Saint Mark's Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

You are surely aware of the devastating cyclone in Myanmar, or Burma.  Estimates as of today put the number of dead at 22,500, missing persons at 41,000, and perhaps as many as 1,000,000 displaced from their homes and villages.  Disasters of such an awful scale rightly prompt responses of a large scale. 

We plan to take a special collection on this coming Sunday morning at both masses to assist with the relief effort in Burma.  We will direct the funds we raise to the Episcopal Relief and Deveopment Fund which is working already with the Anglican Church of Burma to provide emergency food, water and shelter.

Please consider prayerfully how you can help in this effort and come to church prepared, if you are able, to contribute to this cause.  I will have my check book with me.  If you are not able to come to church on Sunday you could mail us a check payable to the Episcopal Relief and Development, "Emergency Relief Fund".  You can also contribute directly to the fund online at er-d.org.

Thank you in advance for being willing to help those who are in dire need.

Faithfully,

SEAN MULLEN

Rector 

At a special meeting on May 1st the Vestry of Saint Mark's received the recommendation of the Buildings & Property Committee to engage John Milner Architects of Chadd's Ford, PA to produces a Master Plan that will include an historic preservation plan and a space utilization plan for all three buildings on the property.  The goals established last year by the Strategic Planning Group were to
•    preserve and enhance the beauty and structural integrity of this National Historic Landmark for future generations.
•    ensure that the ministries of Saint Mark’s are carried out in a modern, safe, and secure physical plant.

The B&P Committee met with the architects on May 6 to begin to discuss the method of formulating a Master Plan.  In addition to a complete survey of the existing conditions of all our buildings, their structural and mechanical systems, the architects will conduct meetings and interviews with various groups and leaders of ministries within the parish to determine how best to use space that is currently underutilized and re-configure space that could work better to enable our mission.  The entire parish can expect to hear a good deal about this process in the coming months.  We expect to finalize a Master Plan by some time late in 2008 so that we can then begin a discussion about doing the work that needs to be done and paying for it.

On Friday, May 9, 2008, Diane Meredith Belcher will present a recital at 8:00 PM at Saint Mark's.  Click here to open the full program.

St. Mark’s Parish Retreat June 13^th-15^th

A contemplative weekend of directed prayer and silence including Daily Offices and Eucharist on 90 acres of bucolic surroundings at:

St. Marguerites Retreat House
Community of St. John the Baptist (CSJB Anglican)
Mendham , NJ (2 hrs. North of Philadelphia)

Cost: $150 - includes lodging and meals
Please reserve by May 18^th

Contact Jonathan Nidock
Jonathan2n@aol.com
267-254-4712

After engaging in a process of prayer, discussion, and consultation with the entire Parish, the Vestry  recently adopted a mission statement for Saint Mark's.  The leadership of the parish sees this as an important early step in strategically planning for the challenges and opportunities the parish faces in the coming years.  In addition to the mission statement, the Vestry also adopted vision and values statements.  These steps are taken with the conviction that the health and welfare of the parish  are linked to a clear articulation and shared understanding of our mission, vision, and values. 

The Vestry met in September 2007 to discuss draft versions of all these statements, and to pray about the mission of the parish.  Those drafts were circulated by mail to the entire Parish with notice of three opportunities to provide feedback in open forums throughout the Fall. In due course, a fourth session for parish feedback was scheduled to accommadate as many voices and ideas as we could.  At a second retreat in January 2008 the Vestry reviewed the feedback collected from the parish and  spent time in prayer again to make changes as seemed approriate to reflect the mind of the parish at large as well as the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we were able to discern it.  Together, the Vestry and clergy agreed to the final versions of these statements and pledged to continue to engage in a process of strategic planning to enable the growth and impact of the ministries of Saint Mark's.