Dear Members and Friends of St. Mark's,

This past weekend I was talking with a clergy friend who asked me what good things happened at St. Mark’s this past year. I paused for a moment and reflected on so many things we celebrated: working with International Relief Teams to build a school in Tijuana, our Youth and Adult art shows, the Preschool Annual Carnival, our annual Yard Sale, the expanded Living Nativity and Marketplace, hiring our Minister of Visitation, and so many more exciting events. But after giving it more thought I realized that there were a lot of behind the scene events that occurred and are of great significance; events that may have gone unnoticed by some.

Each of these projects required the organization of time and contractors by our trustees, office staff, and the Capital Campaign committee. I’d like to thank the Trustees, ministry leaders, and the Capital Campaign Committee, especially Jack Carpenter, Bill Williams, and Bob Hout, who spent long hours planning, communicating, tracking, and overseeing the work to fabricate and replace the education building stairs, replace the glass in the Social Hall doors, hang new gutters on the Social Hall, upgrade the heating and AC in the church office, expand our campus security cameras, provide a new system for the hearing impaired in our Sanctuary, repair and improve the organ console, as well as provide additional handrails and an automatic door opener for the office. Each of these, as well as other smaller projects, involved making accommodations for our staff and various community ministries to continue their work during the many construction phases.

This past year we have witnessed the fact that in our giving we receive as we continue to preserve our heritage and prepare for our future through many projects. I invite you to take a moment and give thanks for all we have accomplished and the people who helped to bring each event and project to fruition. Every project and act of ministry was done because of the vision, faithful work, and financial giving of many people. But we are not done; 2018 brings another year of offering wonderful community events and coordinated changes to our campus as we move forward with upgrades to our landscaping and our buildings. More information on the changes and ministry opportunities will be shared as they begin to emerge.

Happy New Year!

Jeri