In 1897 Mark Twain crossed the Atlantic for a speaking tour. The story goes that while he was gone, an American newspaper reported that he was ill and another later reported that he had died and ran his obituary. When contacted in London, Mark Twain is rumored to have said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Since St. Mark’s moved some of its activities across the Kennebec River in 2015, we too have been the subject of rumors about our terminal illness and even our death. It seems we need to let the people of Augusta know that the reports of our death, too, have been greatly exaggerated.

We’re actually very much alive and well, doing worship and ministry in two locations with our partners from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Together, we call ourselves the Church at 209, our Eastern Avenue address, until we can come up with a bit more “churchy” sounding name. Partnerships and collaborations are a big part of who we are.

On Summer Street we partner with the Augusta Food Bank and the Warming Center, providing space for their work. We provide space for 12-step programs and host Addie’s Attic, our free clothing bank, and Everyday Basics, our free toiletries pantry. We partner with fantastic volunteers from area interfaith groups to support these ministries and offer a free public supper several times each month. Our work is our prayer and our prayer is our work in this location, and we’ve never stopped our worship, prayer or service there. To some, our worship on Summer Street doesn’t look like the worship they remember, but service as worship goes back to the beginnings of Christianity. We believe God is calling us to worship primarily in the form of service in that location at this time.

Our Eastern Avenue location hosts the sort of worship that looks more like what folks think of when you say “worship.” But that location also partners with groups like Men’s Work, NAMI, and several 12-step groups providing space for their meetings. This location also hosts the annual public Christmas dinner and our growing youth and family program called Mustard Seeds.

In both locations, we are Christians striving to be faithful in a new era and in a state that some surveys say is the least religious in the country. That means being innovative, finding new partners, trying new things and making some hard choices along the way. One of those hard choices is selling the Summer Street campus. It is heart-wrenching, but we believe it’s more important to take the proceeds from the sale of that property and pour them into our ministries to our most vulnerable neighbors than it is to maintain an admittedly gorgeous building that no longer serves the community as it once did.

We have no particular sort of buyer in mind, nor does it need to be sold to a nonprofit organization. We are happy to sell to anyone making an appropriate offer. The buyer of this property will, of course, need to work within the city’s zoning rules, but beyond that it is up to the buyer to decide what happens there next. So make us an offer! The buyer could be you!

The sale of the Summer Street location will require the ministries at that location to find new homes. As that reality began to be considered around the city, I think we all have expressed both some genuine concerns as well as some unfounded fears along the way. I’m excited that a growing group of city leaders, religious leaders, nonprofits, and business and community leaders have all taken a deep breath and are now pulling together to find a creative solution that will hear everyone’s concerns, seek to find a solution that addresses the legitimate concerns but does not push our most vulnerable neighbors further to the margins out of unfounded fears.

I believe Augusta is filled with compassionate and generous people. I am excited that St. Mark’s presence in our city for the last 176 years will continue long into the future. Our continuing presence will require us to be church in new ways, adapting to new challenges along the way and growing new and innovative partnerships. As the priest of St. Mark’s, I am thankful that the rumors of our death have indeed been greatly exaggerated, because this truly is an exciting time for our church to be alive and at work in our city.

The Rev. Erik Karas is pastor/priest of The Church at 209 in Augusta.

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