St. Mark’s responds to Coronavirus pandemic

St. Mark's sanctuary

UPDATE 3/17/20: Wednesday Lenten services also canceled.

After careful review of the escalating Coronavirus situation and with an abundance of caution, leaders at St. Mark’s have decided to cancel Sunday worship services until further notice. This decision was not made lightly, but with regret and dismay. However, keeping our congregation and staff safe is a high priority.

In addition, all Sunday morning activities (Adult Education, Children’s Sunday School and Confirmation Class) are cancelled until further notice.

Effective March 17, we also have canceled Wednesday night Lenten soup and worship services.

The Church Office will remain open and Pastoral activities will continue. If you have signed up for our email updates, you can expect a weekly communication with updates as the situation evolves. You can also expect a weekly communication with updates as the situation evolves. Let us know if you have any special needs.

Peace be with you and yours during this unusual and challenging time. We are in this together. You are loved!

Lenten Wednesdays at St. Mark’s

St. Mark's altar during Lent

Join us for a special series of Wednesday evening gatherings through the Lenten season, a time of reflection, contemplation, repentance and preparation for the coming celebration of Easter.

At 6 p.m., we’ll share a soup and salad supper in the Great Room.

At 6:45 p.m., we’ll gather in the sanctuary for a brief evensong service, about 30 minutes in length, with prayer, Scripture and music.

A legacy gift blesses St. Mark’s and its music ministry

Robe dedication

Music and worship were a big part of Angeline Myers’ life, a life that stretched for almost 100 years. Her love of lyric and harmony lives on at St. Mark’s, where our choir now has 25 new sapphire blue robes because of her gift.

Sandy Pierson and Nancy Myers, daughters of Angie, directed the gift to St. Mark’s music program. Sandy has been a soprano in St. Mark’s choir for about 30 years. Nancy serves as one of our liturgists.

Angie learned to play piano as a child and her four children all played instruments, too, Sandy said. Angie was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Wilmington, playing the piano for its Sunday School and a small singing group called “Christian Endeavor,” which met in her home. When Holy Trinity closed, Angie joined St. Mark’s.

Choir in the loft“Angie left her family a legacy of music appreciation,” Sandy said. “I feel music is extremely important to the enrichment of our worship at St. Mark’s. I love being a member of this dedicated group that feels like family. We are worshiping together when we sing. Singing fills me up with joy.”

The new robes are lighter in weight, washable and wrinkle-resistant, according to Nancy Wilkerson, Council member and choir member, who coordinated the project. They replace a well-worn collection that has served the choir for more than 40 years. The legacy robes were laundered and donated to the Mount Pleasant High School drama department.

Robes carry a significant message in the church, according to John Lasher, Director of Music and Worship Arts.

“Robes are meant to serve as an equalizer,” he said. “Whatever we may wear beneath the choir robe, whatever our worldly “status” (so to speak), we are equal in God’s eyes. By removing the distraction of what each choir member might be wearing (that is, by covering it up), robes also help to take the focus off of the messengers, that it might be directed to the message.”

Ash Wednesday

Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return

Please join us for a special Ash Wednesday worship service as the Lenten season begins. Pastor David Mueller will be preaching.

We will meet for worship every Wednesday throughout Lent.

Service of Lessons & Carols

Christmas star

Gather with us at 10 a.m. Sunday as we join our neighbors at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant for a joint Service of Lessons and Carols.

Savor the readings, the special music and the fellowship we have in Christ.

PCOC is at 503 Duncan Road, Wilmington 19809.

The joy of Christmas!

The altar with poinsettias

Come and celebrate with us as we gather for worship on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24.

Enjoy the music, the candles and especially the Good News that comes wrapped in the Christ!

We have two services planned:

    6 p.m. Contemporary Christmas Eve service
    10 p.m. Traditional Christmas Eve service

We hope to see you!

Thanksgiving Service

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God!

We all have many reasons to give thanks and it is especially wonderful to give thanks together! Join us and four other congregations in our area for a special Thanksgiving Service, starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 26.

The service will be hosted by our next-door neighbors at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 503 Duncan Road. Three other congregations will join us, including Calvary Episcopal Church, Hillcrest-Bellefonte United Methodist Church and St. Helena’s Catholic Church.

Our Interim Pastor David E. Mueller will bring the message. Combined choirs will provide special music.

As an offering, we are invited to bring canned goods to help stock St. Helena’s Food Closet.

We’re excited about this! Join us!

Worship and a picnic!

The grillmaster at work during the 2018 picnic.

You could call it our kind of block party! Once a year we join our neighbors at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant to worship our God and enjoy each other’s company.

We start with worship at 10 a.m. — just one service that Sunday — and then gather under the shady trees on PCOC’s lawn for a big ol’ picnic.

Expert grillmasters deliver sizzling burgers and hot dogs and everyone brings a dish or dessert to share.

Dwight Novotny, coordinator for St. Mark’s, says there will be Irish music this year, by the two-man band known as the King Brothers. Does it get any better?

Hope to see you there!

Shot of 2018 picnic
There is always great food at the annual St. Mark’s-PCOC picnic, but the best part is getting together and getting to know each other!

Special combined service

As 2018 draws to a close, we will worship together in one combined 10 a.m. service Sunday, Dec. 30.

The congregation of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant will join us for a service of lessons and carols, worship and Holy Communion.

All are welcome to join in as we worship our Lord, giving thanks for his provision and looking to the new year with hope and confidence in him.

The Longest Night Service

For many, the holiday season holds sorrow, loss and grief. A loved one who has died is mourned. Losses and other unwanted changes can make normal holiday celebrations too painful for many.

The “Longest Night Service” is meant for all — families, individuals, friends — who have suffered loss. It is a time of reflection and contemplative respite. Its name refers to the time it usually is scheduled — on or near the longest night of the year.

The service will be held at Chester Bethel United Methodist Church, located at 2619 Foulk Rd. in Brandywine Hundred, north of Wilmington. All are welcome.