ST. MARK’S NOTES FOR JULY 2025At our St Mark’s Committee meeting on 5 June we were pleased to report that the numbers in church on a Sunday morning are on the increase. On every Sunday since 23 March there had been more than 30 in the congregation (which had only been recorded on some Sundays, rather than every Sunday, before that) and that is in spite of some of our “regulars” being away on holiday. We have been pleased to welcome family members, visitors to the area and others, some of whom have been on several occasions and have become new regular members of the congregation. This is in line with national statistics which speak of a slow but genuine increase in church attenders over recent months and is very welcome. It is good to have the feeling that, perhaps, people have become aware of what membership of a church, and faith in God through Jesus, can offer. As well as that, we’ve had several of our regular congregation and visitors who have brought their dogs (always impeccably behaved!) and we’ve been pleased to make them welcome. At the committee meeting we covered a lot of topics and discussed them profitably. As always, we reviewed past social events and looked ahead to those to come. We particularly said that we want to arrange more activities for the younger children, following the very successful Teddy Bears’ Picnic held at the end of April, so watch this space! We welcomed the two new members of the committee – Anne Johnson and Mike Keats. For at least one of them, it was not their first time on the committee! We received a report from Dave Richards, our Resident Priest, outlining the things that had happened in St Mark’s since the last Committee meeting and it emphasised to us how much Dave and Carol do for the life of St Mark’s. We were pleased to hear that Carol has been recognised as LLM (Licensed Lay Minister) to work within our parish, as she was in her former life in St John’s, Stratford. In her role of Governor at St Mark’s School, Carol outlined the significant changes in organisation that will happen in the school in September. We continue to pray for the school as these changes take place and we wish the Year 6 pupils well as they move to their secondary school, each in possession of a Bible given by St Mark’s. Sunday 8th June was Pentecost and we celebrated the birth of the Christian Church, both in our service and afterwards. On Tuesday 10th June, Anne and I went on an expedition to Hamworthy church, along with many others, to be officially confirmed as churchwardens. As Anne said last month, we are very grateful to the congregation of St Mark’s for electing us again to this position and we hope that we will continue to justify your trust in us. In the life of a churchwarden there are many happy moments, but also some sad ones, as we think back to the funeral of Barbara Rose at the end of May. One of the joys is to recognise what our members give to the community and it will be a delight on for Dave, Carol and me (and of course John) to attend an awards ceremony at Lyme Regis on 26th June where Jenny Lazenbury will receive a Diocesan award recognising her many years’ devoted service to the work of Communicare in Swanage. Well done, Jenny – you deserve it and we appreciate all you do for our community, both in the church and outside. Our musicians never fail to delight us and we thank them all they did for the concert on 29 June. We can only imagine how much planning and rehearsal goes into preparation for such a polished performance! As we move into July, we look forward to the Pimms and Hymns event on 20th and participating in the Carnival Service on 27th as well as the joy of meeting together Sunday by Sunday to worship God. I wonder if in the next few weeks we will reach a congregation of 40 on one or more Sunday. We got close several times in May!Wishing you all God’s blessings,John WayChurchwarden
June has arrived, with all its glorious colours and sounds. We have been enjoying some wonderful weather in recent weeks and the coastline, countryside and our gardens have all responded with the wonderful array of beautiful colours and such tuneful bird song, both morning and evening time.So much has happened since our special Service on Easter morning and the weeks have really flown by! We celebrated St Mark's Day on 27th April, in traditional style at St Mark's with a lovely BIG cake and a glass or two, plus tea and coffee. Then in the afternoon, "If you go down to St Mark's today, you're sure of a big surprise".... we held a Teddy Bear's Picnic for children aged 2 - 6 years, with accompanying grown-ups. The event was a great success and 18 children, plus adults, all enjoyed the games, craft activities and some lovely picnic food. We look forward to welcome them to St Mark's again in future.On Saturday 3rd May, a group of us from St Mark's attended the retirement party for Rev. Tony and Felicity Higgins at Studland Village Hall. A wonderful celebration and appreciation of their ministry and work in St Nicholas and the village community over the years. We wish them both a happy retirement and look forward to seeing them enjoying this new chapter in their lives. Members of St Mark's Band and singers, including the junior singers, joined in the Herston Community Picnic on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May and entertained people who were enjoying their picnic and the other activities on offer on that sunny day. After the Service on Sunday 11th May, to mark the start of Christian Aid Week, we enjoyed a wonderful selection of cakes with our refreshments after the Morning Service, with donations all going to Christian Aid. On Friday 23rd May there was a Memorial Service for the life of Barbara Rose, a dearly loved member of our church family. The Service was followed by afternoon tea in the Church Room and everyone enjoyed looking at pictures of Barbara's life displayed on the screen in the room. May God bless and keep youAnne Roper (Churchwarden)
The St Mark's Goes Global evening, on 22nd March, was a lot of fun with an amazing array of photos from locations around the world. What a well-travelled crowd our Church members are! The event also raised £303 for Christian Aid, plus Gift Aid. Thanks to everyone who took part. We were very pleased that the excellent Lent lunch at St Mark’s raised £331 - a total of over £600 in a single month. Thanks to everyone who made these events work. St Mark’s School held their Easter Services at the Church on 31st March and 1st April. It was great to see parents and grandparents come along. As usual, each class contributed something to the service, and the Year 5 children wrote the prayers and read them during the KS2 service. Skye Crisp, a year 5 pupil, aged 9, wrote the amazing poem printed below, and read it at the service. What a talented young lady, and what a great school, nurturing this talent! The Easter Story by Skye Crisp Easter, a holiday of cheer, where children collect eggs that are near, But, it’s not all eggs and bunnies, there is more to being silly and funny. This story starts a long time ago, when you couldn’t walk with boots in the snow, Where our hero came to a close, but wait! Don’t leave! Come stick in your nose. Jesus had arrived in the town, with people praising, the great leader gave a frown, Soon, Judas was making a horrible trade, the trade that would save when made. Jesus knew of this cruel fate, but, he had a stable heart rate, That evening he told his disciples that he would soon be in a terrible cycle. “Death!?” said the disciples aloud, as Jesus gave food to the crowd, “Yes”, said Jesus, “That is the cost”, he washed their feet, “Run, guide yourselves and don’t get lost”. Then, it was the day, the day that Judas would betray, Jesus was praying then was arrested, they knew to do this because Judas kissed him. He was brought to trial, his disciples in denial, The crowd screams, “PUT HIM TO DEATH!”, Jesus knew at that moment they had lost all faith. Then, the priests smirked evilly, their eyes angry and fiery, As Jesus with a thorn crown, dragged the cross around town. They nailed him on the cross, crowds gathering with fruits to toss, “Forgive them, Father”, Jesus gasped with his last breath, as he was taken by death. With this, the sky turned dark, lightning and thunder that went bark! bark! bark! The temple curtain tore in two, crowds going “Whooo!”. They put Jesus in the tomb, they said “For things to respect you”, A few days passed, the Death of Jesus in the past. When some ladies came to visit, the stone had been shattered and hit, An angel stood among the rocks, scaring them out of their socks! “Don’t fret my dears”, the angel told them, Mary and the others tried to trust him, “The one you seek is not here”, “When you find him, party! Drink beer!” Being told this they quickly ran from the tomb, the disciples resting until Mary burst into the room, “Jesus is alive!” they cried, bursting with much pride. When Jesus came back, he taught more people, they sat down (some sitting in treacle!) Then finally, the day came, he went to heaven, his tale known as fame. The End. As I write, we are preparing for Holy Week and Easter and for our St Mark’s Day celebration on 27th April. In addition to the Celebration! Service on that morning at 10am, we are also holding a Teddy Bear’s Picnic for children aged 2-6 on Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Rev David Richards - Resident Priest
SPRING HAS ARRIVED Isn't it good to know that there are signs of Spring around us! As I write this, daffodils, crocuses and primroses are adorning the roadsides and cheering everyone's spirits. We haven't experienced much warmth yet, unless you have been in the sunshine and out of the wind, but we know that things are moving in the right direction and we can start talking about outdoor events without needing to cover ourselves in layers of clothing for every venture out of the door, So, on our list of diary dates, we are able to include the Good Friday service at the bandstand and our sunrise welcome to Easter Day, I'm not able to promise fine, warm weather but we can hope! MARCH HAS BROUGHT US OUT OF WINTER. The first event was the church committee on the 3rd of the month with the usual lively discussion of matters concerning the life of our community and a tempting list of forthcoming events to inspire our life together. It was good for some of our members to meet together for the Ash Wednesday service; a good occasion to begin our observance of Lent, a season which has continued with a Bible-based discussion each week in the Lent group and, of course, the Lent lunch for the benefit of Christian Aid, but also to be a good occasion for members of other churches, and of none, to come together and to chat in a relaxed atmosphere. The first of the series was at St Mark's on 14 March and was well attended and much enjoyed, fuelled by home-made soup as well as bread and cheese. As always, the members of St Mark's came up trumps and our church members and visitors were welcomed into a nicely decorated church room with tables set out attractively. Those of us who have coffee and cake after Sunday services and who come for other events have seen changes in the room in recent months with new radiators and lights and many unnecessary items taken away. Many thanks to Dave Richards and Dave Hudson for all they have done. And there are plans for more changes to come. A number of those who visited commented on how cheerful our garden looked. Well done Dave H and Tony! LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD. On Sunday 16 March we held St Mark's Annual Meeting which was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of our activities through the year, with a collection of photographs assembled by Carol Richards. There were reports from the Resident Priest, the Churchwardens, the Electoral Roll Officer, the Organist and Choir Master and other Officers. All were thanked for their contributions to the life of the church. Anne Roper and I were re-elected as Churchwardens and were delighted to accept your trust for another year; we cannot think of a better church of which to be churchwarden. We are very pleased to be joined on the Church Committee by Mike Keats and Anne Johnson. We want to thank Jenny Lazenbury and Jean Bettles, who stand down after three years service. We also welcome Nicky Dolton onto our team of Welcomers and to read lessons from time to time. COMING UP. As I write we are looking forward to the "St Mark's Goes Global" evening which looks like a lot of fun, on 22nd March. We then follow the period of Lent and Holy Week to the joy of Easter. Look carefully at the dates above so that you don't miss anything you would like to join us for during April and make the dates known to family and friends, so that they can join us as well! With all best wishes for the coming month and into the future. John Way Churchwarden.
