Food, Fellowship, Faith and Fun for all ages!

Featuring food preparation and service by THE SWEET ADDICTION catering and St. Mark's United Methodist Men.

Upcoming Menu

1/29 Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Fried Rice, Cream Cheese Wontons, Salad Bar, & Lemon bars

ADULT OPTIONS, 6:00 – 7:00 P.M., JANUARY 29

AI - What Does It Mean for You? Room 402/404.

Every day we are hearing more and more about artificial intelligence, but what is AI and what does it mean for you? This class will include a demonstration of new technological breakthroughs in artificial AI and discuss their legal and ethical implications. Come to see and prepare yourself for how AI will shape the future of our world. Led by Dr. Keith Gamble, MTSU’s Director of the Data Science Institute and

Professor of Finance at the Jones College of Business.

Church Hospitality 101 Room 403.

Every visitor to our worship service is a potential new member of our church family. But what can you and I do to make visitors feel welcome at St. Mark’s? Join in a conversation about church hospitality led by Butler Touchton.

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts! - February 5 & 12, Room 403.

Discover a simple and effective way to strengthen your connections, so you and your heart can experience greater joy and harmony in all of your relationships. Led by Rev. Tommy Ward.

Heart Health and More! February 5, 12, 19, and 26

Are you doing all you can to care for your body and physical health?  These sessions will help!

2/5      Men’s Health Care and Concerns for Life – Dr. Wayne Murphy, Room 405

           Women’s Health Care and Concerns for Life – Dr. Mary Moss, Room 402/404

2/12  Heart Health for All Ages – Dr. Abu, Cardiologist, Room 402/404

2/19  Dreading Dementia – Dr. Paul Foster, Neurophysiologist, Room

Books of Faith: The Gospel of Matthew Join the conversation as we open the scriptures and dig deeper into the Gospels, beginning February 2^nd and continuing for 8 sessions. Led by St. Mark’s retired clergy in Room 405. Books available for $10 each.

Let Your Light Shine

Last Sunday, Rev. Ward shared a beautiful sermon about sharing the light of Christ with others, then in his invitation, alluded to an unexpected gift that had been given to our church. Here’s the rest of the story.

A few weeks ago, I reached out to Matthew Joseph, owner of Simply Pure Sweets on the Square, and asked if he could bake some special loaves of bread for our church to give for a special occasion. I met Matt a few years ago when he was a speller for the Read to Succeed Celebrity Spelling Bee, for which I have served as the Emcee and Pronouncer for several years. Matthew won the spelling bee that year, and for the past few years has served as Head Judge of the bee.

Matthew asked about the occasion, so I shared with him that The Grand Sweep was about reading through the Bible in a year and how we were thanking our teachers for “breaking the bread of life” for us. He said his best bread was a 2 lb. sourdough loaf which sounded wonderful to me, so I ordered 12 loaves to be fresh baked for pick up Saturday morning.

When I arrived, I was astounded at how large and beautiful the loaves were! After he had them all wrapped up, I handed him my St. Mark’s credit card to pay, and much to my surprise, Matthew said, “These are on me today, with thanks for all you and St. Mark’s do for our community.”

I thought I was doing something good by shopping at a small business, and in return that small business did something good for us!



I had that bread in my car for several hours on Saturday, and I’m still enjoying its incredible aroma!  When we serve our community, offer kindness and service to others, and share the light God has given us in Christ, it comes back to us ten-fold. What else could smell so sweet?!!

St. Mark's Grand Sweep Finale

In 2024, more than 80 of St. Mark’s members and friends journeyed together from January to December and from Genesis to Revelation. Thanks be to God! 

More than 50 of those disciples celebrated the close of The Grand Sweep emphasis with a special luncheon on Sunday, January 26^th. Each “graduate” received a beautiful Grand Sweep bookmark, the original of which was painted by Becky Waldrop, as well as a pocket prayer shawl crocheted by Darlene Brigner.  Rev. Tommy Ward shared a letter of congratulation from Bishop David Graves of the Tennessee/ Western Kentucky Conference, and Rev. Touchton honored several readers with “superlatives.” Adult Education Coordinator Sherry Galloway presented our teachers with a beautiful loaf of sourdough bread from Simply Spure Sweets, thanking them for breaking the “Bread of Life” for us. 

We could not have made this journey without the strong leadership of our capable and dedicated teachers to whom we are eternally grateful, including:

Sunday Morning Class:

Rev. Tommy Ward

Rev. Martha Touchton

Sunday Afternoon Class:

Hannah Pratt

Zach Pratt

Wednesday Night Together Class:

Dr. Debbie Church

Dr. Lenoir Culbertson

Dr. Barry Culbertson

Dr. Fred Hembree

Rev. Loyd Mabry

Dr. Jim Clardy

Rev. Mike Waldrop

Friday Class:

Claudia Hunter

Dr. Jim Clardy 

It was a joy to share this journey as a church family, to hear the questions and conversations being talked about in our hallways and classrooms, to witness the faithfulness and discipline of our readers, especially those who fell behind and worked to catch up, and then to celebrate the completion of our mutual journey.  

My constant prayer was that this experience would help us be better disciples:

-         People who pray and read the Bible every day. 

-         People who are present to God and one another in worship, in study, and in their daily lives

-         People who generously share their God-given gifts to build up the community of faith

-         People who hear and respond to God’s call to serve in our faith community and to take the ministry of Christ’s church beyond its walls and into the world

-         People who tell others what their relationship to God and the Church means to them

As Methodists, these are the methods we are called to use to help ourselves and one another grow in our faith and discipleship. Even though this emphasis has ended in our church, it should never end in our lives. May we all continue on this faithful path!