ST MARK'S
  • Home
  • About
    • Calendar
    • About Us
    • What we believe
    • Leadership & Staff
    • Baptisms Weddings Funerals
    • Rental Space
    • Photo Gallery >
      • Church Picnic 2022
      • St. Patrick's Family Fun Night
      • Easter Sunday 2023
      • Church Picnic 2024
      • Stewardship Sunday 2024
    • Map/Directions
  • Worship
    • Watch Our Services Online
    • What to Expect
    • Liturgical Calendar
  • Ministries
    • Altar Ministry
    • Community Building
    • Faith and Spirituality
    • Music
    • New Trading Post
    • Outreach >
      • Backpacks & School Supplies
      • Food Pantry
      • Gift Cards
    • Pastoral Care
    • Sunday Hospitality
    • Stewardship >
      • Amazon Smile
      • Breeze
    • Youth Ministry
    • Volunteer
  • Give
    • Give
    • Make A Pledge
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Parish Directory

Welcome to St. Mark's

Watch live stream
CHURCH Calendar

....Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” -Mark 7:34

9/5/2021

 
Picture
By Father Ed Cardoza - ​I am always fascinated by the Aramaic words--the very language of Jesus--that appear in the Gospel stories. I suspect there is something about the power of the Aramaic word itself to bring about healing that led to the gospel writers to keep it unchanged. We call this reality--"dynamesis." And we will once again see it play out in the Gospel story this weekend when Jesus will speak a word and the person will be healed...
...One of the stories of healing we will encounter this week is of a man unable to hear and to speak--once Jesus utters the word "Ephphatha"--his ears are opened and his mouth gives rise to plain speech. In one sense, this is a story of this man's healing. In another sense, this story is meant to speak to all of us. So what is the story saying to me?

The last few weeks--with the rise of the Delta variant, with increasing number of folks close to me getting sick and with a return to practices like masks and social distancing--there is a sense of feeling closed in again. I know I am not alone in feeling this way. In sharp contrast, the start of the summer felt like were were opening back up again--and that we were headed in a direction of re-connecting and recovery. Well, we are still heading in that direction but it is just going to go a bit slower than I expected. I have to be flexible, nimble and patient especially at a moment where I am feeling closed in and resistant.

​It is in such a moment like this that Jesus' word "Ephphatha" offers me healing by providing an essential reminder--the antidote to being closed in is to be opened. I need God in my life to remind me not to turn inward but to continue to be focused out-ward. My work is to keep choosing connection over disconnection, to keep choosing love over fear and to keep being open instead of closing myself off.

So what is the story saying to you? How might Jesus' word of "Ephphatha" invite you to be opened to yourself and to others. Have the last few weeks felt like a closing off again--how might God meet you in that experience? Hope you have a blessed Labor Day Weekend and have some time for rest, rejuvenation and connection.

Peace, Fr. Ed

Comments are closed.

    Spotlight

    Picture
    Episcopal Church News
    • ​Diocese of Massachusetts News
    • ​Episcopal News Service
    Foxboro Food Pantry
    Picture

    Requested this month...

    dish detergent, cake mix, brownie mix, icing cans, coffee, tea, toilet paper.​
    Items may be placed in the box outside the front doors 24/7, or in the box in the lobby under the coat rack when the building is open.

    Thank you for helping to support our local food pantry.

    Picture


    ​St Mark's Own Little Free Pantry needs:
    complete pancake mix and syrup, cereal/oatmeal and shelf stable milk, peanut butter and jam (no glass jars!), protein drinks, hearty soups (pop top cans, please!), canned meats, chili, ramen noodles, powdered juice/lemonade mix, granola bars, cookies in small packs.


    One Family Laundry Detergent

    Picture
    We have a ongoing need for small bottles of laundry detergent, to help with our contributions to the One Family program that 
    provides families with children much needed household items each month.

    News Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021

    RSS Feed

We Would Love to Have You Visit Soon!
​Sunday Service 9:00AM


Office Hours

​Mon: 11:00AM -3:00PM
Tues: CLOSED
Wed: 11:00AM -3:00PM
Thur: 1:00PM - 3:00PM 
Fri: CLOSED
Sat: CLOSED
Sun: CLOSED
and by appointment

Telephone

508-543-8191

Email

Address

[email protected]
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
116 South Street
Foxboro, MA 02035
​
42.0566536, -71.2535859

3P4W+MH  (What is this code?)
​Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA
©2025 St. Mark's Church, Foxboro, MA. All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • Calendar
    • About Us
    • What we believe
    • Leadership & Staff
    • Baptisms Weddings Funerals
    • Rental Space
    • Photo Gallery >
      • Church Picnic 2022
      • St. Patrick's Family Fun Night
      • Easter Sunday 2023
      • Church Picnic 2024
      • Stewardship Sunday 2024
    • Map/Directions
  • Worship
    • Watch Our Services Online
    • What to Expect
    • Liturgical Calendar
  • Ministries
    • Altar Ministry
    • Community Building
    • Faith and Spirituality
    • Music
    • New Trading Post
    • Outreach >
      • Backpacks & School Supplies
      • Food Pantry
      • Gift Cards
    • Pastoral Care
    • Sunday Hospitality
    • Stewardship >
      • Amazon Smile
      • Breeze
    • Youth Ministry
    • Volunteer
  • Give
    • Give
    • Make A Pledge
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Parish Directory