December 1, 2020

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

–  St. Teresa of Ávila

During Advent, we will be speaking to you about the 2021 stewardship campaign. Christian stewardship calls us to return to God what belongs to God – return our time, talent and treasure to the place where you know God’s work is being done, where God’s love is returned to God and our neighbor. 

Being the hands and feet of Christ in the world became even more difficult in 2020. Beginning in March, our lives changed in unforeseen ways. Stay-at-home orders altered how and where we were able to work, eat, gather, serve, and worship. Our church building closed, but we began to worship via Zoom and, more recently, resumed in person but socially distant services. We rely on St. Mark’s to be our spiritual home, perhaps now more than ever.

As we work to be good stewards, St. Mark’s Church will embody the mission that the Vestry adopted early in 2020: We share Christ’s love unconditionally through transformational worship and service.

Your past financial support has been crucial to the work of our church. Now, as we begin this year’s Annual Pledge campaign, we hope we can count on you again. Please prayerfully consider increasing your annual pledge. Your increased support will allow us to continue to sustain and grow our ministries, extend our reach, and share God’s love with even more people.

We hope that you will join others in our congregation in doing what love requires amid a global pandemic and a time of deep uncertainty.

A Pledge Card for Calendar Year 2021 is available here. Please print out the card, complete both parts and mail it to St. Mark’s. We ask that you return your pledge card as soon as possible. If you have any questions , please call the Church Office and a member of the Stewardship Committee will contact you.

Peace, In Christ,

The Rev. Nancy Threadgill, Priest-in-Charge

The Vestry of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Lisa Bell-Loncella, Senior Warden,  Doug Zawiskie, Junior Warden, Erin Pavic, Secretary, Donovan Pendell, Richard Burkert, Bonnie Murray, Louise Mead, Colleen Curry, Michael Teore