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The Pastor's Page |
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It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God...... - Ephesians 4:11-13 |
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| | In 2007, I was called by God to leave Pennsylvania to serve the Lord with the people of Upstate New York. With my wife Diana, who is a lay minister, and our two children, Hannah and Cole, I left the forested mountains and secluded valleys of the Allegheny Mountains for the rolling hills and placid waters of New York’s Finger Lakes region, an inspiringly beautiful setting in which to minister to God’s people and call home. That God calls each of us in various ways and from all aspects of life to share a grace-filled love with our neighbors, as our savior Jesus did, is the adventure and privilege of serving God.
Wherever you are in your life, whatever your situation might be, God is calling you with open arms and an accepting heart to be a recipient of His abundant love. As the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, I personally invite you to come and explore the depths of that love amid the faithful people, growing ministries, and worship life of this Christian community. |
| | PASTOR MARK'S OFFICE HOURS |
One of the many things that I have learned as a pastor is that each week is different and the demands of individuals needing my attention differ from week to week. With this in mind, I am revising my office hours to try to better meet the needs of everyone. The "office hours," are set aside specifically for appointments. However, as I have stated in the past, you have an open invitation to drop by my office anytime to chat. Of course, as you might imagine, meetings and other pastoral demands that cannot be avoided pop up from time to time, so setting up a convenient meeting time is never a bad idea. | |
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MONDAY |
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Morning devotional study
Office hours: 1:00PM-4:00PM
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TUESDAY |
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In the office in the morning
Office hours: 10:00AM-12:30PM
Afternoon visits and other pastoral duties
(Skaneateles Ecumenical Clergy meeting is the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 9:30AM 'til late morning)
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WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY |
In the office in the morning
10:45AM-11:15AM Pastor's time with Preschool Students
Afternoon visits and other pastoral duties | | |
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SUNDAY |
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Worship Preparation, Worhip Services and Confirmation
| | "When you wash your face, remember your baptism!"
These words of Martin Luther offer the baptized people of God today a practical
yet poignant exercise by which to take a few moments each day (if one in fact
washes his or her face daily) to reflect upon the meaning of our baptisms. For
many of us, our baptisms were a number of years ago, and because of that we most
likely do not daily consider our baptisms. Baptism is not what we are thinking
about when we are rushing to get ready, eat breakfast, and head out the door for
work or school or begin our day in some other way. Each day as we go about our
lives, doing this or that or the other thing, it is likely that we do not consider God’s
grace-filled gift of baptism or allow God’s promises to affect our day or how we
live out that day.
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” We read these powerful and telling
words in the gospel of Mark at the baptism of Jesus. We hear in these words that God has publicly
claimed Jesus as His beloved son. This is obviously no surprise to us for as Christians we profess
Jesus to be God’s son—nothing new there. Yet, what we may not consider and allow to shape our days
is the reality that because we share with Jesus his baptism we too are claimed as the daughters and sons
of God. We too are beloved by God. And in us God is also pleased. We may not be perfect and our
actions may not seem like those of someone with whom God should be pleased, but God would have
us no other way. In baptism God claims us; he makes us His very own. He adopts us as His children.
He forgives us our sins, delivers us from death, and then, strengthened by that reality, sends us out into
the world to willingly serve His world. It is hard to wrap our minds around such news, isn’t it? It is
hard for us to believe that that God loves us, and God wants us to be the ones to serve in His name.
God actually wants “me” to represent Him. I invited each of us to take time as we begin our day to consider whose we are and how we should be living out each day as God’s beloved, and allow that to shape our actions into ones with which God will be well pleased.A baptized child of God,
Pastor Mark |
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