Sunday, October 18, was celebrated at St. Mark's as Consecration Sunday. Keeping with tradition, we celebrated the day with breakfast and, after the 10:30 service, folks sat down for a full dinner. Consecration Sunday continues to be very important in the life of St. Mark's congregation.

It is our annual opportunity to reflect on the generous gifts God has granted to us and to plan how we can best use them in the ministries of the congregation and in our daily lives.

More than 110 persons gathered for the celebration breakfast and/or lunch in Fellowship Hall. It was a wonderful time for members and friends to get together to give thanks for the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us, to enjoy food in a relaxed setting, and engage in conversation with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our thanks to Janet Jones, Bob Jones, and Robert Miller who headed the work in the kitchen, and to our teens who worked diligently in the dining room, serving and also resetting the room after the breakfast.

The meals followed our worship services in the nave, where Lou Kolb presented the sermon. Lou is one of our Authorized Lay Worship leaders, a thoughtful thinker, writer, and speaker.

A key element of the morning is of course the writing of our commitment cards for the coming year and placing them before the altar with prayer. The first report from those cards indicates that $164,000 was committed. We will of course be adding considerably more to that total from persons not present on this day, and those not choosing to list a commitment at this time.

Consecration Sunday