Saint Mark’s episcopal church mystic, connecticut
Last December, twenty-four
teens and adults knelt before Bishop Laura Ahrens. The high schoolers were making a mature profession of faith in the God made known in Jesus Christ. The adults were being received into the Episcopal expression of that faith – some who were new members of St. Marks and a few who had been members for decades! Something had led them to find a home here; many different things, to be sure, all of which add up to our shared piece of God’s mission in this village of Mystic. For 150 years, the members of our church have been abiding in God’s love and sharing that love with one another and our community. With your support – in prayer, in presence, in giftedness, and in financial resources – let’s begin the next 150, abiding in God’s love together.
Since 2014, we have doubled the number of educational opportunities for young people at St. Mark’s. This fall, we added a second Godly Play class for pre-schoolers because we had too many children to fit in the main classroom. Thank you to over a dozen teachers who volunteer all school year to nurture our children in the knowledge and love of the Lord. God’s love abides in the education wing at St. Mark’s, all the way down to the one-of-a-kind Toddler Playgroup, which serves two-year-old children with special needs alongside their typically developing peers. They learn from each other and grow together – talk about God’s mission being made real in our midst.
Funding God’s Mission at Saint Mark’s – 20
The bar graph below shows total dollars pledged each year this decade and a projection of pledge dol 2010
$220,000 2011
$231,000 2012
$227,000 2013
$224,000 2014
$223,000 2015
$258,000 2016
$258,000 2017
$283,000 2018
$304,000 – projection of combined pledges needed to fund go
010 to the Present
llars needed in 2018.
Our First Curate Since 2002 After five years of fairly stable pledging, St. Mark’s parishioners joined together to jump $35,000 in 2015. Two years later, we leaped again with a jump of $25,000 came in 2017. Is it possible to increase by a similar amount again this year? Not only is it possible, the vestry believes it is very likely considering all the wonderful things God is up to here at St. Mark’s. To support our growing mission, the vestry backed a plan to bring aboard the Rev. Stacey Kohl as our first curate since 2002, and the increase shown is, in large part, the projection of the curate’s impact on the 2018 budget. We invite you to join members of the vestry who have committed to increasing their pledges so together we can fund this position, as well as our shared piece of God’s mission.
od’s mission at saint mark’s next year
increase of
$21,000
A Message from Father Sonley Joseph
I take advantage of this message to tell you that the lunch program went well... We were able to feed the students everyday. They are very happy for the meals they receive in school. Many parents and teachers told me yesterday that the program is very nutritious and helpful for the children. We have about 267 students and 12 teachers. All of them have a meal everyday. We are praying for the continuity of this initiative. I would ask you, on behalf of the teachers and children, to express my thankfulness to the community of St. Mark’s for the generosity and love they show to God’s people in Haiti in supporting the feeding program at St. Luc in Mercery.
St. Luc’s, Mercery
St. Mark’s, Mystic
We join together to worship and pray and gather for a special meal that makes present the abiding love of God shared in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Sustained by the gifts of Holy Communion and our time together, we go out into the world to love and serve the Lord. We take with us the abiding love of God, and we bear witness to that same abiding love wherever we go. God’s presence is moving through our neighborhood, and we have the opportunity to move with it. Who knows where the wind of God’s Holy Spirit will blow us in 2018? But we’ll go there together.
us s n i o J ar’ e y his y t r fo ted Wa vent n Uni cking E bratio a ele P C d p Foo ardshi y ew Sunda 2nd t S on r2 e b o Oct 9 a.m. at
1 John 4:16
RS A E Y 1 50
Saint Mark’s episcopal church mystic, connecticut
15 Pearl Street Mystic, CT 06355 (860) 572-9549 stmarksmystic.org