Our New Advent Paraments

A few years ago, our Sew & Sews group did their best to touch up the paraments we use at Advent. It was a lovely set, but after so many decades of use and repair, the detailed piping on those old pieces could only be improved so much. It was clear then that we would soon need to have a brand new set of artistic fabrics to decorate our communion table, lectern, and pastoral stoles for Advent.

The Altar Guild had such a lovely experience working with Ann Anderson of Interwoven Studio when we commissioned our paraments for Lent in 2022. It was a no-brainer to call her up again and see what ideas she could come up with for us this time around. We went back and forth about vision, style, and details this past summer and fall, and if you have worshipped with us this Advent, you have seen the results of those conversations. 

One thing I love about Ann’s artistry is how she is able to capture an image or a moment, and yet leave it abstract enough for us engage her work with our own interpretations. Stars dot the stoles and paraments alike. The stole itself has a small seedling rising from below, a reminder of life’s persistence in the cold of December. 

I have always been enamored with the bold message of an Advent Wreath. As the days get shorter, the light in our worship space pushes back with increasing luminance until at last God’s own self enters into the world on Christmas Day. Like the increasing light of an Advent Wreath, the altar piece gains a new panel each Sunday in Advent, filling in the emptiness we might feel this time of year. The design seems to blend in more and more with the stained glass in the chancel, pulling us in to the story. Is that Mary and the Christ Child in the center of the altarpiece? Or is it an angel? Each week, the art speaks to us in new ways.

The piece on the lectern may seem less complex, but it emanates movement. A single figure stands on the edge, as if their journey is still in motion. A star rises to the left. But just who is that supposed to be? So many different people in the Christmas story are on a journey, guided by the heavens. Perhaps you have felt like you are being pulled into a journey of hope and trust in this season of your life. 

I pray that this new artwork has helped you encounter the season of Advent in new ways this year. I am so grateful to Ann Anderson for creating this new set of Advent Paraments, and to Christy Malenchik and the Altar Guild for their tireless work to make it happen. And, thanks to our Memorial Committee, these lovely new paraments were paid for in full using funds given in memory of St. Mark members. May their memory be a blessing as we await the one whose birth has given us all hope for new life in God’s love.  See the pictures below of the paraments.

Peace,

Pastor Chad McKenna

We are Better Together!

We are blessed at St. Mark.  We are among a few Lutheran churches in Rockford who have two pastors. I believe that having two pastors is wonderful. I am grateful and blessed to work with Pastor Chad.  We work well together and we bring different God given gifts to the table, and this is a blessing to the church. 

When I was growing up, almost every church in Rockford had two pastors.  I didn’t appreciate that when I was a child, nor did I understand the value and blessing that two pastors bring to the church.  As a congregation you hear sermons from two different perspectives.  You have two pastors who are there for you and who will journey with you in times of grief and joy.  Having two pastors allows for one to lead the adult forum, while the other enjoys a time of fellowship with folks in the café.  The confirmation classes and bible study’s have two pastors to lead and have discussions with about the bible, book studies, the catechism, and more.  

From my perspective, having two pastors is a blessing for the pastors too.  As co-pastors, Pastor Chad and I can work on projects together, which allows us to bounce ideas off each other.  We can support the ministries better because one of us is not carrying the weight of all the ministries at St. Mark.  We are better when we work together.

When pastors are ordained we make promises.  We promise to be diligent in our study of the holy scriptures and be faithful in our use of the means of grace.  We promise to pray for God’s people, nourish them with the word and sacraments, and lead them by our own example in faithful service and holy living.  We are charged to “fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” and to “care for God’s people, bear their burdens, and do not betray their confidence.”  Our final charge is to “witness faithfully in word and deed to all people.  Give and receive comfort as we serve within the church.  And be of good courage, for God has called you, and your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 

Pastor Chad and I take these promises and charges very seriously.  God has called us to the ministries and work in the church.  Again, I am grateful and blessed to work alongside Pastor Chad as we journey with each of you.

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber