Summer's Here!

This is the letter members of St. Mark received in the mail last week.

Dear Siblings in Christ,

With the hot temperatures upon us this week, it feels almost as if summer is already here. Even though Sunday School and other programs have ended, we have so much going on during the next several months that I thought it best to write it all down in one place, for you to read at your own pace.

To start, I am so thrilled that our 11:00am service will return to the lawn for the summer! We will begin worshipping by the playground on May 22nd, under the praise band’s excellent leadership. The format of that service really hasn’t changed since we came inside last fall, and it will continue to feature a great blend of traditional and contemporary music. Families with young children can use the playground during worship, and plans are underway to have picnic lunches on occasion after the service. When there is inclement weather, worship will be held in the Fellowship Hall. Our 9:00am service will remain unchanged, and there will still be plenty of coffee and donuts in the café and Fellowship Hall.

Vacation Bible School is happening June 20th-24th, and it will be here before you know it! Children age 4 through 5th grade will gather every morning from 9:00am to noon that week. This year’s VBS theme is Food Truck Party, and it is going to be so much fun. In fact, after our closing celebration during worship on Sunday, June 26th, we will have food trucks on site for our first picnic of the summer! Registration is now open on our website. Thanks to a very generous donation, there is no cost to be part of this amazing week!

One face all our kids will get to know that week is our summer intern, Becca Honzel. Becca has been a member of St. Mark almost her entire life and is currently a student at Augustana College in Rock Island. I am certain her positivity and joyful spirit will shine through both at VBS and in all her work with our children and youth. Becca is part of a long St. Mark tradition; we have hired a college-age intern every summer for the better part of three decades, funded in whole by a generous bequest to our Endowment.

We are already deep into planning worship under the big top on the 11th of September. In the past, we have called it Rally Day, but over the last few years the weekend has grown and the name no longer fits quite right. Because of that, I am thrilled to invite you to join us for Septemberfest, a weekend of celebration and opportunity here at St. Mark. We will have a concert by Bob Rub and Margaret Dean on Friday, September 9th; meal packing for Kids Around the World that Saturday; and our familiar Sunday worship under the tent, with a catered barbecue lunch, petting zoo, and plenty of kids’ activities to follow. Our one worship service that morning will be at 10:30, with accessible seating for those who need it. Be on the lookout for more information later this summer.

One face you won’t see around this summer is my own. As most of you know, I will be away on sabbatical for the next few months. With seven years in the books as your pastor, it is time to take a rest and rejuvenate, so that I can return in the fall full of energy and ideas for our future together. My last Sunday with you will be May 22nd, and I will return on September 4th. Coincidentally, my sabbatical time will also double in part as parental leave. My wife Andrea and I are excited to welcome our second child into the world in mid-June. I will continue to pray for each of you during my time away, and I ask that you continue to do the same for me.

Finally, I want to encourage all of you to continue to do what you can to strengthen the ministries of our congregation. I talk a lot about our shared ministry, and it can sound cliché. But, it is true. The pride I have for this place does not come from what I have done in my short tenure, but rather what each of you have always done for the sake of God’s people. Our ministries rest in both the simple and time-consuming actions of all our members. Staying in touch with one another, volunteering on Sunday, and participating beyond Sunday morning are what transform a group of worshipers into a community. Each of us is still recovering from the dramatic effect the pandemic had on our lives. As we settle into new habits and hopes, I encourage you to invest your time and yourself in the life of this place we all love so dearly.

Peace to you,

Pastor Chad McKenna