St. Mark's Casper

St. Mark’s Church 701 S. Wolcott Casper, WY 82601 January 2021 St. Mark’s Church~ Joyfully & Unconditionally Welcoming All People What’s Inside? • Advent Reflections on the Creation Story & Advent by Fr. Jim • Reflections for Advent 2020by Rev. Lara • Capital Campaign Photos • Save the Date-Consecration of our new Bishop Elect • St. Marks Prayer Group • Note From Father Jim • Vestry Highlights • Office Closed Notice Happy New Year Office Hours Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Office Phone: (307) 234-0831 Email address: [email protected] Website: stmarks.diowy.org Fr. Jim’s Cell: (912) 844-7412 Fr. Jim’s email: [email protected] A Review of the Advent Reflection Insights on the Creation Story and the Sabbath Fr. Jim-2020 Our story of creation was written at a time of the Babylonian Captivity when Israel’s captors were making fun of them and their God. The Babylonian story of creation involved war and spilling of blood to create life out of death, whereas in our story of Creation, no blood was spilled to create, but God’s very own blood was spilled in death to bring life and to redeem creation. Our theology and this story of creation is said to have evolved out of the worship experience. Faith and experience of God come first and theology follows upon reflection on that faith and experience. We Anglicans call this the law of praying is the law of believing. Looking at our worship and our members I experience a theology of joy, tears, questions, laughter and love and you have become a permanent part of the fabric of my faith. I overlay the Old Testament with the Gospel so dominion gets translated as service by Jesus. He said if his disciples wanted to have power over others, then serve them and Jesus did this unto death. We are to serve the animals, the air, the water, the earth and all that live upon and under it. The writers held an idealistic view of creation that it was good and that there would be no blood spilling, no violence in all God’s holy mountain and all creation. We were given the fruit of plants and vegetation as our food and animals were to eat enervation and not one another. This is the dream of God, the Kingdom of God that we are called back to…not just back to Eden. Keeping the Sabbath has challenged different parts of my brain but it has been a joyous and peaceful time. Fr. Jim+ Reflections for Advent 2020 Year B The Reverend Lara Gilbert St. Mark’s Church, Casper Advent I “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” These words uttered by Mary have given rise to the idea of “gentle Mary, meek and mild.” But she is being humble and subservient, not necessarily as her nature, but – to God – and being so, she is the model for perfect discipleship. We should all, when faced with a calling from God, have those words on our lips, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” In this season of Advent, I encourage you to anticipate the coming of the Lord, to anticipate a call from God, so you will see it as it’s happening. And then, as the perfect disciple does, you too can respond, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Advent II The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth The story of Elizabeth is an echo of Israel’s past. It positions the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary as the coming together of the old and the new. A bridge between the Old Way and the New Way. It is as these two women come together that the past and future meet. And in their meeting, they praise and are respectful and gracious to one another. They are the model for us in the church. We are in a time of adapting from our old way to make room for a new way. I have been overwhelmed by the willingness of this community of faith to do whatever must be done to continue our lives together. The grace that I have seen extended from one to another comes from God - I have absolutely no doubt. My hope for us is that this forced time of reimagining will be a bridge between past and future just like the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary. That we will go into the future valuing and respecting our past while allowing this new creation to thrive. Living in the fullness of this blossoming grace. Advent III “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” John the Baptist It would be easy, I think, during this time of pandemic to hunker down, hibernate, put our fruit bearing on hold. It would be easy to disconnect and hold God in our hearts, all to ourselves. It would be easy, I think, even to despair, to give in to anxiety or negativity and just give up on trying to function as part of a larger community. But that isn’t what’s happening. The church is humming with The Spirit. All people are worthy, because the grace of God makes it so, but I am overcome with how amazing you all are, and how much work you are willing to do to be worthy of that gift that God has given you. May the Grace of God continue to work in each of you. Advent IV “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The Gospel as told by John. In John’s Gospel, when Jesus tells his disciples that he is in the Father, and the Father is in him, and he is in all of them, he is saying that the Light that was present at the beginning of all things is also in them. And John’s Gospel conveys that message to all of us. The Light that was at the beginning of all things is in us. As we stay in our homes more, limit our exposure to others, some of us are alone and some of us are suffering pandemic-fatigue. Some of us are depressed, or angry, or frustrated, or maybe just apathetic. The darkness may very well be creeping in. This is the time to remember John’s message. The light that was present in the beginning of all things is in you, and in you that light will not be overcome by darkness. CAPITAL CAMPAIGN PHOTOS FOR FAITH I guess I’m getting old. You read something and an image or song comes to mind that’s dated. That dates you. I hear John the Baptist’s story and I think of Perry Mason. Only the old folks will get that, the rest of you, well thank God for Google. I see him standing there in court, examining the witness. I see him artfully circumvent and dodge all the half-truths, of the witness. Incidentally, this is all happening on my 13-inch portable black and white television. Perry Mason was an incredible maker of questions. Questions that probed and prodded until finally, just in time for the show to finish, the witness exhausted and with no more defenses, confesses the truth. In that moment you see both the weight and the freedom of the truth. How did John get to his testimony? Who helped him to stop making excuses and land with concision and clarity on the truth? Can’t you just hear Perry Mason saying to John, “is that your testimony sir?” And can’t you hear John say back, “that is my testimony. I came to testify to the light and to baptize with water.” In the Episcopal Church, we pride ourselves on being the church where questions are welcome. I’m proud of that. But, the function of questions isn’t simply more informati0n, it’s to gain clarity. And clarity about Jesus and our role in His friend making campaign changes our lives and thereby changes the world. What is your testimony? How did you get to that clarity? John 1:6-8, 19-28 Bishop Rob Wright Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta Consecration of our new Bishop Elect The. Rev. Canon Paul-Gordon Chandler February 13, 20201 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral Laramie, Wyoming February 13, 2021 11:00 A.M. MINISTRY SCHEDULES FOR JANUARY January 3, 2021 St. Mark’s Prayer Group Altar Guild: Cheryl Nickerson & Liz Jennings Lectors: Margie Roberts St. Mark’s has had a group of what I call Prayer Worship Leaders: Laurie Reese, Kathy Morton Warriors for many, many years. I head up this & Maureen Shumard wonderful ministry of dedicated ladies and gentleman that are committed to praying for the January 10, 2021 requests we receive. After I gather prayer Altar Guild: Kim McAtee & Jessica Reynolds requests, I usually send them out on Mondays, but I Lectors: Traute Gilbert & Jane Clemmons often receive requests throughout the week via text Worship Leaders: Susan Massey, Steve Johnson, and/or email or the church office, and pass them on Clint Hernandez & Claudia Wison accordingly. We welcome anyone that might feel called to join us in prayer for those requests. We January 17, 2021 respect people’s privacy within this group and Altar Guild: Dyann Durst & Jane Cassel unless requested, do not use last names. Please feel Lectors: Neil Zespy & Eric Zespy free to contact me with questions or if you are Worship Leaders: Kathy Moton, Dick Lindsey & John Kerns interested in joining us, because you can never have too many prayers out there!.

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