CONGREGATION MOVE; CHURCHES TO MERGE AS 1 SITE SET FOR CLOSURE.Byline: Holly J. Andres Daily News Staff Writer If churches had donor cards donor card n. A card, usually carried on one's person, authorizing the use of one's bodily organs for transplantation in the event of one's death. , then St. Mark's St. Mark's could refer to:
After almost 50 years, St. Mark's will close its doors at the end of this month. After selling its assets, St. Mark's will donate the proceeds to Church of Hope in Canyon Country and merge with its congregation. ``We're one of a trend,'' said Sue Wilson, a St. Mark's member since 1964. ``I know of one other Lutheran church, a Methodist, a Baptist and a Presbyterian church (that) have closed.'' Wilson has mixed feelings about the church's demise. She speculated that changing demographics and a community looking to nontraditional evangelical churches were two contributing factors. ``We have very few people under the age of 50, and only two children attend services. There were expenses after the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. , and members have moved away from the area,''said Wilson. ``The positive side to the situation is we're going to help the church in Canyon Country, which is a growing congregation.'' Church of Hope, operating in a number of storefront suites in a shopping plaza shopping plaza Noun a shopping centre, usually a small group of stores built as a strip , will benefit from the goodwill and the money from the sale of St. Mark's. The church building has been sold to the Ancient Church of the East The Ancient Church of the East is an offshoot of the Assyrian Church of the East; it was formed in resistance to certain reforms and separated due to the question of hereditary succession of bishops and calendar changes in 1964. , Mar Shaleeta parish, Assyrian Congregation. Serendipitously, the 7-year-old Church of Hope will benefit from the unique partnership of its pastors - the Rev. Andrew Jensen and his wife, the Rev. Mary Jensen. Married for 37 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Jensens will become a team. The Jensens will experience a clergy role reversal In psychodrama, role reversal is a technique where the protagonist is asked, by the psychodrama director, to exchange roles with another person (an auxiliary ego) on the psychodrama stage. The former assumes as many of the roles of the other as possible and vice versa. , however, when their congregations meld. Andrew Jensen, currently a part-time pastor at St. Mark's, will have his wife as his boss. Mary Jensen, ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. in 1989 and once a part-time pastor under her husband at a Lutheran church in North Hollywood, will continue in her role as full-time pastor at Church of Hope. ``There is a sadness with the closing. But the decline in membership and all the other contributing factors led to an assessment of the future about two years ago by the congregation,'' said Andrew Jensen, who worked for less than three years at St. Mark's. With the handwriting on the wall handwriting on the wall Daniel interprets supernatural sign as Belshazzar’s doom. [O.T.: Daniel 5:25–28] See : Omen , the congregation at St. Mark's took charge of its situation by planning how to go about closing and joining with Church of Hope. They began exchanging pastors on Sundays, and doing projects and holding events together. ``I'm so proud of this congregation (St. Mark's). They organized into a 15-member, age-diverse team to ease into the transition. We know some members may choose not to go the 12 miles to Church of Hope,'' Mary Jensen said. ``We're planning a system of rides for the elderly who don't drive anymore. If some of the older members choose not to come, we will keep track of them until they've connected with another Lutheran church. No one will fall through the cracks,'' she said. ``My church is excited. We're happy to welcome our St. Mark's friends, and we're glad that they will go into the future with us.'' Sue Wilson acknowledged the good feelings between the two churches. ``We realized through our contact that we could have fun together. But we're pleased that we were able to define our closing. We planned for this, and we've made it a positive.'' St. Mark's final two regular services will be at 10 a.m. Sunday and June 28. A closing service is planned for 3 p.m. June 28. St. Mark's Lutheran Church is located at 2064 Fifth St., San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. . Call (818) 367-2636. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO The Rev. Andrew Jensen will shut St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Fernando. John McCoy/Daily News |
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