November 2025

Our Voice
Bill Kirkland

Fall is finally here! It took awhile but the temperatures are falling, so are the leaves and the Halloween decorations are everywhere.  Have you seen the 10-foot skeletons or the spooky blow-up decorations?  We are CRAZY about Halloween, or All Hallow’s Eve, but are you aware that the true Holy day is November 1st?  November 1st is All Saint’s Day which honors the saints who have ascended into heaven to be with our Lord and Savior.  

As member of the St. Mark’s Memorial Garden Committee, I see this to be the perfect time of the year to celebrate all of the St. Marks’ faithful who are interred in the Garden. Buried in this space are many of the founding flock who helped start St. Mark’s and who gave of their time, their passion and their spiritual energy.  There are currently 40 souls residing in the shadows of our church including my mother Grace and father Elmer Kirkland.  The Memorial Garden was first dedicated in August 2000 by Pastor John Nesbitt as a peaceful resting place to remember those who were spiritually connected and committed to making St. Mark’s the special place it is.  We are forever thankful to these members who helped establish our place of worship.

Time, and all of the subsequent changes to the space, have taken its toll on the Garden and the original vision to make the space a place of beauty and peaceful reflection.  The objective of the Memorial Garden Committee is to look at the historical plan, determine the priorities required to restore the Garden and initiate the steps needed to accomplish our goals.  Ultimately, we want to restore the Memorial Garden to their original beauty while creating a plan for its perpetual upkeep.  (See a vision of the future of the Garden)

On Sunday, November 2nd, as we honor All Saints’ Day, we will have a special offering to help support the financial challenges around the restoration of the Garden.  Your loving support is a critical part of the path forward in meeting our vision for the future.  Thank you and blessings!

Greetings, Rev.

The month of October kicked off with multiple big events on the first Sunday of the month. At St. Mark's, we joined with countless other churches across the globe in holding our World Communion Sunday service. After having communion on the same day as these other churches, we joined hands to pray for the world. Before our time of quiet, individual prayer, we prayed altogether using words from our hymnal (556) and the Book of Common Prayer. Here were my favorite few lines: "Where the world is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, establish it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it."

Later that afternoon was the installation service for our new district superintendent, Rev. Steve Pittman, Sr. (See picture.) Our DS will be coming to St. Mark's for a charge conference on Saturday, November 22nd. We are excited to finally meet our new superintendent!

November 2nd will be the All Saints Sunday service where we remember the 9 members who have passed away this year (names are below). The immediate family of those 9 members will be invited as we remember together. If you are able, please join us that day to meet and greet old faces.

Our 9 Saints (alphabetical by last name):
Leonard Blum
John Bockius
Patricia Coleman
Robert Frazier
Patricia Frazier
Bill Kynett
Howard Ruoff
Charles Turkington
Elayne Wertz Manzi