New Member - Interested OR Know Someone Who Is?

Bishop Baxter's office recently announced that he will make his biennial visitation to St. Mark's Parish on SUNDAY JANUARY 16, 2011.  This is often the time for members who were baptized in another religious tradition to be received into the Episcopal Church by celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation or by a Profession of Faith.  It is also an appropriate time for Episcopalians who have not been confirmed to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.

If you are someone who has been with St. Mark's and would now like to make your personal commitment to the Episcopal Church and to the parish community in this way, please contact Father Zwifka at dazwifka@comcast.net or by calling the parish office at 717 248-8327.  In either case, we need to get to the business of preparing individuals for this important event in their Christian journey by forming an Inquirers' Group by early November.

Even if Confirmation of a Profession of Faith is not in your personal horizon, consider joining our class when it is organized to learn more about the Episcopal Church!

Core Values

In a recent issue of The Living Church, David Hyndman wrote that there are four core values for priests: a passion for the Gospel, a heart for the lost, a willingness to do whatever it takes, and a commitment to one another.  I couldn't agree more.  My experience of priestly ministry over the last 30 years moved me away from a more functional notion of the priesthood -- i.e. what I could do for others to one that was essential (the old terminology was "ontological"), namely, what one is for others.

More recently I have been more deeply convinced that these core values should not only characterize the priest in a community but also each and every member of the Faithful.  Close examination of the baptismal covenant used by the Episcopal Church makes this very clear.

Having passion for something is not so much about how one talks about something but how one "walks the talk."  It isn't about acting perfectly but about struggling perfectly - by genuinely struggling with the hard questions and the hard choices that life throws at you and seeking the face of God in it all - even when it is not pretty.

Having a "heart for the lost" presumes that one knows what it's like to be lost, not to know which end is up.  Perhaps the frustration that so many young people have with established religion today is that they really experience being lost. Perhaps we too often give the quick and easy answer when there really is no answer, hoping that the challenge they present will go away and leave us in our comfort zone.  Having a heart for the lost is having the capacity to move beyond our comfort zone and experience the real darkness that is faith by moving forward when we have no answers.

The world around us is horribly complex.  Find our way involves hard work, time to reflect, and development of genuine understanding.  Doing whatever it takes is not the same as "any means to an end." It is about developing a high capacity for empathy and for discernment.  It demands that we sort things out and make decisions.  It demands risk taking.

Perhaps most importantly, the fourth of Hyndman's core values is a commitment to one another.  This is chief among all.  One of the most dramatic moments in John's Gospel is when, after the resurrection, Jesus asks Peter, "Simon Peter, do you love me more than these."
"Of course, Lord, you know that I love you."
"Then feed my sheep."
Jesus makes clear here (as he does in so many places) that love for God without love for others is not possible.  The two are identical.  They may be two faces of the same coin but they are the same coin.  This reminds us of the value and the challenge of the Church: to be a loving community where all who seek God's love are welcome.

If we maintain these core values as a community, we cannot go wrong.

A busy Sunday at St. Mark's

The parish began it's 2011 Stewardship Campaign today.   We spoke about two important concepts: perspective and priorities.  We can have two persepctives about our resources: they're mine and I control them all OR all things come from God and we are stewards of those resources ("All things come from thee, O God; and from thine own have we given thee!").  By making ministry and mission (and the resources needed for them) a top priority, we can find the resources we need to meet all necessary obligations.

At Noon we gathered in the courtyard next to the church to bless our pets!  A beautiful sunny day complemented our reflections on the treasures we have in our innocent and loving companions that show us the unconditional love of God!

Putting First Things First

During the month of October, the parishioners and friends of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church are asked to give greater attention to what is commonly called “Stewardship.”  While considering how to give from the three T’s (time, talent and treasure) wisely and thoughtfully is a year-round activity and an integral part of our life of faith, October is when we as a community will consider this more deeply as a community of faith. On October 24^th, all will be invited to respond to the invitation to be a part of our vision of “Putting First Things First” by making a financial commitment to the ministries of St. Mark’s for the coming year.

As I write this, I am particularly mindful of our circumstances. Talk of money is in the air in unprecedented ways, and many of us are doing an extra review of our budgets to make sure that ends meet. While talk of Stewardship may seem insensitive, especially when so many are having a difficult time, please consider these weeks as an invitation to consider how our faith and our resources relate to each other. Committing a portion of our financial resources to the Church is an important way to recognize the connection between what we believe and what we live. If you have been especially hard hit by current financial circumstances, please consider this an invitation to receive the love and concern of our parish and whatever the pastoral support that we, as a family of the heart, can offer you.

Our Stewardship theme—“Putting First Things First,”—sums up a critical aspect of what it means to participate in a community of faith.  Through our learning and response to Scripture, through our sharing the bread and wine of the Eucharist, and through sharing life’s ups and downs, we become able to reach out and offer Christ’s love, the greatest of all gifts, to our community.  While pledging is about giving money, it is also on a deeper level about giving of ourselves. Pledging is also the primary way that we address the very real needs that must be met in order for St. Mark’s to continue its vital ministries.  Every pledge towards this end helps, big or small. In advance, I personal thank you for taking the time to consider how you can make a difference by committing to the continuing ministries of St. Mark’s.

Happy Michaelmas!

Michaelmas Day — the Feast of St Michael and All Angels — was once one of the most important days of the year. Falling on September 29 it differs from most other saints’ days in honoring a spirit and not a human being. 

Saint Michael is considered an “archangel” in Hebrew, Christian and Islamic tradition. He is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God and is mentioned by name in the both the Old and New Testaments.  In the Book of Revelation, Michael leads God's armies against Satan's forces during his uprising.  In Hebrew, the name Michael means "who is like  El (God)", which in Jewish tradition is posed as a rhetorical question: "Who is like God?" to imply that no one is like God.

St Michael is usually depicted as a winged young man clad in white garments or in armor, carrying a lance or shield.  In the late Middle Ages, Michael, together with Saint George, became the patron saint of chivalry. Michael was the patron of the first chivalric order of France, the Order of Saint Michael around 1470. In the British honors system, a chivalric order founded in 1818 is also named for these two saints, the Order of St Michael and St George. St Michael is also considered in many Christian circles as the patron saint of the warrior. Police officers and soldiers, articularly paratroopers and fighter pilots, regard him as their patron. He is also a patron of Germany, the City of Brussels and Kiev.

During the Middle Ages Michaelmas became a great religious feast and many popular traditions grew up around the day. Coinciding with the end of harvest, the feast was celebrated with a traditional well-fattened goose fed on the stubble fields after harvest. 

Michaelmas also marks the beginning of a new farming year when rents are due, although the quarter day falls later in Suffolk and Norfolk — 4th and 11th respectively. Many landlords used to hold goose feasts for their tenants, and eating a goose then was supposed to protect against financial hardship for the coming 12 months. 

The Michaelmas goose is also known as the ‘green' goose because it is reared on grass, as opposed to the Christmas goose which is a larger, older bird brought into the farmstead later in the autumn to be finished on corn. The Michaelmas goose is associated with leaner and particularly tender eating quality with a flavor of its own.

In more recent times, angels became the focus of many individuals’ spiritual quest.  Moving outside of traditional religious observance, these seekers turned to angels to represent the “higher powers” experienced in their lives. While angels have always been part of Christian tradition, devotion to them or reliance upon their power should never replace a direct and faithful relationship with Christ.  Christ is the self-revelation of God “in-the-flesh.”

Any system of prayer or devotion that brings us to a more intimate relationship with Christ is good.  May the honor we give to Michael and All Angels, make us more in tune with the Good News announced by Jesus.  

Happy Michaelmas!

Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement

This evening, Yom Kippur begin.  At this time, members of the Jewish community seek to amend their behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other human beings. The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt . At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers one's self absolved by God.  

Yom Kippur is probably the most important holyday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri. The name Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement." It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. In Days of Awe, a ten day period that began on Rosh Hashanah (New Year's Day in Jewish observance) individuals seek to atone for sins against other persons by seeking reconciliation with those persons, righting wrongs committed against them if possible. It is at this time that God inscribes the fate of each person for the coming year.  

Yom Kippur is the day to atone for offenses against God's righteousness.  On that day, the judgment entered at the outset of the Days of Awe is finalized.  Yom Kippur is, essentially, one's last appeal, the last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate one's repentance and make amends.the day is marked by fasting and prayer. 

On the first evening of Yom Kippur, the service begins its long confessional statement with some transgression almost anyone can identify with. It asks for forgiveness for "the sin we have committed before Thee by hardening our hearts" and goes on to mention "sins we have committed before Thee in speech" and "the sin we have committed before Thee by wronging our neighbor." Most people can relate with confessing these kinds of transgressions because they can think of numerous times when they have done them.
But then comes a part of the prayer that can be puzzling. Unlike most Christian confessions of sin, the prayer asks God’s forgiveness for the sins committed "unknowingly."  This challenges our Christian sensibilities somewhat.  We know that while on the cross Jesus asked God to forgive his executioners because "they know not what they do." Still, most kindergartners can persuade their mother that he or she didn’t mean to break a sibling's favorite toy. Our usual understanding of guilt says that we cannot be responsible for things we did not mean or for things we knew nothing about.

The foreign logic of confession for unintentional transgressions becomes a little more clear when we realize that during these holydays, Jews do not just repent for their own sins. They repent for the sins of all the people. This is a hard concept for us to swallow: to take responsiblity for something we were not personally involved in. The concept of collective repentance has been, until recently, quite foreign to most of Protestant Christianity. True, in Roman Catholicism there are whole communities of monks and nuns who intercede every day for those who do not have the desire or the capacity to pray for themselves. But the Protestant tradition, with its strong emphasis on the responsibility of the individual person before God, has not ordinarily looked favorably on these practices. As Martin Luther once put it, every person has to do his own repenting and his own dying. No one else can do either one for you.

Eventually, however, contemplating the confessional prayers of Yom Kippur provides deep insight to our own faith.  First, with regard to confessing sins we do not know about and did not do intentionally: in fact, do often hurt other people without intending to and sometimes without even knowing. Sometimes we learn later how something we did or said wounded someone painfully. But there may be many other times when we do such things and never hear about them, even though the sting still afflicts the other person. This is why I have come to believe that asking for forgiveness for the hurtful things we have done without even knowing them is important.  It makes us think carefully about what we might have done in the past and remember to be more careful in the future.


The observances and devotions of Yom Kippur can help us find insight into many questions concerning the social nature of sin (and grace) corporate (and individual) responsibility for injustice and for the reconciliation that can bring peace. It gives us wonderful food for thought as we assess our blessings in the coming harvest time especially as we face hard times in our nation and society, still one of the richest and most blessed in the world.


(Thanks given for insights found in A Christian Observes Yom Kippur by Harvey Cox.)

On Work

The Wedding of Tim and Trish Wilt went off wonderfully.  The couple celebrated their union with family and friends at a service of Holy Communion at St. Mark’s Church on Saturday, September 4^th and at the Elks Club, Lewistown.  We wish them the very best as they begin a new phase of their life together.

Labor Day has also come and gone.  We usually think of Labor Day as the unofficial end to the summer season.  It is a day, however, to reflect on human work and the important part it plays in our spiritual lives. 

Through work we contribute to the advancement of science and technology and, above all, to the enrichment of our culture and the society within which we live. 

Our individual lives are built up every day from work. It can also present many tensions and conflicts. How we deal with these stresses must emerge from our identity as disciples of Christ. 

Work then must also be reflected in our spirituality.  Through work, we come closer to God, the Creator and Redeemer  as we participate in God's plan for us and the world.  We share in the work of redemption and deepen our friendship with Christ by accepting, through faith, a living participation in His mission.

Therefore, Labor Day is a time to honor those from whom we have received so much through hard work. It is a time for us to reflect on how we can see the wonder of God in the work of our hands.