Our 150th Anniversary Celebration was September 15 & 16, 2018
Many people joined us in our celebration!
Anniversary Celebration was a Rousing Success!
What a great couple of days! Our sesquicentennial anniversary celebration was wonderful. One of my favorite comments was from my friend Kim Rauch, who was the organist for our recital and worship on Sunday. He said, “It was so amazing to see the anniversary turn into a homecoming.
That was one of the wonderful things about our celebration. So many family members and former members were reconnecting and sharing memories. This was especially true around many of the old photographs in the displays. So many memories were relived. Forgotten faces were identified and remembered. Classes, circles and groups that had not been thought about in years were fondly recalled by many.
The organ recital and hymn sing brought new life to the old building and organ. Kim said that the opening number of the recital was “to blow the dust out of the pipes”. As we were talking in the narthex before worship the Sunday following the celebration, someone said that the wonderful singing filled the building and shook the dust off the rafters!
My favorite quote from the anniversary came from Betty Wagner. During the dinner, Betty told me, “I didn’t know that old organ had so much music left in it!” I hadn’t even thought about how old the organ was until the great article came out in the Atchison Globe with the headline, Century-old organ hails 150 years at St. Mark's. (click on that title to go to the article)
That the organ still sounds so good after 109 years is pretty amazing.
I want to thank the many people who made the anniversary celebration possible. First I want to thank the Anniversary Committee whose chairperson was Cathy Crockett. The rest of the committee consisted of Ruth Hanshaw, Alice Murray, and Kim Smith. Sarah Dunning and I were unofficial members of the committee. She and I helped with coordination. Allan Kremske put together the history booklet and had it printed. Other people who made our event happen are Chris & Tricia Rickles, Mike Crockett, Amber Frakes. These are those who helped at cleaning day: MaryAnn McBratney, Marilyn Falconer, Barb & Harlan Stutheit, Jerry & Amelia Kaczmarek, Harold & Janice Kuhnert, and Eunice & Dee Duttweiler. I am sure that I overlooked someone since I was not there for all the work, cleaning and planning. If I forgot you, please let me know and I will correct the oversight in next month’s newsletter! People were working up to the last minute to make everything happen.
Over the years St. Mark’s has experienced many changes. I recounted many of these highs and lows in my newsletter articles over last two months. Changes are going to continue. Through the changes it is important to remember our past and gain insight and strength from our experiences. Through all the highs and lows, God has been faithful with us. Events and situations that could easily have shut us down did not.
Without a doubt, change will continue to come to all of us. Yet, God’s love for us, His plan for us, His mercy for us will not change. These remain constant. As a church, as a people, as individuals, we can celebrate and anticipate God’s good plan and purpose for us for years to come. We’re only 1303 weeks away from our 175th!
Anniversary Celebration was a Rousing Success!
What a great couple of days! Our sesquicentennial anniversary celebration was wonderful. One of my favorite comments was from my friend Kim Rauch, who was the organist for our recital and worship on Sunday. He said, “It was so amazing to see the anniversary turn into a homecoming.
That was one of the wonderful things about our celebration. So many family members and former members were reconnecting and sharing memories. This was especially true around many of the old photographs in the displays. So many memories were relived. Forgotten faces were identified and remembered. Classes, circles and groups that had not been thought about in years were fondly recalled by many.
The organ recital and hymn sing brought new life to the old building and organ. Kim said that the opening number of the recital was “to blow the dust out of the pipes”. As we were talking in the narthex before worship the Sunday following the celebration, someone said that the wonderful singing filled the building and shook the dust off the rafters!
My favorite quote from the anniversary came from Betty Wagner. During the dinner, Betty told me, “I didn’t know that old organ had so much music left in it!” I hadn’t even thought about how old the organ was until the great article came out in the Atchison Globe with the headline, Century-old organ hails 150 years at St. Mark's. (click on that title to go to the article)
That the organ still sounds so good after 109 years is pretty amazing.
I want to thank the many people who made the anniversary celebration possible. First I want to thank the Anniversary Committee whose chairperson was Cathy Crockett. The rest of the committee consisted of Ruth Hanshaw, Alice Murray, and Kim Smith. Sarah Dunning and I were unofficial members of the committee. She and I helped with coordination. Allan Kremske put together the history booklet and had it printed. Other people who made our event happen are Chris & Tricia Rickles, Mike Crockett, Amber Frakes. These are those who helped at cleaning day: MaryAnn McBratney, Marilyn Falconer, Barb & Harlan Stutheit, Jerry & Amelia Kaczmarek, Harold & Janice Kuhnert, and Eunice & Dee Duttweiler. I am sure that I overlooked someone since I was not there for all the work, cleaning and planning. If I forgot you, please let me know and I will correct the oversight in next month’s newsletter! People were working up to the last minute to make everything happen.
Over the years St. Mark’s has experienced many changes. I recounted many of these highs and lows in my newsletter articles over last two months. Changes are going to continue. Through the changes it is important to remember our past and gain insight and strength from our experiences. Through all the highs and lows, God has been faithful with us. Events and situations that could easily have shut us down did not.
Without a doubt, change will continue to come to all of us. Yet, God’s love for us, His plan for us, His mercy for us will not change. These remain constant. As a church, as a people, as individuals, we can celebrate and anticipate God’s good plan and purpose for us for years to come. We’re only 1303 weeks away from our 175th!