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Message From Pastor Mary Jane Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Words cannot begin to describe how overwhelmed and grateful I am for the events of this past Sunday. The presence of God's Holy Spirit was powerful and AWESOME!
I cannot remember a more uplifting and spirit-filled worship service. The music was outstanding. Many thanks to our Minister of Music, Ralph "Pop Pop" Petersen, for pulling it all together and to all who were involved in its planning and execution. Harpist Kristy Chmura helped to make each hymn more vibrant. The men's choir did an excellent rendition of one of my favorite and most meaningful hymns. The Burkhardt family blew us all away with their superb musical talent.
Pastor Schantzenbach's sermon was so appropriate and gospel filled and hope filled. I have never heard so many people talk so much about a sermon … all positive, appreciative and complimentary!
The luncheon was outstanding! Thank you to Paul Dodenhoff for coordinating it. Certainly, the food was wonderful, but your love and support was palpable. My family and friends (who are family) were overwhelmed and so grateful that I served a congregation who loves me so.
Speaking of family … my dear friend Pat Hosler stepped out of her comfort zone to share events of my life that we have experienced together since high school. Thank you dear friend!
As always, Bob Burkhardt was the host extraordinaire. His wit and creativity always come through in everything he does. The photo album made by Donna Mertz-Burkhardt is something I will treasure always! Her artistry was so evident in all the decorations and favors.
The wonderful, faith filled and praise filled poem written by Paul Dodenhoff with the letters of AWESOME will have a place of prominence in my new home. Everything all of you wrote in my Retirement Party book will continue to bring your love and presence into my life for many years to come.
Your very generous financial gift will certainly be helpful as I move and make some renovations in my new home. "Thank you" seems so insignificant to express my gratitude.
I know I leave you in good hands. Yes … God's hands. But most importantly, God's hands that will work through each of you to continue the growth and the vibrance of the ministry of Saint Mark! I know your ministry will continue to be AWESOME … as each of you are AWESOME! You have been a blessing to me and a blessing to each other!
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
Thank you for making me feel loved, supported and appreciated!!
In Christ,
Message From The Council President The time has finally come with our loved Pastor MJ now
in retirement and our future together at Saint Mark in another transition. Paul Dodenhoff and the Call Committee will continue their work and we, the members of Saint Mark, will move forward with our missions together.
We cannot thank Pastor enough for her wonderful 16 years as our minister, leading and guiding us with our worship and what happens in life… living. Now it is her turn to live her life as a retired person, which many of us already there know is inspiring and rewarding.
Hopefully and prayerfully, we will all show our continued commitment to our mission to worship, learn and serve each other and our community. Thanks for your membership and for your volunteer spirit to be an example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Bob Burkhardt
Pastor Mary Jane’s Retirement Where does the time go? The Lord has blessed Saint
Mark over the last sixteen years with a dedicated, inspiring, fun-loving, competent, loving, caring, wonderful minister in the person of Pastor Mary Jane Hastings. We have grown together through happy times and sorrow, through accomplishments and challenges. She has been our rock, always there when we needed her. Of course, that is the way we view our Lord too: always there. Pastor Mary Jane has been Christ among us, and we have felt that and embraced that.
The Day of Pentecost was an apt time for Pastor MJ’s last Sunday with us. Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Scott Schantzenbach preached a spot-on sermon, weaving in the impact of the Holy Spirit who never leaves us abandoned. The work that Pastor MJ accomplished with us will likewise move things forward, always knowing that we are never alone.
The Burkhardt family brought tears to our eyes with their rendition of You Have Come Down To The Lakeshore. The Men’s Choir was also in fine form. Kristy Chmura and her harp added to the musical beauty enhanced by Ralph Petersen’s always wonderful organ pieces. Paul Dodenhoff, Bob Burkhardt, and Bob Klein gave powerful and poignant reflections on MJ and her time with us. The sanctuary was crowded, and the singing was triumphant.
Immediately following the worship service about 100 congregants, friends, and family headed to the Olde Mill Inn for a lavish luncheon. The mood was festive and teary and sentimental and sincere and so much fun. Donna Mertz-Burkhardt put together a marvelous photo album from pictures collected through the years. Bob Burkhardt sang a new version of Condsider Yourself. Paul Dodenhoff read a poem he had composed. Linda Petersen thoughtfully provided a guest book in which people were asked to write. Diane Pillion made sure that Pastor’s favorite flowers, hydrangeas and roses, were included in the display at church and brought to the reception. All in all, it was a memorable and delightful event.
It goes without saying how much we will miss our beloved Pastor Mary Jane. May God be with her in retirement
and as she seeks out new ways to serve our Lord. She will be forever in our thoughts and prayers.
Our New Vice Pastor We are pleased to announce that Bishop Tracie
Bartholomew and the NJ Synod have appointed Pastor J. David Knecht to serve as our Vice Pastor until a permanent replacement for our retiring Pastor MJ can be secured. A Vice Pastor serves the church between the Sundays during a pastoral vacancy to consult with the congregation in order to facilitate pastoral care, Christian formation, and administration.
Pastor Knecht has been serving as the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Springfield since May 2008. He previously served several other parishes in northern New Jersey. Before that he was given the opportunity to serve as a missionary and pastor in Taiwan. It was there that he met his wife, Yu-Mei. They have two children: son Paul (11) and daughter Beata (17). Both are active in school and swimming at the Summit YMCA.
Pastor Knecht enjoys running, reading, and the Springfield Lions Club. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree, as well as a Master of Divinity degree, from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University with a BA in Economics. His monthly meditation can be found at http://pastorknecht.blogspot.com/
In his own words: “My biggest joy in ministry is seeing how the Holy spirit works through the lives of Christians. When people are inspired to use the gifts that God has given them for helping others it connects us to the God who sent Jesus for the world’s salvation. I am passionate about building up the church, for I believe we offer hope for those in need in our world today. I would love the chance to meet you and talk about what God is doing in your life or about whatever God has placed on your heart. I can be reached at Holy Cross via (tel) 973-379-4525 ext. 204 or email [email protected]. I can also be reached via social media on facebook, linkedin and twitter by searching the handle pastorknecht.
Saint Mark Book Marks Our book club had a terrific discussion on Brooklyn by
Colm Toibin on Thursday, May 3 at Judy Geller’s house. Themes of homesickness, the immigrant experience, passive vs. aggressive personalities, family obligations, starting over and other ideas made for a memorable book.
We will meet again for dinner at Judy’s house on Monday, June 4 at 6:30 pm to talk about A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline, an author whose book Orphan Train was a previous selection of ours. The story revolves around Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting entitled Christina’s World and the woman who inspired it. Let Judy know if you will be there for dinner.
First Holy Communion On Sunday, April 29, Michael and Mackenzie Geller
received their first Holy Communion. Pastor Mary Jane, who had baptized the twins seven years ago, instructed them in the meaning of this sacrament and the implications on their lives. They were eager students.
Mackenzie and Michael gathered with Pastor in Gram Judy’s kitchen to knead and bake the bread to be used the next day. It was not only fun but also a learning experience. The finished product was delicious as well as deeply meaningful.
As a congregation we have watched Mackenzie and Michael grow and flourish. They are happy to be among adults and children who care for and enjoy them. Family and friends were delighted to be present at this joyous event. May this step in their journey bring them to a new level of understanding of our shared faith.
Confirmation It was with great joy
that we celebrated the Affirmation of Baptism of Teddy Eck and Kristin Smith. They had studied with Pastor MJ over the past many months and expressed their desire to take on the adult responsibilities of their faith that were assumed by their parents and sponsors on their behalf at baptism.
It was inspiring to have so many of Kristin’s and Teddy’s family members in attendance at this important occasion. They are surrounded by loved ones who recognize the significance of this Confirmation day.
May Teddy and Kristin continue to grow in their faith and find fulfillment in staying closely connected with Saint Mark. God’s blessings upon them.
Bible Study Our Wednesday morning Bible study will go on hiatus
after May 30 until September. We started our study of the book of Romans and will pick up on chapter 7 in the fall. New members are always welcome.
Flag Retirement Ceremony As we have done in the past, if you have any torn or worn
American flags you may bring them to church to give to Diane Pillion. She will bring them to the American Legion’s Flag Retirement Ceremony where they will receive a respectful retirement. Flag Day in June 14. Thank you.
Directory Update Please make the following changes to your church directory: Sue Smith – remove celgene email address Diane Pillion – change of cell phone to 973-936-0225
Calendar of Events Every Sunday at 9:30 am: Worship & Holy Communion
Council Meeting Minutes April & May 2018
From Pastor: Mackenzie and Michael Geller received their
First Holy Communion on April 29th. Kristin Smith and Teddy Eck
were confirmed on May 6th and on that same day a Special Blessing
was given to all the Saint Mark youth and chaperones attending the
National Youth Gathering in Houston in June. Pastor’s last day was
May 21st. She is having some work done on the townhouse she has
purchased in Morris Plains and anticipates that she will be able to
move in by mid-July. She is thankful to the church for allowing her to
remain in the Parsonage until that time per an agreed-upon financial
arrangement with Council. She is taking accrued vacation time from
May 22nd to the 31st and, given the fact that most of her colleagues will
be away at the Synod Conference during some of this time, she will be
around in case of emergency.
Finances: Our general offering total as of the beginning of
May was at approximately $34,000 which is about $1,000 more than
what was budgeted for 2018. That said, given our expenses, less room
donations for the unused school space, our Net Income/Loss is at $
(5,266). The $15,000 taken out of our investment account recently, is
helping to offset this amount. Parsonage Fund donations are up to
$2,180. We are looking to collect a total of $6,000. Please consider
giving to this project!
Fellowship: Good Fellowship was held at all the recent
special celebrations: First Holy Communion, Confirmation, and
Mother’s Day.
Youth: The Youth and Chaperones who will be traveling to
Houston in June for the National Youth Gathering received a Special
Blessing during the worship service on May 6th.
Property: The recent April 28th Work Day resulted in the
following:
o Trees along building structure being cut back
o Bushes near kitchen and entranceway trimmed
o Dandelions removed
o Flowers planted in planters
o Giving Garden weeded
Many thanks to the volunteers who came out to help and special shout
out to youth volunteer, Michael Mohs! Our next work day is scheduled
for some time in June. Stay tuned for more details.
Stewardship: We were able to deliver a total of 140 Blessing
Bags to Howard’s Mission as a result of our Lenten Discipline
Collection. Thank you to all who contributed! We were joined in the
Giving Garden on the April 2th Work Day by several members of our
neighboring Lutheran churches from St. Andrews and Good Shepherd
respectively. Everyone present was energetic and enthusiastic to keep
our Giving Garden green and lush and we thank them for their
participation. A follow up session was held on May 5th, led by Henry
Stock and Sue Wilson. Things for the Giving Garden are looking up
and we are loving it!
Other News: Pastor has left Council a To Do List of all the
things, pastoral and non-pastoral that she does and Council President
Bob Burkhardt has divided up the responsibilities with a key group of
folks so that things do not fall through the cracks. The French School
is now paying a room donation $65 per week, inclusive of Playground
use ($15 additional per week). We are hopeful that we will have a Vice
Pastor in place by the start of the summer.
Investment Account: At the close of the market as of May 18,
2018 the value of the investment account was $107,519.26 as compared
to the closing balance on Friday, April 20, 2018 of $107,411.68.
The next Church Council meeting has not been scheduled since we are
waiting for word from the Synod about our Vice Pastor.
MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: We wish our beloved Pastor Mary Jane
Hastings all the best blessings as she begins her new life in retirement.
Thank you, Pastor, for a wonderful 16 years together.
Respectfully submitted,
Ingrid (Cookie) Davidsen
Birthdays For JuneKirby Chu June 1 Tom Fredrick June 10 Colton Rogers June 3 John Long June 11 David Lefkowitz June 3 Colette Monod June 12 Christy Monod June 4 Savannah Trost June 13 Emmi Long June 7 Parker Smith June 15 Peyton Tatem June 8 Matthew Qualben June 17 Kristin Smith June 10 Eric Tureson June 19 Kristina Apgar June 10 Beth Barber June 22
Brooklyn Al-Amin June 27
Wedding Anniversaries For JuneDan and Addison Meth June 11 Megan and Damien Glennon June 12 Steve and Tracy Eck June 24 Judy and Steven Geller June 30
Baptism Anniversaries For JuneIlene Champion June 1 Michael Geller June 12 Oliver Rogers June 3 Mackenzie Geller June 12 Evan Champion June 7 Steel Burkhardt June 17
June Volunteers Lectors: Mohs Family Acolyte: Mohs Children Ushers: Mohs Family Tellers: Donna & Bob Burkhardt Communion Assistant: Donna Mertz-Burkhardt Altar Guild: Sue Wilson
Church Council President: Bob Burkhardt Vice President: Gabor Nagy Secretary: Ingrid Davidsen Social Ministry: Judy Geller Stewardship: Donna Mertz-Burkhardt Property: Bob Klein Youth & Education: Amy Manobianca Fellowship: Kirby Chu Treasurer: Charlene Peterson
Church Staff Vice Pastor: Pastor J. David Knecht Secretary: Sandra Trost Minister of Music: Ralph Petersen Volunteer Coordinator: Judy Geller SS Superintendent: Amy Manobianca
