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On the road of life we are not alone. Can't you see it?

~ Pastor Alex

Saint Mark Festival: The Feast Day of Saint Mark the Evangelist is April 25th. On April 26th we will celebrate Saint Mark the church with a combined service followed by a covered Dish Supper. On April 26th we will have one service in the Sanctuary at 10:30 am. Sunday School will be at 9:30 am. Following the worship service we will have a covered dish lunch in the Saint Mark Center. Come and bring a friend!

The Great 50 Days:

“Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!” Every time we celebrate Holy Communion, we remind ourselves of this good news. From now until May 24th we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. In the church Easter is actually 50 days long! Jesus rose on Easter Sunday, but he appeared to his disciples for 40 days and then ascended into heaven. Then ten days later he sent the Holy Spirit to anoint the disciples at Pentecost. Make time to celebrate the new life that we have through the resurrection of Jesus, not just today, but every day!

RUBY "JO" CRIM WALLING

Please pray for the family and friends of Jo Walling, mother of Saint Mark disciple Debbie Davis (Jack), who passed away on April 15. Services were held Sunday, April 19 in

St. Matthews, SC.

CLICK HERE to read Ms. Walling's obituary.

CONTRIBUTION STATEMENTS EMAILED

First quarter contribution statements were emailed on Wednesday, April 15th. If you did not receive one, please contact Deborah Herrick with your correct email address.

• Golden Corner Food Pantry
• Ann Hope UMC Feeding Ministry
• Collins Children's Home

RISE AGAINST HUNGER

AT TRINITY BAPTIST

Trinity Baptist Church is hosting a Food Packaging Event with Rise Against Hunger on Sunday, May 3, in the Exhibit Hall at the FARM Center (2063 Sandifer Blvd, Seneca). We would love for our Saint Mark UMC friends to join us as we package 50,000 meals for people experiencing extreme hunger in our world.

CLICK HERE to link to the dedicated registration page for this event. Volunteers are needed for setup, for the main food packaging shift from 4-6 pm, and for clean up following the event. We look forward to this good work together!

HOW CAN WE HELP? Epworth provides care for children and families in our community who have experienced trauma through abuse, neglect, and loss. This care helps to break the destructive cycle and sets them on a better path. On Sunday, May 10th, our congregation will support Epworth by collecting the Annual Epworth Mother’s Day Offering. For more information, please visit Epworth online at www.epworthsc.org.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SERVED ON THE GREAT DAY OF SERVICE!

Approximately 75-100 Saint Mark volunteers broke into small groups to tackle various service projects throughout Oconee County and beyond during our first Great Day of Service on Saturday, April 18. It was a big event with lots of photos and footage to share, so be on the lookout for a Ministry Celebration Moment video in the weeks to come!

The Build-a-Bed group helped Sleep in Heavenly Peace by assembling bed kits for kids who don't have beds of their own. (L-R) JoAnne Metts, Cecil Turner, Chad Duggins, Mary Jane Duggins, Susan Turner, Richard Lowe, Sandra Lowe, Mary Barnette, Alicia Spivey, Donna Poston, Russ Poston, Bob Dobson, Jody Gaulin, Gary Gaulin.

THANK YOU: Team Chair Alicia Spivey says, “On behalf of the Mission & Service team, I would like to thank all disciples who helped in any way to make the Great Day of Service a success. Hopefully this will become an annual event.” Special thanks to Melissa Higgs and Anne Cannon for coordinating and to Melissa Stevenson for designing, ordering, and distributing the tee shirts!

The landscaping team tended the grounds at the Oconee Humane Society. (L-R) Kathy Wessel, Melissa Higgs, Linda Jones, Trip Jones, Jackson Higgs, Bruce Reid and furry friend. Not pictured: Jeff Weicksel. Photo courtesy of Oconee Humane Society.

Saint Mark Youth picked up litter from the grounds around the Shaver Recreation Complex and Gignilliat Community Center.

CAMPUS MINISTRY

by Bob Stillwell

Our conference apportionment for Campus Ministry helps to provide Christian nurture for young adults who find it crucial to belong to a worshipping, serving, and caring faith community. Here’s the mission statement of our Furman Wesley Fellowship:

“The mission of Furman Wesley Fellowship is to serve the Furman community in the United Methodist Church’s values of making disciples for the transformation of the world. We seek to be ‘A Place to Be, Belong, Connect and Engage’ for the students and community of Furman.”

Our apportioned giving insures a firm financial undergirding for the disciple-making miracles that take place on eleven campuses across South Carolina. Over the decades, a number of United Methodist campus ministry alumni and alumnae have committed to Christian vocations, including some of our most effective younger pastors, such as our former associate pastor, Shawna Vandelune.

The Campus Ministry “line item” is the primary source of support for ministers appointed to extension ministry in campus settings. The bulk of their salaries, insurance, pensions and continuing education is paid by the Annual Conference from those funds. Necessary reductions in the budget in recent years have made that funding commitment harder than ever to fulfill. In fact, for the first time, the campus ministry units have been forced to ramp up fund-raising efforts to combat shortfalls and insure support for effective programming. That makes our apportioned giving to Campus Ministry more crucial than ever!

CLICK HERE to email Pastor Alex with your prayer concerns.

Join us for the first ReCharge! event of 2026. The evening's theme will be Saving Our Earth and the menu will be as follows:

TACOS AND CHICKEN FAJITAS

WITH A SELF SERVE TOPPING BAR

ICE CREAM BAR, DRINKS

The cost is Couples-$16.00, Singles-$8.00, Family of 4 - $20.00 + $5.00 per extra child and $8.00 per extra adult.

Please RSVP to Donna Jaynes by noon Tuesday, May 5th.

PARLEZ-VOUS FRANÇAIS? SPRECHEN SIE DEUTSCHES? ¿HABLAS ESPAÑOL? On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and gave them the ability to speak in different languages.

On Pentecost Sunday, May 24th, we will reenact that event as we read about the day of Pentecost from Acts 2:1-11. We will do this by having different members of the congregation, who speak languages other than English, read aloud the Pentecost account while it is being read in English from the pulpit. Please contact Pastor Alex Stevenson and let him know what language you can read. If you do not have a copy of Acts 2:1-11 in that language, we should be able to obtain one for you.

CLICK HERE for the Family Ministry newsletter

to see all that's happening with children and youth!

Whether you have helped with WACKE Camp in the past or not, you are invited to jump in and join the fun! Attend the volunteer meeting to learn how you can help make this the BEST week of the summer. There are places for station leaders, helpers, preparation and support.

Contact Julie Spoelstra with any questions.

Youth have the chance for a field trip to Greenville on May 31 as a reward for their attendance at Sunday School and Ignite. Since January we have been keeping track on a giant sticker chart in the Youth Center. Youth are entered into a drawing monthly for each time they are present at a youth event.

Our monthly winners have been Sophia Keese,

Connor Simmons and Kensey Simmons. 

Youth earn dinner and a baseball game for attending 20 times (out of approximately 40). Seven students have earned their trip, and about seven more are on track. Those who have or almost earned the trip are: 

Connor, Kensey, Rosalind, Anastasia, Lily, Hadleigh, Charlie, Eislen, Ref, Isaac, Naomi, Sophia, Clara, Annabelle

We invite you to congratulate a youth with a "WAY TO GO" certificate by purchasing one for $20 which will help cover their baseball ticket. This is also a simple way for you to show your support of our amazing Saint Mark youth. They all have busy lives with school, sports, theater, chorus, band and other activities and still make time to be at Sunday School and Ignite on a regular basis.

To purchase a "WAY TO GO" certificate, or with any other questions, contact Josh. 

Pat Reynolds highly recommends anyone interested to go along with the youth for Salkehatchie this summer. As the adult chaperone you will be onsite for support and encouragement and be able to attest to the power of the work being done at this camp. You will stay at the same location but with other adults and you are free to participate at the level you are physically comfortable with. Reach out to Josh or Julie for more information.

JAZZ ON THE ALLEY

The Berries Committee and Family Ministries enjoyed Jazz on the Alley last Thursday evening, April 16th. Approximately 30 Saint Mark disciples gathered for fellowship in downtown Seneca. Be sure to check out the video clip below!

Click on the video link below to see Hayes Cross and Mustang Sally Boggs dancing in the street!

Photos and video courtesy of Mario Suarez

INTERGENERATIONAL MINISTRY

 LUNCH & LEARN

There was a great turn out for the first Intergenerational Ministry Lunch & Learn on April 12th. Pastor Alex, Lisa Simmons, and Julie and Josh Spoelstra presented material about the generations present at Saint Mark, the history of Intergenerational Ministry internationally and in our church, and facilitated table discussions on the topics of Belonging, Connection, Worship and Discipleship. You will hopefully hear and interact with these ideas in your committee/team meetings in the coming months. CLICK HERE to see more photos.

COME SEE

MARIO SUAREZ &

LANCE GLENN!

Support regional community theater at The Historic Ritz in Toccoa, GA and see our own Mario Suarez and

Lance Glenn in Frozen on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26.

CLICK HERE for tickets.

THEN COME TO

CLEMSON LITTLE THEATRE!

Come see a wonderful cast including Saint Mark's

Kristine Montgomery (in two roles) in this whacky southern-fried comedy:

In the backwoods of the Bible Belt, the beleaguered Turpin family proves that living and dying in the South are seldom tidy and always hilarious. Despite their earnest efforts to pull themselves together for their father’s funeral, the Turpins’ other problems keep overshadowing the solemn occasion. Amidst the chaos, the Turpins turn for comfort to their friends and neighbors, an eccentric community of misfits who just manage to pull together and help each other through their hours of need, and finally, the funeral.

Show Rating: PG-13 

Run Time: Two Hours

CLICK HERE for ticket information.

SUPPORT

SAINT MARK'S YOUNGEST ACTORS

Saint Mark's Anastasia Spoelstra and Georgia Benito will appear in The Wizard of Oz at the Walhalla Performing Arts Center May 8-10.

CLICK HERE for ticket information.

• April Birthdays
• Pickle Ball Mondays
• Church Directory on Your Mobile Device

Please help to enhance worship service by donating a floral arrangement in honor or memory of a special someone or event. And remember, those flowers are then divided and sent on to disciples in senior living or medical facilities to let them know we're thinking of them. The sign-up sheet is posted in the Narthex. Contact Sarah Boylston for more information.