Please join us at 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, as we worship with our neighbors at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant (503 Duncan Rd.) to celebrate their more than 83 years of ministry in the Bellefonte community.
It is a bittersweet meeting, as this will be PCOC’s final worship service as a congregation. They will close the doors of their church for the last time.
We want to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ to worship our Lord and honor and celebrate with joy the good work the PCOC congregation has done in this place.
The service begins at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow.
Please join us Sunday as we thank the Lord for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. We hope to see you there!
We are grateful for the significance of this Christmas season and rejoice to celebrate God’s most glorious gift — Jesus the Christ. We invite you to join us as we worship together on Christmas Eve!
We are planning two services:
4 p.m. — Contemporary family service
8 p.m. — Traditional candlelight service
Our office will be closed on Christmas Day and also on Friday, Dec. 26 so that our staff may enjoy the holiday with their families.
On Sunday, Dec. 28, we will have one 10:30 a.m.Unity Service, with Lessons and Carols.There will be no other classes on that day.
We hope to see you soon! If you are unable to attend in person, all of these services will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel.
Experience the warmth of the season on a holiday stroll filled with small-town charm, Christmas delights and the joyful spirit of community!
Come and join us for the Bellefonte Christmas Stroll, from noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13 on Brandywine Boulevard in Bellefonte. The event is sponsored by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and the Shops of Bellefonte.
The afternoon will include:
– Visits with Santa at the Brandywine Hundred Fire Company station (noon to 3 p.m.)
– Carolers strolling the streets
– Entertainment by local performers
– Holiday refreshments at each shop
– Donations of children’s winter clothing (ages K-5) will be collected
Save the date and join us for St. Mark’s popular Christmas Bazaar, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.
You’ll find unique handmade gifts and crafts, gift baskets, delicious soups and baked goods, floral arrangements, a fun Lionel train display and much more! A small collection of “white elephant” items also will be available — and who knows what you’ll find there?!
All are welcome to join us and admission is free. This is a one-day event that you don’t want to miss!
You also are welcome to participate in our annual Advent Prayer Vigil, which will be held simultaneously from 9 a.m. to noon in our Sanctuary. Advent music is the backdrop for silent prayer and meditation and an Advent Prayer Guide will be provided. Many find this a refreshing and meaningful interlude during the busy-ness of the holidays.
Save the date and join us for St. Mark’s popular Christmas Bazaar, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.
You’ll find unique handmade gifts and crafts, gift baskets, delicious soups and baked goods, floral arrangements, a fun Lionel train display and much more! A small collection of “white elephant” items also will be available — and who knows what you’ll find there?!
All are welcome to join us and admission is free. This is a one-day event that you don’t want to miss!
You also are welcome to participate in our annual Advent Prayer Vigil, which will be held simultaneously from 9 a.m. to noon in our Sanctuary. Advent music is the backdrop for silent prayer and meditation and an Advent Prayer Guide will be provided. Many find this a refreshing and meaningful interlude during the busy-ness of the holidays.
The Fourth of July is my husband’s favorite holiday. He makes sure we have our flag correctly displayed, and decorates our front yard with an appropriate amount of red, white and blue. We find a good spot to watch fireworks, making sure to “ooh” and “aah” at all the right times. And it’s just not the Fourth of July in the Ketcham household if we don’t watch the musical “1776.”
All in all, the day is one of great joy and celebration. I find it difficult to not be swept up in love for my country in the midst of it all. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines patriotism as “love for or devotion to one’s country,” and on this day, patriotism runs deep within my soul.
But I have to admit that this year the Fourth of July hits a little differently. My heart grieves as I see this country — founded, formed and built by immigrants — rounding up and deporting even those who are legal residents. My heart grieves as I fear for the safety of our armed forces, as the possibility of another war looms over the Middle East. My heart grieves as I see people amassing fortunes while exploiting the workers who serve them.
As Christians, we can be patriotic. We can love our country; we can be proud of our country; we can be grateful that we live in our country. As Jim Wallis said in his book, God’s Politics: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America: “Patriotism means loving your country and its best ideals, enough even to oppose it when it is grievously wrong.” As Christians, we are called to examine how best to live out our patriotism. Some of us may choose to contact our elected leaders. Some of us may choose civil disobedience to demand our country live up to its best ideals.
What we don’t do is put our love and devotion of country over and above our love and devotion for God. Nor do we assume that every other person in this country believes the same way that we do, because that is Christian nationalism.
Christian nationalism is the belief that Christianity should be privileged since our country was founded by Christians. But while the founders were Christian, and a majority of Americans still identify as Christian today, Christianity is not the declared religion of this country. It runs counter to the First Amendment, which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free expression thereof.” This means that our government cannot mandate a national religion, and that — while we are free to believe whatever we believe — we cannot demand that others conform to the same belief system.
Christian nationalism is a perversion and a threat to democracy. It runs counter to all that we hold dear. It places us over and above others, rather than serving them. Christian nationalism is something Christians should run from and fight against, not embrace.
So this year, as we go to cookouts, watch fireworks and listen to Sousa marches with hands upon our hearts, may our patriotism continue to run deep, and may we continue to call out and condemn Christian nationalism in all its variations.
It’s a most special week for the St. Mark’s family and all who follow Jesus, for it is during this Holy Week that we commemorate the events leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection.
We have several opportunities to gather, worship and reflect on the transformative love that redeems and empowers us for loving service to others.
Except for the prayer vigil, we will also stream all of these services on our YouTube channel. Click below on the time of the service for a link to its specific livestream or recording.
Join us for “Sing With All the Saints in Glory!” — weekly mid-day worship services on Wednesdays throughout Lent.
We’ll gather at 12:30 p.m. in the sanctuary for these services, which will also be live-streamed and archived on our YouTube channel.
Each week will feature stories of the saints whose commemorations occur during Lent this year. In remembering these saints, we find hope and encouragement for our own faith journeys.
Join us at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25 for the next chapter of “Aging Grace-Fully,” as we hear from naturalist Margaret Renkl, author of “Late Migrations” in a Zoom-based presentation.
Influenced by her upbringing in Alabama, life in Tennessee and experience as a caregiver to her parents and mother-in-law, Renkl shares a backyard naturalist’s perspective on the cycle of life — in nature, inside our own families and our own bodies. Discover how nature has taught her a speed at which to live, hope and avert despair.
The “Aging Grace-Fully” series brings leading authors to us (via Zoom) to share their insights on how to age with grace and live — fully — with the physical, mental and social changes that come with growing older.
Discussion, facilitated by Dr. Cliff Smith, will follow. Light refreshments will be provided. There is no charge to attend the sessions at St. Mark’s. All are welcome.
Upcoming sessions include Rebecca Chopp (March 27), Missy Buchanan (April 22), Frank Bruni (May 22), Mia Birdsong (July 15), and Anne Lamott (Sept. 11).
If you are on social media, you have probably seen the inflammatory and libelous remarks by former General Michael Flynn and Elon Musk regarding Lutheran Social Service agencies across the United States.
For the record, the organizations targeted in these posts are legally recognized organizations that receive federal grants to carry out programs such as housing assistance, food pantries, disaster assistance, mental health programs and youth services. These grants have been legally obtained, and as such, have strict guidelines as to how they may be spent.
Presiding Bishop of the ELCA Elizabeth Eaton has responded to the falsehoods shared in these posts with a video message
In addition to Bishop Eaton’s remarks, I also want to respond to these attacks against these agencies.
Lutheran Services in America (LSA) was founded in 1997 as a joint venture between the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as a way to serve their neighbors. While they are headquartered in Washington, D.C., the LSA network reaches 1 in 50 people in America each year. To put that in Delaware terms, approximately 21,000 Delawareans benefit from services that LSA provides. To learn more about LSA, visit www.lutheranservices.org.
Global Refuge (formally known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, or LIRS) was founded in 1939 to provide assistance and services for refugees from Germany and Eastern Europe. Since then, Global Refuge has assisted with refugees from Cuba, Uganda, Vietnam, Sudan and Afghanistan, among other countries. To learn more about Global Refuge, visit www.globalrefuge.org.
In Delaware, we have Lutheran Community Services, which was founded in 1959 to address the independent living needs of seniors in our area. In the 1980’s, under the guidance of St. Mark’s member Ruth Flexman, LCS became heavily involved in emergency food and housing assistance. Today, food distributions have expanded, and housing activities include rental and utility assistance, security deposits, and housing stability case management. St. Mark’s members continue to support the ministries of LCS by serving at food pantries and participating in the Walk/Run every September. To learn more about LCS, visit www.lcsde.org.
I wish to stress that I am not arguing for or against any specific elected official. Elected officials have the authority to use taxpayer money how they deem best, in accordance with the law. But these decisions must be based in truth, not libelous accusations. Bishop Eaton mentions in her video that we follow the Eighth Commandment, which commands us to “not bear false witness against our neighbor.” When public officials claim that the Church’s ministries are illegitimate, the Church must speak the truth against these falsehoods.
So – how can you respond?
First, pray! Pray for our elected leaders, that they may make wise and just decisions on behalf of the people they serve. Pray for those whose well-being is affected by the cuts to necessary support programs. Pray for these agencies, and the many like them, that they may continue to spread God’s love to the world through their work.
Pastor Kelley Ketcham
Second, if you are able, please donate to these agencies to support their ministries. Links to donate may be found at any of the above websites.
Finally, if you are so inclined, I invite you to reach out to your elected officials. Here in Delaware, we are served in Congress by U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester, and U.S. Representative Sarah McBride. Call, write, or email their offices to let them know about the good work Lutherans are doing in this country and throughout the world.
I am proud of the good work our Church does in the world, and I hope you are as well.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
