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Dear San Marco Church Family: Thanks to all of you who shared in my birthday celebration last Sunday! I was surprised and honored and I appreciate it very much. We are getting very close to Christmas, and I am reflecting on my first six months at San Marco Church. This congregation has many gifted people and I celebrate our diversity. Our average age is lower than most United Methodist congregations, and it truly warms my heart to see so many young people faithfully worshipping each week. You don’t want to miss our worship service this coming Sunday! We will have a special liturgical dance performance as part of worship this week, and there is another special presentation that is sure to inspire the Christmas spirit. So please invite friends to worship this week! Our candlelight Christmas Eve service will be at 6:30pm Tuesday. We will have a potluck food gathering in the parlor starting at 5:30pm. One of my favorite things about this church is how we gather and enjoy life together in our beautiful parlor. Please plan to take a break and come enjoy time with our church family on Christmas Eve. The Sunday after Christmas, December 29, our service will be online only. We are doing this to give all of our faithful volunteers a break from the usual Sunday routine. I am so grateful for our great team of volunteers who serve faithfully week after week! This will be my final blog for 2024, so I invite you to think ahead to 2025. Our building will be 100 years old in 2025, and I am thinking about how we can celebrate the 100 th anniversary of this church building and the many ways it has served the community over the years. Our church building is beautiful, but like many older buildings, it requires significant maintenance and upkeep. We have tremendous square footage on the second and third floors, and most of it is not being used currently. Please pray about how God would have us use the facility to further the mission of making disciples of Christ for the transformation of San Marco, Jacksonville, and the world. Thank you for taking the time to follow this blog, and please reach out to me anytime with ideas, questions, or just to chat. One of my favorite aspects of ministry is getting to know new people and to hear about your faith journeys. I remain honored to serve as your pastor! Merry Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday! Steve Hart
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