The Lion's Pause

WE SEEK TO UNITE ALL PEOPLE WITH GOD AND EACH OTHER IN CHRIST THROUGH WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP, EDUCATION, AND SERVICE

Rector's Ramblings

Some consider fellowship events as ancillary to the mission of the church. Worship, education, and outreach are sometimes seen as the key activities of the church, while fellowship is a pleasant side benefit. What if fellowship is actually one of the primary activities for the mission of the church?

In John 13:35, Jesus said, “Everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another.”

In the Episcopal Church there has been a lot of talk about love in recent years. The Diocese of Ohio printed bumper stickers that say, “Love God, Love your neighbor, change the world.” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry frequently says, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”

Love cannot be abstract. Love is always particular. In any loving relationship there must be a lover and a beloved. There must be real people involved in the relationship. One of the signs that we are disciples of Jesus is that we love one another. This does not mean loving one another as we wish them to be. It means loving one another as we are, allowing one another the freedom to be who they are. This is what can happen at our fellowship events. We can love one another for who we are.

Genuine loving fellowship is an important part of the mission of the church. It is as important as worship and outreach. When we gather for Men Out Dining, Lunch Bunch, Book Club, Knitting Group, Cluster Groups, coffee after church or between the services, or our community meals, we are doing something important for the mission of the church.

Fr. RJ+

Sunday, January 21:

8 and 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist

Lessons

Bulletin

Live Stream

Monday, January 22:

Knitting, 1 p.m.

Tuesday, January 23:

Lunch Bunch, 1 p.m. at Grinder's

Wednesday, January 24:

Evening Prayer, 4 p.m. on Zoom

Bulletin Zoom

Bob Morrison's piano is being dedicated at the Canton Christian Home Chapel on Friday, January 26 at 3 pm. Joyce Corbett will do solos and duets with Bob in music both sacred and secular. Light refreshments will follow the concert. CCH is located next to Malone's Johnson Center at 2550 N Cleveland Ave.

Altar Guild: As we begin the new year 2024 please consider making flower dedications for the year. Each dedication is $20 and may be made in memory of (IMO), in celebration of (ICO), in honor of (IHO), and in thanksgiving for (ITF). Include the date for the dedication in the bulletin. Checks should be made out to St. Mark’s Altar Guild. Dedication sheets are available in the back of church. Thank you! Altar Guild

Fire Panel Campaign Update:

Congratulations St. Mark’s

We made and exceeded our $10,000 goal. Again thank you for your support. Over $11,000 was donated on this project.

The new panel is installed and has been inspected by the necessary government departments.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration,

St. Mark’s Finance Committee

The Diocese has continued to offer easy online giving. To use this, please select "St. Mark's Canton" from the dropdown, and choose either a one-time or recurring gift. We thank you for your continued support.

Designate a Gift to St. Mark's

Newsletter Additions

If you are adding something to the Lion's Pause, please submit it here by the Monday prior to Friday publication.

Step right up and be a GREETER prior to the 10 o’clock service. Add your name to the sign up sheet on the kiosk in the lobby. All that’s needed is a smile and welcoming phrases to fellow parishioners and visitors alike. Hospitality is contagious !

NOTABLE - Bob Morrison

I have piano on my mind a good bit these days, primarily because I decided to donate my Mason & Hamlin to the chapel at Canton Christian Home where I am now a resident.

The first piano I encountered in childhood was a massive upright Lertz upon which I learned to play "Chopsticks." (This reminds me of a cartoon with two Chinese girls at the keyboard playing a piece they call "knife and fork."). My mother had taken piano lessons at Peabody from a Mr. Huber who would strike her hands with a ruler if she made a mistake. So I had a built-in mentor for my early musical days. This Lertz instrument got a good workout over the years with my teachers Mary Catherine Walker and Mabel Hammond Thomas. Miss Thomas was unhappy that I was interested in organ. Although she herself was a church organist, she felt that the piano was more intimately expressive since one's fingers could vary the touch on the keys. (Organist Virgil Fox was the perfect example of one who could transcend the mechanics of an organ to produce any desired nuance of sound.)

When I left home in Baltimore to start my church position in Canton, the Lertz stayed with my parents and I lost track of it. With a Steinway in the chancel of First Methodist, a Janssen in the choir room, and a Mason & Hamlin in the fellowship hall, I had plenty of keyboards to work with. But nothing at home.

After marrying my first organ pupil in Canton, Shirley Kathleen Sanders, we lived at first in a second-floor apartment on Smith Avenue. When the church secretary died, Clara Gravis, we bought her house at 911 Auburn Place right across from Calvary Presbyterian Church. (Neither the house nor the church are here today.). Ms. Gravis had a Mason & Hamlin that her nephew claimed. So, no piano in our new home - until something unexpected happened.

January Anniversaries

16 Mark and Kim Nadel

24 Fred and Roberta Zollinger

January Birthdays

3 Sara Strattan

4 Livvy Mull

6 John Willoughby

8 Rick Crowl

10 Debbie Shellhammer

18 Julie Werren

25 Barrie Thorp, Ten Gall

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Prayer Concerns

Pat Julian, Ten Gall, Vonda Temelkoff, Henry Aegerter, Jim Weaver, Jane Schutrum, & Ron Brookes

Family and Friends: Father Amjad & Molly Samuel (acquaintance of friends of Father RJ); Dr. Mallamaci (acquaintance of Bobbi Zollinger); Jeanette Moore (Louise Moore’s daughter); Jolanda Mull, Dr. Sandy Lopater, Kirk Schuring, Pam Lagodich, & Bill Allen (sister-in-law & friends of the Mulls); Earl Hoot (father of Joe Hoot); Chuck Boone (cousin of Bruce Hixon), Ashley Stockman (friend of Katie & Ryan Kuceyeski); Tim Swihart & Michelle Graber (friends of the Gordons); Larry Aclaska & Judy Heisser-Turner (acquaintence & sister of Bert Heisser); Lee, Theresa, & Addelyn, and Chuck Boone (friends & cousin of the Hixons); Nori Shawk (friend of Brynn Pelger); Alison & Johnny Willoughby (friend & grandson of the Willoughbys); Middle East & Heather Armington (request & friend of the Watters); Jane King; Elaine Campbell (friend of the Turners); Sammy (friend of Leslie Redmon); Bob Rownd (friend of John Werren & Anne Coen); Melanie & Trish (friends of Paulette Frech); Pat Walter & family (friend of Barb Whitehouse); Don Martin & Mark Osterhage (classmate & neighbor of the Watters); Alycia Geis (Karen Violand’s friend’s daughter); Don & Janet Sheatzley-Morgan (husband & sister of Barb Siegfried); DaNay Jackson (friend of Ron Brookes); Allison Cornell-Hood, Jody Serentsis, & Anne Higgins (daughter & friends of Diane Cornell); Finnigan Savage (friend of Pam McCarthy); Jimmy Little (son of Sue Little); Yanette Pysher (Vonda Temelkoff’s cousin); Tony Donahue (friend of the Boyds); Marc Hostetler (brother of Susan Hostetler); David (acquaintance of the Nadels).

For those who have died.

For those in the armed forces.

PRAYER CHAIN:

St. Mark's has a group of prayer warriors who pray for the specific needs of those on the prayer chain. If you would like to place yourself or a loved one on the prayer chain, please contact Bobbi Gordon at ggordon24@sbcglobal.net

Prayer requests may be placed on the private Prayer Chain or on the Prayer Concerns list appearing in The Lion's Pause and Sunday bulletin or in both places. Please let Bobbi know your preference. Unless otherwise instructed, names will be listed as we receive them. Please update Bobbi or Katie on the status of your friends or family members as to when they may be removed from the prayer lists.