouraged to participate in worship in various ways. They will have opportunities to work with our ushers and greeters; lead parts of our liturgy; help serve communion alongside of our elders; and occasionally help with an interactive way of telling the biblical story. (We’ll start that this week!) 

 

We will hear a lot of songs this summer that are less complicated, easier to sing, and sometime repetitive, so the younger portion of the church will have a better chance of joining in. We’ll also repeat some songs from week to week, in order to help each other build a repertoire of good music. We are aiming for simpler, more inviting ways to say important and meaningful things. It’s all part of being an inclusive church and a bit of a learning curve for those of us who plan worship. 

 

Our summer theme is “Living the Great Stories.” We will visit and revisit many of the great stories from the Old Testament, some of which will be very familiar to you, some less so, but all of them have great meaning that we will explore together. And for each month, we will have a key scripture text, which we will call a “lifeline,” that will express who we are called to be as the body of Christ. 

 

For June, our Key Scripture is Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?” We will express that Key Scripture through songs and liturgy, as we will explore stories about Manna, Hagar, Balaam’s Donkey, and David and Goliath. So, for example, our closing song throughout the month of June will have the lyrics, “When you walk from here, when you walk from here: Walk with justice, walk with mercy, and with God’s humble care. 

 

What a wonderful aspiration for all of us to hold as we enter these summer months.

 

See you in worship, 

Mark of St. Mark