Trinity-St Mark's United Church of Christ

08/02/2023

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Rev. Dr. Steven Archer, D. Min. Pastor Emeritus
Served Trinity-St. Mark’s, UCC, as Senior Pastor from 1998–2016.

Final arrangements for Rev. Dr. Steven Archer:

Visitation: Friday, August 11, 2023, from 2-8pm at Voran Funeral Home, 5900 Allen Rd. Allen Park, Mi. 48101

In State Viewing: Saturday, August 12, 2023, 1-2pm at (formerly known as), Henry Ford Village now known as Allegria Village, 15101 Ford Rd. Dearborn, 48126 in the Chapel.

Funeral Services: Saturday, August 12, 2023 2-3pm, (formerly known as), Henry Ford Village now known as Allegria Village, 15101 Ford Rd. Dearborn, 48126 in the Chapel.

WHEN ENTERING THE RETIREMENT GROUNDS PLEASE LET SECURITY GATE KNOW YOU ARE THERE TO ATTEND FUNERAL SERVICES FOR REV. ARCHER.

The Family is asking that in lieu of floral arrangements that if desired, donations be made to Trinity-St. Mark’s, UCC

02/02/2023

A Message from Our Pastor
Rev. Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

“After having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two more days longer in the place where he was.”
John 11:6, NRSV
Dearly Beloved,
Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. For most of us, it is one
of comfort and reassurance, as well it should be. But what most of us miss is the above text. In chapter
eleven of the Gospel according to John, we are told of this man Lazarus that is ill. We all know in the
middle of the story Jesus shows up, at the end of the story Jesus says show me where you buried him,
tells the people to “roll away the stone,” calls Lazarus’ name, and Lazarus raises up and comes out.
What a wonderful ending.
But what most of us breeze past in our anxiousness to get to the end, is the above text found in the very
beginning. Jesus is sent a message from Mary and Martha, the two sisters of Lazarus. In the message,
the sisters remind Jesus that, “the one whom you love is ill.” The reason for this statement is made
clear—Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had a personal relationship with Jesus. They were close friends of
Jesus. Jesus would visit the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus when he visited Bethany. Jesus had
eaten at their home, {Luke 10:38-42}. The text tells us that Mary had been the same one that anointed
Jesus, {11:2}. They knew Jesus and Jesus knew them. So much so, that when the sisters send this
message there is an expectation of Jesus to come and see about Lazarus, “the one whom you love.”
But Jesus’ response is strange and perplexing, Jesus says, “this illness does not lead to death; rather it
is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. {11:4}. As we continue to read,
we find out Jesus says he is not going to even leave for two more days. What is that about?
We too, like these siblings have had Jesus in our homes, we have eaten with Jesus, sat at the feet of
Jesus, worshipped, praised, and prayed to Jesus. We have studied, and spent time talking with Jesus.
Told others about the marvelousness of Jesus. And, now I need you to come and see about my family,
my loved ones, me, and Jesus has not shown up?
I want to encourage someone in this second month of this new year. While it may not seem like Jesus is
coming, and it may not feel like you are being heard, just know, God is aware of your situation, and
God is sending God’s Son to come and roll back some stones, call your name, and raise you up from
some dead, bleak, and lonely situations. Just hold on. In our anxiousness to get to the end of our illness,
disappointment, grieving, loneliness, and all too familiar pain, we forget that we are in need of the
patience to wait.
Lord, help us to be patient as you do your perfect work,

Lord in your mercy, hear us as we pray.
In Love,

Pastor Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div

01/13/2023

“So, teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.”
Psalms 90:12, NRSV

Dearly Beloved, Happy New Year!
In the above text we read words of wisdom provided by Moses. This is the only Psalm written by
Moses. It is believed that Moses penned this Psalm during the children of Israel’s wandering in the
Sinai. You remember the story: God had promised the children of Israel that they would enter their
promised land and it would be flowing with milk and honey. When they arrived at the border, God told
Moses to send out twelve spies. One from each tribe to see and report back that what God had said
truly existed and was available to them. The spies returned and all agreed it was as God had said. But
ten of the spies also said that they were afraid to go forward. The people in the land looked big to
them—uncertainties, new beginnings, releasing of the old, often tends to look bigger and
overwhelming at the onset. Two of the spies said, “no, we can do this!” But the group chose to believe
the report of the ten, and refused to move into their future. God was disappointed in their reluctance to
trust and believe the promises of God. Because of the people’s unwillingness to trust God with their
future; their dreams died, their future died and they died, in the wilderness.
As we enter 2023, let us trust God for the promises of newness and vastness. As with Moses, let
us also seek God for direction, and teach us how to appreciate our days, learn from our mistakes and
move into the promises of our new lands of 2023. Wisdom is defined as, “intelligence drawing from past experience and tempered, or governed,
(controlled or ruled), by prudence, (self-control). As Moses states, we do not want to miss the lesson,
you lead us and guide us. We thought we knew what we were doing, but in this New Year, of
opportunities and promises—you guide us.
Lord in your mercy, hear us as we pray...

In Love,
Pastor Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

11/18/2022

A Message from Our Pastor
Rev. Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.
“As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.1
John 9:1, NRSV
Dearly Beloved,
In this season of Totenfest, fondly known as All Saints Day, we are entering, lifting up, and celebrating the remembrance of our loved ones gone on before us—
In the upcoming holiday season, creating new memories and rehearsing familiar memories, through celebrations of gatherings to come—
I would like to share a word of encouragement, to remind you whether you are grieving loved ones or past memories of days gone by, or whether you are uncertain and apprehensive of the upcoming holidays—
You are not alone—
Even when we are blinded by our grief, loneliness, pain, anger, uncertainty, fear, or bitterness— Our Lord and Savior “see’s us,” even when we are unable to see past our various blinding moments. We can rest in the knowledge that we are not in this moment of blindness alone.
As we look to celebrate Totenfest, this coming Sunday, November 6th at Trinity-St. Mark’s, United Church of Christ, we invite you to come out and join our service from 10—11am and be a part of the celebration of all of our loved ones who have gone on before us. Stay for coffee hour and let us share old memories and make new friends and begin to create new memories.
As we begin our journey through Advent, we invite you to come and be a part of our caravan to the Manger of the Christ Child—come with us, let us greet our Savior together, beginning, November 27, thru Christmas Eve, and then begin afresh on Christmas morn.
We look forward to having you whether in person or via the ZOOM link shared in this newsletter—please know you are welcome and you belong.
But know whatever you decide, we are praying that you experience the peaceful presence of our Lord and Savior—and that You rest in the knowledge that Jesus sees you.
Lord in your mercy hear us as we pray—
In Love,
Pastor Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

10/19/2022

TOTENFEST 2022 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH
Throughout Christian history, the church has and continues to remember and celebrate the

lives of faithful people who have died. Totenfest is a distinctive practice that grows out of the

Evangelical tradition of the United Church of Christ. Although the name Totenfest is unknown

to many in the UCC, its importance as a special time of remembrance continues not only in our

Evangelical heritage, but for all. It is a way of remaining related to deceased loved ones, as the

process of grieving and remembering are vital to our spiritual health.

What is the Tradition of Totenfest?

Totenfest is a German word that means “Feast of the Dead” or “Festival for the Dead.” It was

established in 1816 by Prussian Emperor Fredrick William III as a day to remember that nation’s

soldiers who had died in the recently concluded Prussian War. Obviously, it became an

important observance in the Evangelical Church in Prussia (established by the same emperor in

1817) as a day to remember not only the war dead, but also church members who had died in the

previous year. It was observed on the last Sunday of the church year, right before Advent began.

This was also the time of clearing gardens and fields of the summer’s growth in preparation for

winter. To this day, Totenfest in parts of Germany is the day families visit the graves of loved

ones to clean off the summer flowers and cover the graves with evergreen boughs for the winter.

In Lutheran traditions, “Totensontag” or “Death Sunday” became the preferred term to

Totenfest.

The term fell into disuse in America as churches of German heritage started substituting English

words for German ones. In fact, by the 1916 Evangelical Book of Worship published by the

German Evangelical Synod of North America, the term Memorial Sunday had been substituted

for Totenfest. That service included an opening sentence, invocation, opening prayer and closing

prayer. Whatever else was done in this service was left up to local customs.

This memorial has roots in All Saints and in All Souls days from the medieval church. All Saints

Day was begun by Pope Boniface IV in 609 to remember the virgin Mary and all the martyrs. Itwas officially designated on the church calendar in 837 to be celebrated on November 1.

Alternately, All Souls Day was a time to pray for the souls of those in purgatory. This day was

first observed in the seventh century as a private day of remembrance for deceased loved ones,

and by the eleventh century was in common practice in monasteries. Different countries began

celebrating the day on different dates, but St. Odilo, the Abbot of Cluny, France, established it in

the eleventh century as November 2 (the next day if this was a Sunday). By the thirteenth century

it was a fixture on the church’s calendar.

Evangelical churches started moving this observance to either Memorial Day (Decoration Day)

Sunday or to the first Sunday in November, as those Sundays were preferred in the wider

Christian community. Other faith traditions have similar observances. In the Jewish tradition, for

instance, there is a service at the one-year anniversary of a death. The term “Totenfest” is also

used in Indonesia and Japan.

We will be celebrating Totenfest on Sunday, November 6th at the 10:00 AM worship service.

All are invited to attend.

10/19/2022

A Message from Our Pastor

Rev. Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

“But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

Jonah 1:17, NRSV

Dearly Beloved,

The above text is taken from the book of Jonah. It is important to know when we are in a storm or a flood. There is a difference between storms and floods.

Storms historically (of course we know storms today are often due to “Global warming,” our neglect or bad stewardship of the earth) are created by God while floods are man-made. Storms are acts of God—floods are man-made.

Civil Engineers will tell you that floods are created when we pave over wetlands—something that was never meant to be paved over.

We all do that in our lives—stuff we should have taken care of, but we do not. We just pave over it and we look up and find ourselves flooded with issues from letting things go—paving over. But even when we do this, God is faithful and will deliver us—just sometimes deliverance does not always look like the deliverance we were expecting or wanting.

Walk around the text with me—

God had told Jonah to “go to the great city of Nineveh to cry out against it.” But Jonah was angry and did not want to go to Nineveh so Jonah went in the opposite direction—Jonah got on a ship knowing it was headed in the complete opposite direction. We all do this from time to time. God allows us to be in a space and we decide we know better than God what is next and how to operate in that space.

Now Jonah believed he had good cause in his mind to go in the opposite direction. Jonah was a court prophet from the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. Israel hated Nineveh the capital city of Assyria (Nahum 1:11; 2, 12-13; 3:1, 4, 16, 19). The reason Israel hated Nineveh was because firstly Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and Assyria had invaded and captured the Israelites.

The Assyrians had been vicious and cruel to the Israelites. Israel was the capital of Samaria and the Ninevites carried away the citizens and placed them in captivity.

So, when God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach to them and tell them that if they turn from their wickedness God will have mercy on them—Jonah is not interested in them being saved. God was showing the great love and forgiveness God has for all of us—But Jonah did not want them to be saved because of all they had done to Jonah’s people. Jonah did not want mercy on any nation or people other than Israel—Jonah had forgotten God’s ultimate purpose is mercy and love for all.

And if we be honest—we all have done this before. There are some people in our lives or folk we have heard and read about that we believe are underserving of God’s great love and mercy. At times if we are honest, we all in some form or fashion have decided who is worthy and unworthy of God’s unmerited grace.

And because Jonah has decided to go in the opposite direction and not share the message of love and redemption as assigned to him by God, Jonah places everyone on the ship in danger. Our decisions can harm others. But Jonah was more honorable even in his disobedience than most of us. Jonah admitted to being the problem and told the mariners if they threw him overboard the storm would cease.

Sometimes, as painful as it may be, we have to be willing to identify some folk and things as the cause of our storms and release them. The text says God prepared a “great fish to swallow Jonah.” The great fish that swallowed Jonah was Jonah’s deliverance from the storm of his own making. Which tells me God’s deliverance does not always look like what I think my deliverance should look like. But if we are willing to accept and trust God’s form of deliverance for each of us—we will be the better for it.

Lord, please teach us not to pave over our growth experiences, offer love and forgiveness to all, and how to be accepting of however you choose to deliver us from us.

Lord in your mercy, hear us as we pray,

In Love,

Pastor Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

07/08/2022

https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2022/07/08/the-plumb-line/

By Rev. Roslyn Bouier (above on the mic), the Executive Director of the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry, Pastor of Trinity-St. Mark’s, UCC, and new church start founder The Beloved Community, UCC…

07/08/2022

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-advocates-call-for-more-transparency-around-citys-new-water-affordability-plan/

Longtime community advocates say the city of Detroit's new plan to address water affordability and shutoffs falls short of Detroiters' needs and called for more transparency around the program.

07/06/2022

A Message from Our Pastor

Rev. Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

“Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

1Kings 19:18, NRSV

Dearly Beloved,

In our text we find ourselves at the end of a series of stories concerning the prophet Elijah and his opposition to the Omride dynasty and to the worship of the Phoenician god Baal which King Ahab had introduced into Israel.

The story first begins in chapter 17 the backdrop is Ahab’s introduction of Baal worship (16:31-33). According to the mythology of Baal—Baal was believed to be the storm god who was responsible for bringing life giving rains at certain times of the year and thus restoring fertility to the land. In chapter 17 Elijah announces that the yearly alteration between life and death—the plants living and dying was not in the hands of Baal but rather was determined by God. Elijah declared that God controls both rain and drought and to prove it Elijah being a prophet of God—announces that God has decreed a three-year drought. This was a direct challenge to King Ahab and his wife Jezebel’s authority and their god.

The same is true for us—

Regardless to how much it seems like other’s have control over our lives, God is the one in

control. So often during life’s ups and downs we find ourselves in daily battles that would have

us to believe we are fighting alone.

There is so much going on—that continues to attack, distract, and overwhelm each of us. If we

are not careful, we would believe the lie that continuously whispers in our ears; crawls into our

thoughts and attaches itself to our spirit that says God has forgotten about us and we are

fighting all by ourselves.

At times it feels like we are fighting by our self and it seems like no one is there to help us. It

can get so bad—so overwhelming—so lonely at times that we even wonder if God or for that

matter anyone else sees and cares about what we are going through? The good we have done

and tried to do does not ever seem to matter and folks seem to focus only on our mistakes and

shortcomings.

But God wants us to know that we are not alone.

We have to stay the course—keep moving and do what God has told us to do—

Fight where God has told us to fight—

Stand up for what is right even if you have to stand alone—

God assures Elijah and each of us, through this text that God will always have some folks who

are standing with God.

God has placed God’s people in places and spaces we may not even be aware of—but God

knows. Out of no-where they will show up. God is working this thing out for the glory of God.

The bible says God does it for God’s namesake alone—

In other words, God’s reputation is at stake and on the line and God will not be mocked—

Lord in your mercy, remind us we are not in this alone, and hear us as we pray—

In Love,

Pastor Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

06/09/2022

06/09/2022

A Message from Our Pastor
Rev. Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.
“He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So, they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.”
John 21:6, NRSV

Dearly Beloved,

In the above text we read about Jesus’ second visit with the disciples after Calvary. Peter has decided to go fishing and six of the disciples have decided to go with Peter. They have returned to the sea—they have left Jerusalem. They have come home to the Sea of Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, the place where it all began. Discipleship, the upper room, the cross, the empty tomb and the house with its locked doors are some 80 miles south. Peter has decided to go fishing—he knows how to do that.

It is what is familiar and comfortable. Like all of us, Peter is longing for the comfort of familiarity. But sometimes what is familiar is no longer comfortable.

I do not believe Peter was really trying to catch fish—I believe Peter was fishing for answers—like all of us today. We can leave the physical locations, but the geographical locations of our heart and mind are a little harder to escape. Because wherever we go, there they are. Peter has left Jerusalem but cannot escape the three years of discipleship, the last supper, the arrest, a charcoal fire and a crowing rooster.

Peter is fishing for answers, and another chance to see. See more clearly. The only problem is—Peter is fishing on the Good Friday side of the boat. On the Good Friday side of the boat is betrayal, loss, grief, and desperation. Jesus tells him to go back out and fish on the right side of the boat—the Resurrection side.

On the Resurrection side of the boat is hope, unlimited possibilities, love for all and new beginnings.

In these times of loss of love and respect for each other, grief of bigotry, racism, homophobia, constant gun violence, betrayal and the desperation of searching for answers—
I am certain I can hear Jesus saying, go back out into the waters—but cast your nets on the right side of the boat.”

For each of us today, I pray that we continue to fish for answers on the Resurrection side, on the waters of our lives, in seas that carry each of us forward, together.

I pray that we come to realize that we all have another chance to see our Lord and Savior—in the faces of each other.

I pray that we all see the vast opportunities for all when we choose to cast our nets on the right side of the boat.

I pray,
Lord in your mercy, hear us as we pray…

In Love,

Pastor Roslyn Murray Bouier, M.Div.

06/01/2022