We have "a partnership partner" in Huntsville

Dear friends at Mt Mark's,

My name is Heidi Meadows and I have been asked to serve as the 'partnership partner' between our congregations of First Presbyterian in Huntsville and St. Mark's in Johannesburg. I am a fairly new member at First, but not new to our partnership. I was on the first group partnership trip from North Alabama in February 1997, with Frank Broyles.

I visited again with another mission group (that included my children Luke and Grace) in February 2002, when we celebrated the opening of the new church in Alexandra. Liz White, from your congregation,  visited us here in Huntsville and also helped host us in Johannesburg during our 2002 trip. My family again visited South Africa last December 2008, but to see our dear friends that live in Norkem Park and Tembisa and not with a mission trip.

Please let me know what level of information you'd like to have from us, or share with us - though we have quite a lot already, from your web site. I noticed a request for a photo of our church and will be glad to send that, along with any other photos or other information you would like to have.

We are looking forward to working more closely with your congregation as we grow our partnership, friendship, and bonds in Christ.


NOTE: I was Heidi Chitwood when I visited S. Africa previously, but recently returned to my maiden name of Heidi Meadows. But Liz and others from your church would have remembered me as Heidi Chitwood....just to clear up any potential confusion.

In His Love,

Heidi

Jesus targets the "sinners" in his ministry

Our Probationer Solomon Surwuumwe and Session Clerk Elizabeth White ... growing the flock in Yeoville

Solomon struck two majors chords with your scribe on Sunday. In his children's address he stressed the need to turn the other cheek and pray for one's tormentors. This is so true of the challenges our young face in the environment that is Yeoville

But even more telling was his sermon entitled "Jesus - the friend of sinner." The readings on Sunday were as follows:
Hosea 14 1-7.
Mark 2 13-17
Philemon 1-16

This is the verse from Mark, that really "spoke" to me.
Mark 2:17 Jesus heard them and answered, "People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts."

The Lord's ministry is to the outcasts and there are many of these in Yeoville, indeed in South Africa and the world. As Solomon pointed out in his sermon in the apartheid years the elite did not necessarily see the majority as being in need of saving from a Christian perspective. I have taken note in my worship. It's so easy to be judgmental and move away from what the Lord Jesus preaches.

The Lion of St Mark's has had a facelift

There are go... the Lion church signboard all spruced up thanks to Mac and Joyce

Mac MacTaggert, who completed the count at 93 today including children, has completed the refurbishment of the St Mark's signboard outside of the A. S. Welsh Hall. And our ever faithful Joyce Mpungose cleaned it up nicely, so that the Lion of St Mark's roared with meaning on Sunday morning welcoming the faithful to tea. Mac has developed a removable "time of service" notice that this can be updated at short nice. Thank you Mac and Joyce.

But plenty more needs to be done in terms of maintenance and renovation  The Men for the Master and the W.A. are already  talking, hence our very pertinent Poll this week. How would either a pair of  FIFA World Cup 2010 tickets or an official match jersey go down in terms of a raffle to raise funds for the church?  Hit the comment button below and let us have your thoughts.

St Mark's Editorial Team

St Mark's phone and internet is on the blink due to gas explosion

The gas explosion in Yeoville last Wednesday damaged the Telkom exchange. The upshot of this is that many of our members living in the area are now without the benefits of their Telkom lines. The church office is for the moment incommunicado and the Green family is also offline. Beate says there  has been no word as to when normal services will be resumed and they are exploring other options.

St Mark's Editorial Team

Lord uphold those impacted by flood and drought

The concrete slipway and the long wooden jetty, which are normally visible below the flag are gone, courtesy of the storms. This photograph was taken by Marianne on Saturday.

The welcome rains in Gauteng have brought with them challenges for people near the Vaal and Crocodile rivers, the main feeders to Vaal Dam and Hartbeespoort Dam. Sluices gates at both dams have been opened and this spells misery for those living close to the water's edge downstream.

The people at informal settlements are also suffering. Think to of those in the Eastern Cape, who are in the midst of a drought. John and Chris Paterson have just returned to Kenton-on-Sea where only tank water remains for their use. These are strange weather patterns indeed. Please uphold victims of both drought and flood and indeed of earthquakes such as those in Haiti. Lord be with those, who suffer as this time.

NOTE: These photographs were sent by Alison Jackson (thank you Alison), whose family was down at the Vaal. All those gates  are open now and the dam is 108 percent full.  Robbie and Beate Green have a Miura yacht at the Vaal, while  Geoff and Marianne have a Mistral yacht at Hartbeespoort.

Above is a view of the floodwaters below the Vaal Dam wall. Beate and Robbie struggled to get to their yacht on Saturday as the marina was to all intents and purposes underwater. But the Lord be praised no-one was hurt and their boat is fine.

This picture was taken by Les Holley of Randpark Ridge and forwarded to interested yachtsmen. This is where Robbie's Miura is moored at the Vaal.


The St Mark's Editorial Team. 

Snow storms in Huntsville, but warm relations loom

Geoff,

Thanks for the quick reply.  I will keep our relationship at the front of my emphasis at First Presbyterian Church.  Right now we are closing the church at noon.  This is Friday but we have both an ice storm and snow storm heading our way.

Blessings to you and your loved ones

Mark

Huntsville and St Mark's .... the Lord is working to build bridges

Hello Geoff van Heerden,

Thank you for the email. Plans are underway for the further development of our relationship with you. 

Thank you for the internet link.  Currently, our church website is undergoing some change, but we look to have it up and running at full capacity soon.

We have plans of sending you our newsletters, bulletins and prayer concerns.  Likewise we are looking for yours as well.

You should be hearing from us shortly. Know that you are in my prayers.

Blessings!

Mark Mueller

Pastor, First Presbyterian Church

Huntsville, Alabama

Please uphold Ceridwyn Jamieson's parents in prayer!

Please uphold Ceridwyn and Geoff Jamieson in prayer ... Ceridwyn's father and stepmother are very frail

Dear friends,

I spoke to Ceridwyn this morning and things are looking very bad for her dad Ralph Bricknell and her step-mother. Both are not at all well and are very weak.

Ceridwyn’s brother Ed is already with them, Ceridwyn will travel to them tomorrow and her sisters are coming this week-end from the United Kingdom.

I undertook to have Geoff and Ceridwyn and the family put onto our Prayer List and they said they would be most grateful.

God Bless,


Alison 

NOTE: Joy Vardy has been informed and she will contact the Prayer Circle. Our prayers are with Geoff and Ceridwyn and course Ralph and his wife. For those who do not know Geoff and Ceridwyn had a long and successful ministry at St Mark's. Geoff is now minister at the Claremont Congregational Church in Cape Town.

New service on The Marksman Online

Dear friends,

Please note we have a new service. All committees, associations and fellowships can have their office bearers listed online, so that they may be easily contacted before and after church. Scroll down the right hand column and see, who is involved with Men for the Master and in what capacity. Simply e-mail the editor at vanheerdeng@gmail.com to have your committee permanently listed.

The St Mark's Editorial Team

St Mark's needs your help to build a stable future

Dear friends,
Solomon read the scripture before we went out to gather your gifts in service of the Lord at St Mark's last week. Do you give your tithe? Here is a food for thought from the Old Testament.

"Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts."  Malachi 3:7-11

Our treasurer Mike MacMurray will be addressing the congregation on Financial issues in the next few weeks. But read Moshe's message posted a short while ago to put 2010 in context along with the two tough questions we must ask ourselves.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.

Read, Steady Go!

Our Interim Moderator Moshe is back from leave full of fire and optimism ... but he asks two pertinent questions of us.

January is over and my guess is that by now we are all settled in our regular pursuits at work, home, school or college.

We each have another eleven months allotted to us this year, unless He decides to call us home sooner.  So, ready, steady and go!  2010 will feel like it was a shortened year with the Soccer Spectacular happening on our shores.  We had better be off the starting blocks and run the race set before us, “pressing on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”  Phil 3:12

In so far as the Church is concerned, will you prayerfully do everything in your power to contribute to the welfare and growth of our fellowship.  This time next year, be prepared to honestly answer two questions:

 What role did I play in fulfilling the vision and mission of St Marks?

 What must I do differently in 2011 to help advance God’s mission?

Shalom


Moshe

Please uphold Lineth in prayer!

Our Session Clerk Liz White asks that we uphold Lineth Ncube in prayer ... Lineth is far away from friends and family

Our Session Clerk Elizabeth White has spoke to Lineth Ncube on Wednesday. She is the young lady, who is  suffering from TB in her bones,

She is currently in hospital at Nazareth House undergoing tests and she isin a lot of pain, which is centred in her stomach and ribs.From what she told Liz it sounds as if this could be a side effect of the treatment she is undergong,  but the doctor wants scans and other tests done all the same.

The medical team took blood yesterday and Lineth is now waiting to  go for the scans and Xrays, which cannot be done at Nazareth House as they do not have the equipment.

 Liz asks that we step up prayer for Lineth – asking the Lord to relieve her from the pain, and that it may not have serious consequences and that healing will be swift.

Lineth has not been home or in touch with her siblings in Zimbabwe for atleast 18 months and is desperate to be able to visit them at her home near Harare. For ages she felt she had let them down by coming to South Africa and not succeeding in finding a job to send them much needed funds. Her parents are both dead and she feels very responsible for the other siblings, and she misses them.

Let's pray for Lineth.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.

US Presbyterian Disaster Association comes to Haiti's aid

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hôspital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross Hospital) and an affiliated nursing school in Léogâne, Haiti, have been approved to receive a $200,000 grant from Louisville-based Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).

The grant request was sent to PDA by email on Friday, Jan. 22, and the much-needed funds were approved within two hours. The hospital and nursing school are ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and have been a major focus of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission in Haiti. Léogâne is near the epicentre of the Jan. 12 earthquake and both facilities sustained serious damage.

“We’ve been told by our Episcopal partners in Haiti that despite the damage, the nursing school began operating as a makeshift hospital within a half-hour of the quake,” said Randy Ackley, PDA coordinator. “In addition, nursing students have established 10 first-aid stations around the main part of Léogâne. The people on the ground are working hard to help one another and this grant is one way we can support their live-saving efforts.”

NOTE: You can click over to Christian links in the right hand column and surf the Alabama web sites. They are all listed for you.

Official Press Release

Great start for the WA in 2010 despite the challenges

The Women's Association meeting on Tuesday ... Beate, Marianne and Sophia are all smiles


The Women's Association met for the first tine in 2010 on Tuesday after an executive meeting had started off the year last week. The leaflet campaign on Sunday clearly paid dividends as a number of prospective new members arrived at the A. S. Welsh Hall.

The chairlady Sophia welcomed Isabelle, Christine, Olive and Suzanna to the WA, but it was a tight squeeze as the meeting was held in the old creche room, because a taxi assciation, had booked the hall. This in itself is an example of Christian giving to our fellow raod users.

Solomon opened proceedings with a prayer in he which expressed the wish that the WA's numbers would continue to grow. The reading was Luke 18 19-23:

Luk.18:19 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "No one is good except God alone.
Luk 18:20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother."
Luk 18:21  The man replied, "Ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments."
Luk 18:22  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me."
Luk 18:23  But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich."

Solomon and Perpetue are expecting their first child in March ... the WA are organising a Baby Shower 

Solomon's message was clear. Do not think of worldly rewards, but focus on service and worship of the Lord. “Sisters of the Lord what is holding you back?," he queried. "We want eternal life, but there are things holding us back. Nothing can be more important than Him in our lives."

The message struck a chord with the more than 20 women, who attended, and things are getting off to a cracking start for the W.A.

• Cake sales have resumed. Nora and Chris have done the schedule until the end of May. The cakes are a great treat for members of the congregation, who enjoy a snack with their tea after the service. And this is a fund raiser deluxe.  
• A sum of R3 000 has been raised as a one off donation to Meals on Wheels, as sadly the "hands on" involvement of the WA cannot continue. Ad hoc donations will be made when there is money to spare.
• Sophia asked that WA members to remember to bring in clothing for Solomon to hand out to destitute people, who come to the church during the week.  
• Extra parcels of food will also be given to him to pass onto those in need.
• The WA is organised a baby shower for Solomon and Perpetue on the 27th February. It will follow preparations for Harvest Festival.  ...  that must be the worst kept secret in Yeoville. 

The next meeting will be on the 23rd of February 2010.

There are plenty more pictures. Scroll down the web site and look on the right hand side of your screen and then click on the thumb nail picture. That will open a slide show of photographs of all of the action of the past few days.

The St Mark's Editorial team.

Our Marksman Online hits the spot in praise of the Lord

Hi the St Mark's Editorial Team,

Just wanted to say how fabulous the St Mark's "Marksman Online" is!!! Well done on a fantastic and frankly inspiring ministry. I will use this site as an example for churches here in Wales to emulate.

God bless

Kev

It's all about Faith in 2010!

Know your Bibles ... that was a lesson to adults and Sunday school alike. Again Solomon urged us to bring our own Bibles to church.

The Men for the Master met on Sunday and Norman Mangena led the group in the Bible Reading .... Matthew 9:18-26:

Mat 9:18  While Jesus was saying this, a Jewish official came to him, knelt down before him, and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and place your hands on her, and she will live."
Mat 9:19  So Jesus got up and followed him, and his disciples went along with him.
Mat 9:20  A woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak.
Mat 9:21  She said to herself, "If only I touch his cloak, I will get well."
Mat 9:22  Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, my daughter! Your faith has made you well." At that very moment the woman became well.

Norman pointed out that this came down to an issue of faith. We men look to logic, mathematics and science to resolve issues of faith. The one does not speak to the other. Through faith all is achievable, where logic would seem to dictate otherwise. In faith we can make St Mark's financially sustainable, in faith we can grow our numbers, in faith we can spread the word of the Father.

Giyani looked at the painting on the wall, which depicts Jesus and his disciples on a storm lashed wave. The disciples lacked faith even with the Master in their midst. We of St Mark's must go forward in faith in what will be a challenging year.

Solomon followed this up with the following readings during his Sermon: Exodus 33 12-23, John 1 1-4 and John 2 1-11. Here the message was clear. Do what Jesus tells you to do. It was an inspirational morning

The Men for the Master are currently preparing a Report for Session next month. Quotes have already been obtained for a new sign board outside the church - one was just under R500 and the other was in excess of R1 000, the size of the thief proof board being the difference. The Men would also want Session to sign off on the text.  Funds are in place to open a bank account, but it's noted that the Women's Association is getting off to a cracking start next week. This is all good for the Lord's work and a number of collaborative projects are being suggested. More about that when we have the facts.

And Mac McTaggert has come up trumps. Mac has fixed the sign board outside the church hall as promised. We know have our time of service - 10h30 -  in a laminated plastic folder that is attached to the metal background just below the picture of the Lion of St Mark's, via a strong adhesive. Joyce will clean the sign board in the week and that will be that. Thank you Mac.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.

St Mark's folk on the move!

John and Chris Paterson ... on their way back to a parched Eastern Cape from a very wet Gauteng

John and Chris Paterson will soon be returned to their "other" home at Kenton-on-Sea near Port Alfred. They have been an integral part of our activities over the past few of weeks and they will be sorely missed. John  free with his advice and support to Men of the Master and he was there at the men's first hot dog give away and they both assisted the WA will packing the Christmas parcels.

The congregation at Kenton numbers well over a 100 and services are at 08h00, so you have to be an early bird at the seaside. They are concerned about the drought in the Eastern Cape, but John and Chris have water tanks, which will come in handy at this time. They have asked asked to included on the The Marksman Online distribution list and that has already been done.

And yet we can finally correctly report that Barbara MacMurray will soon be on her way to Australia. She leaves on Friday. Her Bible Study already have their study material and the group will reconvene in March on Barbara's return. Mike will be joining her Down Under for part of that time. May the Lord bless your trip and have a fantastic time with the family.

The St Mark's Editorial Team 

The "new" choir is in need of a name ... got any ideas?

Glorifying the Lord with Gospel ... the "not so new" choir were in fine form on Sunday.

Our "not so new" choir really did us proud on  This has grown from a women's group to a choir incorporating Men from the Master as well and Norman Mangena and friends were in fine voice voice with two rousing Gospel numbers, which set the scene for Solomon's service. But let me add our "traditional" choir were also superb, so our music ministry is blessed.

One  challenge remains, which is to find a name of the "not- so-new" choir. We'd like inputs in this regard. Options:
1. The Yeoville praise singers? This does not do it for me.
2. St Mark's Praise Singers?
3. Africa be praised?

Eish this is not simple. What  say we have a raffle at R5 a pop and each member of the congregation puts forward a suggestion There would be a prize of course, which could be donated by Men for the Master after consultation between its members. Norman and the choristers then pick what works. We want your views. Use the comment button below.

The St Mark's Editorial team.. 

Lord please be with those, who face medical challenges this week!

There are several members in need of our continued prayer at this time. Marianne visited Phyllis Diesel on Sunday and the operation was not a success and she will require further surgery. The good news is that she will get a second opinion from one of South Africa's leading specialists, who will plot a way forward for her. Her sister Gloria is also not well and will need special care. The family is currently looking for solutions in this regard.

Our Session Clerk Elizabeth White also got some breaking news on Sunday. Peggy Hawkridge, wife of a past minister of St Mark's John Hawkridge, will be undergoing a hip replacement procedure in Somerset West  on Tuesday. As Phyllis will attest, this is no small matter. Peggy,you are in our prayers.

Lineth Mcube, has TB of the bones, but is responding to treatment. We payer for her continued healing. We also pray for Marianne's friend Cobus from the SABC, who is undergoing heart surgery in Cape Town on Monday. May the Lord bless Cobus and Antoinette.

And for those of you who have found healing, we thank you Lord.

The St Mark's Editorial team

St Mark's needs you ... and there's a place for you in this Christian family!

All the way from Ghana is Joefred Addai, who is seen here giving a helping hand on the door on Sunday. 

If you have been worshipping at St Mark's for at least six months you qualify for membership. Prospective members are encouraged to attend a meeting after tea next Sunday, the 31st of January, to hear what joining our congregation entails.

Those of you who are already members of other Presbyterian churches, have for example to provide proof of that membership and the process is straight foreword. If on the other hand you have not been baptised baptismal classes will be arranged. The meetings will continue on a monthly basis, so that there is a forum to welcome new members into our community. We want you all to feel at home with us. Indeed this was the exact sentiment expressed by our Session Clerk Elizabeth White after she has read the notices today.

The Women's Association, who meet on Tuesday, are also on the lookout for new members. A "flyer" was handed out at the door today and more are available in the church office, for those who are interested in assisting with the WA/s vital work in service of the Lord.

And you can get hold of Giyani or Solomon if you are a man, looking a place for fellowship and service in the church. Joefred, Addai (this is surname first), who has travelled south all the way from Ghana, bumped into Giyani at the door on Sunday and so promptly got his name onto the Men for the Master's SMS list and a job as an assistant on door duty as well. Welcome Addai. And would you believe he bumped into a lady from his home district back home in the course of handing out hymn books. This is a small world indeed.

The St Mark's Editorial team

St Mark's ... going back to our roots

Elder John Nixon at the St Mark's centenary celebrations ... as a schoolboy he counted the bricks as our church was built

When the First World War ended the congregation considered that a more permanent and worthier structure of a new Church (our present St Mark's) was necessary.  But as building costs were high the project was postponed.

In 1922, however, the scheme was reconsidered and the erection of the new Church became possible.  Mr Stucke, the architect had studied the architecture of churches in Scotland and he modeled the new Church on these lines.  The Reverend David Hunter, who was inducted in 1907, had the casting vote to place the choir and organ at the back of the church in order that the Apse, with the beautiful Communion Table and Elders’ chairs would be the focal point. (He was of the opinion that the hats of the choristers would distract the congregation)

The cost of the building was 4,450 pounds, the heating by means of a hot-water system - 300 pounds and the outlay for the furniture 2,100 pounds. But it was harder to raise money for a really good pipe organ.  Skilled organ builders had gone over to the making of aeorplanes.  Eventually Rev Hunter dedicated the magnificent pipe organ on the 31st of May 1925.

The foundation stone was laid in September 1922 and work progressed steadily until the dedication in May 1923. (the late John Nixon’s father was responsible for overseeing the building construction.  John would go out on his bicycle before school every morning, count the number of stones laid the previous day and give his father a progress report.)

The name of St Mark’s was selected for this new Church, with the symbol of the Winged lion.

Extracted from BUILT ON GOLD – A Short History of St Marks Presbyterian Church, Yeoville, Johannesburg by Mrs. Dorothy Land. 

The Women's Association wants to grow membership

The executive of the Women's Association has one clearcut goal and that is to grow membership in 2010. The ladies will be handing out invitations at the door on Sunday under the headline "The Women's Association needs you!". Church members will be invited to the first meeting of the WA in the A.S. Welsh on Tuesday, the 26th with Solomon as guest speaker.

The WA will then discuss and confirm the programme for the rest of the year, included on the agenda will be the possibility of joint initiatives with the Men for the Master after Easter. And another really great idea, which comes from the president Sophia Williamson, is that St Mark's host a Christmas dinner this year for all members who are alone on Christmas Day.

The WA has been involved with Meals and Wheels for many years, but time has caught up with the team. The association with programme does not however end. The WA has decided to give R2 800 towards buying food for the organisation. Our treasurer Beate Green is facilitating that. And it does not end there. The WA will also give R500 towards Guild Cottage.

The WA also noted the Men for the Master's plan to have a clean up campaign around the church next month. Sophia will tell the lads to put that project on hold as she is at "war" with the council, who are charigng the church R5 000 to maintain the six stands, which make up St Mark's.

City Council be warned Sophia is coming.  Irvine this may be a good time for a holiday. The Lord is certainly working through the women of the church.

Marianne happened to pass through the office and reports that the new printer copier is a beauty. Thank you once again to Mike MacMurray for making this happen from the WA and the congregation at large.

PS: The WA is looking for an example of the Mark's letterhead. Does anyone have an example of one that can be copied and incorporated on WA stationary in the year ahead. You can let the editorial team know via the comments button at the bottom of this article.

The St Mark's Editorial team.

Get to know the scriptures ... join a Bible Study

Solomon is passionate about the need for all of us to know our Bibles. He raised the issue in his sermon last Sunday and here is his open letter to the Congregation offering suggestions of how we can group our Bible Study Groups and hence our understanding of the Christian faith.

"We have three Bible Studies that are run under the auspices of St Mark’s, but many of our congregants either do not belong to a Bible Study, or they have few members. This is of great concern and the big question is how we can address this challenge in 2010.

The first thing we have to do is to identify is identify who is interested in further their knowledge of scripture and when are these members of St Mark’s available. People are busy and do not have time during the week to attend a Bible Study group. Our current groups meet during the day, which is a challenge for many who would like to join.

I therefore have the following suggestions:
 That a group meets at 09h00 before church. (Editor’s Note: This arrangement works for Men of the Master.)
 Or Saturday at15h00
 Or evening Bible Study at the home of one of our members.

I met with a group of interested church members after service last Sunday and the majority of people present wanted to attend on Sunday morning. Only one person, who is a member of the Men of the Master, preferred Saturday.

The problem that might be arise is that people might not be to attend at this time, because on Sunday many are expected to be on duty.

I would prefer a Saturday with a 15h00 start.
 
We hope to start the Sunday Bible Study hope to start on 28 February and we pray that God will help us to grow spiritually and in numbers.

God is with us and will finish the work that He has started. It is God's work not our work."

Emmanuel Solomon Surwumwe 

Note you can comment on this issue, by clicking on the comment button below this article. We would really welcome your views.

Mac has a plan to spruce up the St Mark's lion

Mac McTaggert has an idea on how to spruce up out church sign on the hall wall ... read more!

Mac McTaggert took a close look at our St Mark's sign board on Sunday morning and came up with a simple expedient to add updated service times. Mac, the master print and Christmas and Greetings card maker, will look into the possibility of matching the Arial front of the white test on blue and add in the 10h30 and 12h00 service on a plastic slot that will be attached by the simple expedient of using double sided adhesive tape. It will look a whole lot better and the price is right.

The picture of the Lion may have led you to ponder as to it's origins. Here is something off the internet, that we ran a few days back.
 
"The traditional symbol for St Mark, the winged lion, is one of the four winged creatures of Ezekiel 1:10. Very early on, these creatures came to be associated with the four archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel) and to the four major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel).

By the second century after Christ, the four creatures became symbols for the four Evangelists (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) in written allusions. At least by the 5th century they became visual symbols.

Traditionally, it is said that the winged lion is chosen for Mark, because his gospel speaks of the royal dignity of Jesus Christ, and because he begins his account of St. John the Baptist with the, "voice of one crying in the wilderness" (like a roaring lion)."

Sourced from the Internet & the St Mark's editorial team. 

A message of hope from Solomon

Solomon's sermon's title on Sunday was, "David was a man after God's own heart." The readings were: 1 Samuel 16 1-13 and Matthew 3 13-17.The message was clear. We should not despair about the future. God is instrumental in ensuring appropriate leadership for mankind. Solomon further urged all of us to bring our personal Bibles to church, so as to personalise our study of the scriptures. This is something that the Men for the Master do for their bi monthly meetings. It certainly does focus one's attention on His word.

St Mark's Editorial Team

Some things you may not know about the St Mark's organ

This is the St Mark's organ as it looks today ... and it's still central to our worship.

A Georgian organ was installed in 1906, at a cost of 125 Guineas. Miss E B Thom, the first organist with the help of the members the congregation raised money by giving concerts and other entertainments.

The new organ was a dual manual instrument, worked by foot pedals and bellows. On Sundays the church cleaner, who was seated behind a small green curtain would pump the handle, which worked the bellows, to increase the volume of sound.

Things have moved on from there. Joyce has no need to sit behind a screen and Helene assures us that there have been several upgrades and services of the organ since those days. The organ is so fundemental to worshipping the Lord that the Editorial team has asked Helene to contribute her thoughts on the topic to our web site.


The St Mark's Editorial Team

Best wishes to record breaker John ... and a further picture scoop

John Bowman has has had a 77 year Association with St Mark's ... that must be some kind of a record.

John Bowman has set a number of records at St Mark's, none of which will be beaten in our life times. John, who celebrates his 77th birthday on the 20th January, was Christened in the church. He has served the Lord in various capacities over the past seven decades and has in fact never worshipped anywhere other than St Mark's. He served two spells as Session Clerk and must therefore rank as the longest serving Session Clerk, as well. This will be a hard act to follow.

He and Dawn were smiling broadly in the pews on Sunday, little wonder as Dawn is well on the road to recovery after a serious illness. St Mark's wishes John a very happy birthday on Wednesday.

Michael John McKenzie Bowman ... this is the first picture of John and Dawn's grandson on our web site. 

And it only gets better. Grandson Michael, John McKenzie Bowman is 2 months old on Tuesday. The family kindly sent us a photograph, so we could share in grandpa and granny's joy.

The St Mark's Editorial Team

Sunday school back in full swing

That's Solomon addressing the children in church on Sunday, before they left for Sunday school 

Dear friends,

The Sunday school grew through 2009 to a point we where had over 30 children attending on a regular basis. Some of these children continued to attend even when the Sunday school went into recess over Christmas. Few will forget the Nativity Play and wish our teachers and their charges God speed and the Lord's blessing as we embark on a New Year. We had a nice group of young one's, who listened attentively to Solomon under the watchful eye of Norman Mangena and his fellow teachers.

Scroll down the right hand side of your block until you see a picture and then click on it to see a slideshow of the children, who made 2009 so special for all of us and who started 2010 in fine style on Sunday.

Please uphold the children at Guild Cottage in your prayers, three of whom celebrated  birthdays this week. Two of these were new arrivals. And thank you to the Women's Association, who supplied cakes, birthday cards and vouchers to these wards of the court.

Beate stepped into the breach mid week when the WA's regular supplier of cakes could not help out, because of  leave commitments. Beate's home baked chocolate "special" went down really well. Marianne went the "off the shelf" route on Friday and while appreciated the widest smiles were reserved for Mrs. Green. You can't beat the personal touch.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.

St Mark's ... we celebrate a century of worship

St Mark's is more than a century old ... the centenary celebrations were spectacular celebrating our many cultures. 

The first congregation of the church met in Mrs. Wilkes, schoolroom in Muller Street in Yeoville and later on in the Freemason Hall in Hunter Street. The first minister, Rev John Scott, from Ireland was inducted in 1905.

There were no roads or street lighting but the intrepid members of the new church would navigate the wet and muddy veld armed with faith, Macintoshes and lanterns to attend service.

This enthusiastic congregation raised money and bought the land on the corner of Frances Road and Kenmare Street for 600 pounds on which to build their own church. The architect Mr. G. Grainger Fleming – an Elder – waived his fees as a donation to the church.

The hall was built and dedicated on the 1st of October and named the “Yeoville Presbyterian Church” thus supplying the great need for spiritual endeavour in the rapidly growing area. The cost of building and furniture was a little over two thousand pounds.

Sourced from
BUILT ON GOLD – A Short History of St Marks Presbyterian Church

To all Presbytery Ministers, Commissioners and the General Secretary of the UPCSA

It is with sadness that we inform you of the passing away of Mrs Myra Moore, the wife of the Rev Michael Moore (retired Minister in the Presbytery). Myra has not been well for sometime and she passed on at their home, Panorama Estate, Krugersdorp, last night.

Funeral arrangements are being finalised and will be communicated to you in due course.

Please keep Michael and his family in your prayers and as opportunities are availed to you, offer support and ministry to the family.

Yours sincerely

  

Vusi Mkhungo
Presbytery Mission Enabler

Please uphold the Moore family in Prayer

Dear All,

As promised, the funeral arrangements for the late Mrs Myra Moore have been finalised as follows:

Date:        Tuesday, 19th January 2010

Time:        11H00

Venue:      Mount Faith Presbyterian church

                19 Hanekom Street

                Noordheuwel

God Bless you all.

  

Vusi Mkhungo
Presbytery Mission Enabler

The history of St Mark's Blog style is coming up

Fear friends,

The Marksman Online will delve into the official History of St Mark's and publish excerpts from the volumes to give our new members an idea of what the church is all about and where we came from. It's a fascinating story. Watch out for that.

The St Mark's Editorial Team

Focus on the Family "coup" for St Mark's

A coup for St Mark’s: the Rev Dr Amon Kasambala, CEO of Focus on the Family, South Africa, and a long-time friend of St Mark’s from the days of his own probation in the ministry,has agreed to run a weekend seminar at St Mark’s to address the topics of The Christian Man and The Christian Family over the long weekend of 20th – 22nd March 2010.  
            
Further details of the sessions and times of meeting must still be finalised after discussion with Amon, and the congregation and readers of marksmanonline.blogspot will be kept informed as these plans progress. St Mark’s has been hoping to engage Amon’s very extensive abilities for some time now, and we are thrilled that he has been able and willing to set this weekend aside to teach and equip our members in this most important area.

Elizabeth White

Women's Association key dates

Dear friends,
The Women's Association is kicking into top gear. The executive meetings at the St Mark's on 21st January  with Sophia in the chair for the first time. This will be followed by the monthly meeting, also at the church, on the 26th January. Proceedings start at 14h30 sharp. Marianne, our WA secretary, will be sending out reminders to those of you who have cellphones on SMS.  If you are interested in getting involved with the WA click on the comment button below and leave your details. We will get back to you.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.

Happy birthday Barbara!

Today is Barbara MacMurray's birthday, no wonder she is smiling so broadly.... and here's wishing her a very happy "landmark" day. And yes she is still in South Africa. Your Editorial team earlier reported that Barbara was in Australia visiting family. That was a blaps. The truth of the matter is that she leaves on the 29th of January. So once again Barbara here's wishing you a cracker of a day and a safe flight Down Under at the end of the month. We are delighted to have you and Mike around.

St Mark's Editorial Team

Men for the Master "to do" list until March

Chairman of Men for the Master Giyani Matampi ....implementation plan for first quarter of 2010 in place.

The Men for the Master are on the move. The first bi monthly meeting of 2010 took place last Sunday and here are some of the big points to come our of that forum.
1. The "men" will synchronise their quarterly "retreat" with that of the Congregation in March from 20 to 23 March 2010 and the Men for the Mater will have their special time with Amon Kasambala, from Focus on Family
2. On the 14th February the men will be doing the flowers and we will suprise the girls and ladies of the church. This is a Velewntine's Day "special".
3. The Cleaning Day remain the same, which is the 21st February
4. The men are planning to visit uncle Charles, but this we discuss this again at our next meeting..
5. The year has started with good planning and the Lord has blessed us in that many people have volunteered to lead the bi monthly devotions until the end of March. The schedule is as follows:
• 24th Jan ............ Norman
• 7th Feb ..............Samuel
• 21st Feb.............Joseph
• 7 March ............ Roger
• 21st March ..... ..Maxwell.

NOTE: The opening of the Men of the Master account is on hold pending the printing of a document on Letterhead confirming our bone fides to the bank. An document will be submitted to Session for approval on the 13th February in this regard.

This is our first quarter and our chairman Giyani has asked for the Lord's blessing in his devotion on Sunday. He phrased it nicely:" We need to trust God for all our plans."

Emmanuel Solomon Surwumwe 

St Mark's does it for the Children

The Retiring and Special Thanksgiving Offerings made at the Carol & Christmas Day Services on 20th & 25th December 2009, raised R4991.40, which will go to support the Johannesburg Children’s Home & United Church Schools.

A contribution from Session will bring this to over R5 000 which will be distributed later in the month. Thankyou to all for making it possible for St Mark’s to reach out to support the children in our community again this year.so we help house and educate the children of Yeoville and surrounding suburbs.

Some may say where will  a sum as small as R5 000 go in 2010, but I say God will use it greatly,and for a small congregation like St Mark’s it is a stout effort!

The St Mark's Editorial team

The Snymans are in a snowy wonderland

Hey Friends

Just a brief message to tell you how amazing all this snow is...WOW it is an amazing experince here at the moment. I walked to work with the snow falling onto my polka dot umbrella, forming ice smudges on it. I LOVE THE SNOW. It feels like a gentle, quiet miracle, you hear not a thing and when you leave the house the whole landscape is transformed. It is such a joy, I walk feeling full of GLEE, gleeful as it were...We live in such a pretty area and so to walk around with snow on the ground, on the roof of every house and shop, looks like a winter wonderland all the time.

On my morning walk there was a mom and daughter dressed up like eskimos building a snowman and the daughter could not contain herself she said to me as I pased, 'Isn't this lovely!!?" all of 6 years old. People walk and try to hide their delight but it spills out... I think in the 21st Century I have discovered the hidden eleventh commandment that Moses could not fit onto the tablet...THOU SHALT NOT WORKETH WHEN IT SNOWETH, THOU SHALT PLAYETH IN THE PARKETH. I feel like I am committing a sin by working 10 hours a day instead of playing in the snow!!! Our park is obviously a sight to behold and I want so much to spend time in it, but OH well work it must be for now...

My Goodness but the Brits can moan about the snow, it is like it is a national tragedy that has struck, instead of a beauty. I know one has to be careful as to avoid broken hips ect... but when Kev and I watch the news we always giggle at the national pastime of weather speak: WARNING: rain, WARNING: wind, WARNING:Sunshine, WARNING:mild temperatures, WARNING: Snow, WARNING:Ice, WARNING:cold, WARNING: Heat.  Every possible weather has a warning flashed onto the screen with a huge flashing exclamation mark on it,,, my goodness something that is so natural and a gift from God has a WARNING label attached to it.

Well that is all I have time for...Love to you all

Nads and Kev

What to do on a slow news day? Answer show off your grand daughter!!!

We weren't joking about the size of the snowball ... thank you Lord for bringing the family safely home.

Well this has been a slow news week around St Mark's. Barbara MacMurray is in Australia visiting the children, while Mike, Liz and I try to sort out the financials for the forthcoming audit. The scribe has a minor role here.

But Barbara is not the only one who has been travelling. Our grand daughter Zoe, and family have just returned from Switzerland where Zoe had a particularly good time. She was playing with snowballs the size of wrecking balls. This is turn gives me the opportunity to show off young Zoe. That's her with the aforesaid "wrecking ball" above.

Solomon and Elvis has been enjoying time off in the Cape and Moshe has started a well deserved break of three weeks. School starts next week, so that means Sunday school will be back in full swing.

And here's a landmark to be proud of ... we had 49 hits on our web site on Monday, which means that more than 1 500 fellow Christians are sharing our news and who knows perhaps our pews as well.

And just a reminder from Mike regarding the financials. We need to up our giving to meet the challenges of 2010. Everything you put in the plate or into the bank account is appreciated and is slotted to do the Lord's work.

The St Mark's Editorial team

Moshe plays Mastermind and gets some surprising answers

This is a picture from our files ... but Moshe had the kids and the adults stumped with his pop quiz

One is never too old to learn. Our Interim Moderator Moshe Rajuili drove home the point via the Children's address on Sunday. Moshe called the children forward and then hit them with his version of Mastermind. He posed the following two questions.

1. How many animals did Moses take into the Ark?
2. Name a motor vehicle identified in the Bible?

Would you believe that few of us spotted the obvious. The debate went on about multiples of two, but the answer was "none" as is was Noah, who mastered the flood. Eish. The second question rendered two answers - a Triumph and an Accord. That ended up with one to the pews and one to Moshe.

That set the tone for a wonderful service. Mac's count was 92 on Sunday, 15 of those were children. Christ's family in Yeoville is growing.

NOTE: There was another case of missing the obvious on Sunday. Your scribe and the Men for the Master have been hard at it planning for a new sign outside the hall, only to note that one already exists. How many times I have walked past it without seeing what is right in front of me beggars belief. The good news is that with a bit of cleaning up we are "A" for away and the price is right, "mahalala, fee.".