Spring at St. Mark’s
The latest News
It was wonderful to see familiar and new faces at church on Easter Sunday. Great joy to be back in the sanctuary for our worship times.
Parish Meeting and Luncheon
We are trying to find a Sunday in the next few months when we can gather as a parish family after church and over an early lunch. This will be a time to give thanks to God for His gracious provision, fellowship with one another, and to see where the Lord is leading us. At this point we are considering dates in June and July. Your suggestions would be appreciated.
Schedule of Services for May and June
We will continue our pattern of Holy Communion with Sermon and Music on the First, Second and Fourth Sundays of the month. We are encouraging folks to go to All Saints in Hoosick on the Third Sundays, as I will be leading worship there on those days. These coming months bring us Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday.
Sunday helpers needed
There are some easy jobs that need doing on a weekly basis. Thank you in advance.
Clean up the pews and book holders after the service to make them ready for the following week.
Fold the Bulletins and inserts.
Be a greeter at the back of the church to hand out these bulletins.
Help with Altar Guild duties, setting up and cleaning up the altar.
Keeping the new outdoor sign up to date
keep the altar candles trimmed and primed with oil
Digital Images for the Newsletter
I would love to be including images of St. Mark’s - good quality images past or present - for future newsletters. Please email those to me - phpierson@mac.com.
Hoosick Falls Senior Center News
Menu for May Calendar of Events
…and Something from Peter
In the Fall of 1969, my freshman year at Williams College, I found myself emotionally and spiritually overwhelmed. My best friend from high school had been killed in an automobile accident that summer. I was keenly aware of my own mortality. The first week of college I went to St. John’s Episcopal Church, right across the street from the freshman quad. I met the young Curate, and he introduced me to a living faith in Jesus Christ.
I was soon leading youth groups at the church, and quickly sensed a call to ordained ministry. Mary and I met that same year, as she found herself hanging out with these Williams Christian men. We were married at St. John’s the summer before my Senior year, fifty three years ago.
I had grown up in the Congregational Church. That’s why I prefer to be called Peter, instead of “Father” and I sometimes refer to myself as (in the bulletin, for instance) as Mr. Pierson. I did not grow up in a “High Church” world. It is still mostly foreign to me. Folk in the Diocese of Albany have been very gracious in understanding my “Low Church” tendencies. The way I lead worship is pretty much the way it was led at St. John’s in Williamstown back in 1970.
Right from the start I immersed myself in Bible Study. This has been a daily practice for most of these fifty plus years. I believe that the Bible Speaks Today, and try to communicate that in my sermons. About twenty five years ago a friend in ministry helped me realize the importance of music, literature and art as ways to connect the faith of the Bible with our troubled hearts. That’s why I bring music into just about every sermon. My aim is to tap into that unconscious piece of our souls that is ever stirred by the emotional charge of music; especially music that shaped our early years of life, love and loss.
I did go through a ten year period that I refer to as “My Walk-about”. I had too many doubts, and too many unsettled pieces of my soul…and needed time to sort things out. I may have felt like I was leaving God (as I understood Him). I know that God never left me. Feel free to ask me about this time if you wish to hear more.
Mary is one of the Wardens at St. John’s in Williamstown. I am very proud of the work she does there. Because we are at different churches on Sundays we have to work extra hard at home to remain linked up spiritually. She is very active in the Diocese of Albany, and every Tuesday is up at the Healing Services at Christ the King in Greenwich.
We do have two grown sons, Chase (51) and Josh (47), and they have given us three grandchildren, aged 25, 16 and 12. I wish you could meet them all!
If you would like to share your faith journey in Christ, please let me know!
That’s enough for now,
Blessings in Christ,
Peter
