“What’s the Spirit of God up to here at St. Mark’s United Church?”
That’s a question I posed to the Search Committee last spring, and it’s one I continue to ponder. It’s the type of query that can be difficult to answer, but over these last few months I’ve begun to see several signs of where and how it’s alive and at work in this place.

It was evident in the warm and gracious way you welcomed the folk from Elections New Brunswick into the building.

It was clearly present at the recent “Harvest Hoedown” as we gathered to dance, eat, and enjoy the great hospitality offered by the Seniors Adult Ministry group.

It was evident last Sunday as Gene Mason placed a wreath on behalf of St. Mark’s Veterans, and we gathered to remember those who had sacrificed and died to help secure our peace and freedom. It’s been clearly seen in the recent efforts to publicize our church’s activities through some new signage, an updated website, and a renewed Facebook page and the positive support that’s been given to these initiatives.

It’s evident in the fact that I’ve never heard even one person say “we don’t do things that way” when I’ve offered a new suggestion or idea; And it’s also seen in the helpful feedback many of you offered when you
completed the congregational questionnaire that was circulated a couple of weeks ago. These are some of the signs of the Spirit’s presence I see here at St. Mark’s. And these are elements we can build on as we continue discerning where the
Spirit is leading us, and what a viable and sustainable ministry plan for the future might look like.

So, if you haven’t yet completed your questionnaire, please do so. If you have some suggestions about what you’d like to see happen here, please share them. Any and all ideas you may have are welcome, because we’re all in this together! As the Scripture passage we’ll be reading this Sunday reminds us, the contours of religious life inevitably change over time. But the Spirit that brought those religious institutions into being continues to live on. So I pray that that the Spirit will continue to guide us and give us the courage and grace we need to face the future with confidence and hope.