Mark-in-One

Hearing the Gospel According to St. Mark

Saturday morning January 18, 32 of us gathered in the hall to listen to the Gospel according to St. Mark.  Men from the Men’s Club assisted by some of the women set up the hall and provided coffee and an abundance of delicious refreshments. 

In our worship liturgy we hear the Gospel in small excerpts.  This was an opportunity to hear the whole Gospel read in one session.  It allowed us to better follow the unfolding drama and to sense the urgency of both Jesus’s mission and Mark’s need to get the story told. 

At 9am Rev. Liz  welcomed us, led us in prayer and acknowledged the land as part of Treaty One.  Rev Rod provided handouts describing a number of the competing groups we hear about in the Gospel, including Herod Antipus, the Pharisees and Sadducees.  He then described the political and religious environment in first century Jewish Palestine. This is needed to better understand the Gospel story. 

We heard the Gospel read in three parts by Brent Jackson, Noreen Ponton and Rev Rod.  We paused after each section to make comments and discuss what we had heard (and refill our coffees).  At the conclusion of the final reading (the original ending of Mark - Mark 16:8) we talked about the sudden ending and what Mark may or may not have intended.  After a fruitful discussion of some of Jesus’s teaching we adjourned with prayer at 12 noon.  It was a time of good fellowship and conversation.