St. Mark's Welcomes Bishop Driesen

St. Mark's was pleased to welcome The Rev. Bishop Robert Driesen to lead the congregation in worship on Sunday, September 13. It was a special occasion for five young adults as the Bishop led them through the celebration of their confirmation, at the 10:30 service. Later, Bishop Driesen joined the confirmands, their families after the service for lunch in Fellowship Hall.

Between services, Bishop Driesen met with about 25 members in the Crossways Room, to discuss the role the Synod in our church life. With a PowerPoint presentation, he focused on the various activities that the Synod supports in the community. He described the Campus Ministry program, which is active in a most colleges within the Synod. The parish nurse program receives Synod support. The Synod helps with financial support to the ELCA universities including Susquehanna University, and also the seminaries within its "cluster" including seminaries in Gettysburg, Philadelphia and South Carolina. Earlier this year, the Synod supported the "Tour d'Revs" ride for the hungry.

Mission support is provided to the Lutheran Church in Liberia, including education, buildings and personnel. The Bishop displayed photographs of the devastated state of the Curran Lutheran Hospital that was destroyed in the civil war - an also of its recent reopening. Bishop Driesen discussed the relationship with the Bavarian Church. Lutheran Domestic Relief provides services at home to communities hit with natural disasters.

Of course, the Synod has a huge role in supporting Camp Mt. Luther and also the Diakan Social Services facilities, that provide assisted living to Seniors.

In all of these ways, the Synod, its staff and its churches serve the Lord. It is "God's work - our hands."