Atlas Twp. — Past met present at St. Mark’s 25th anniversary Mass last weekend.
Nearly 300 parishioners came from near and far in honor of the anniversary, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II and the beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
“It was wonderful, a lot of smiling faces,” said anniversary coordinator Donna Brothers. “There’s a lot of pride in what’s been done over the past 25 years, a lot of closeness.”
Bishop Carl Mengeling celebrated the Mass, which was celebrated in honor of both living and deceased parishioners, and surprised those in attendance by speaking to every table of guests at the post-Mass formal dinner, organized by parish nurse Karen Thornton.
“I didn’t know he would do that,” said Brothers. “He was very warm and commended us on how we’d become such a strong parish.”
Fr. Joseph Aubin celebrated the first liturgy Aug. 20, 1978 in what was then the Goodrich Town Hall. Soon the mission church needed a larger location.
“When I moved to the area there was no church here per se, not a building anyway. I became involved with St. Mark’s when the Mass was celebrated in Goodrich High School,” said Brothers.
“There was such a positive response we decided to build a parish.”
On Nov. 26, 1978 the congregation suggested—and Bishop Kenneth J. Pavish selected—the name “St. Mark the Evangelist”, the first church in the Lansing diocese to claim the name. With St. Matthew’s and St. Luke’s in Flint, and a St. John’s in both Davison and Flint, Genesee became the first county to have the patronage of all four evangelists, said Brothers.
Aubin helped break ground for the church building, for which the first Mass was held on Jan. 31, 1983. From the 150 families registered at that time, the church has now grown to more than 400 families.
Sister Joan M. May, SSJ, the pastoral coordinate whom Brothers deems their “cornerstone for the past 14 years”, arrived June 28, 1989. It was then the church officially received status as a parish.
Several clergy were present for the anniversary Mass, including May, Aubin, Fr. Andrew Czajkowski, Msgr. Michael Murphy, the Rev. Philip Gallagher, the Rev. Joseph Casey, the Rev. Harry Sanford, and Deacon Andy Tardif.
Sharon Bourdeau has been a member of St. Mark’s for seven years.
“The people have not changed, even though the parish is growing,” she says, describing the church as as “very friendly, relaxed, peaceful place” under the leadership of May, whom Bourdeau calls a “fantastic spiritual leader.”