FEBRUARY 2025

From Pastor Karl's Desk

"Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods.  Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of your enemies."

2 KINGS 17:38-39

I feel closest to God when I worship.  That usually involves music as well.  There is someting beautiful about music that has the power to move and uplift.  In fact, an article in the WASHINGTON POST in 2026 says that singing postively impacts our health -- especially singing with others.  It is also known that music can be therapeutic in various health settings, from treating cancer patients to NICU babies.  Research has shown that spiritual and religious experiences and practices shape and affect our brains.

But over the years I've learned that worship is so much more than just music.  At its core, worship is an intentional act -- in worship I put myself in a posture that is deliberate, seeking to experience something and someone greater than myself.  It's a practice of listening to the already, all-present God.  Therefore worship should be more than just a passing moment -- it truly should be a lifestyle.

The Presbyterian preacher, Thomas Long, write in his book: Testimony "Worship is a soundtrack for the  rest of life, the words and music and actions of worship inside the sanctuary playing the background as we live our lives outide in the world....The words of worship are like stones thrown into the pond; they ripple outward in countless circles, finding ever fresh expression in new places in our lives."

I love worship at St. Mark's.  And it is my privilege to be able to lead worship sometimes.  I will be leading worship in the first three Sundays in February.  I invite you to join me.  Worship is the  broader and deeper framework through which everything else makes sense.

Without it, life is like a musical without music, not fully what it is meant to be.

Shalom,

Pastor Karl

At the current time St. Mark's does not have a full-time pastor.  Pastor Kevin's last service with St. Mark's was September 15, 2024.  The transition team, consisting of members of both St. Mark's and St. John's, have completed the short profile for a new pastor.  The profile has been submitted to the Penn Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ and will  eventually be available online for perspective candidates for pastor.  In the meantime, worship services are being conducted by the church's former pastor (1986--2006) Karl W. Jones and lay minister Jennie Strauch.