Fun Facts About Father Mark

Father Mark is an artist, above is his painting of the Trinity....

Fr Mark (left) preaching with fish and (at right) with a 37 pound trout.

Father Mark Blom is the Priest in Southend at the Catholic Church. He is the one who approached the LAMP Ministries (Lutheran) looking for a team to come and work with the youth of the community. It is not about Catholics or Lutherans....it is about God's will for us to spread His word. Father Mark will be our host in Southend and the communications we have had with him during the pre-trip planning have us excited to spend time with him. Here are some "Fun Facts" about Fr Mark:

• He was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
• At the age of 21, he left home to work as a meat cutter. He also was a volunteer fireman. During that time he was lonely and considered making a commitment to God.
• He decided to commit to God and became a Seminary student at the age of 25
• He was ordained a priest in 2003 and became a leading preacher in Youth Ministries for the Oblate Fathers. The mission of the Oblates is making God's word seem meaningful for everybody.
• He is famous for his homilies in which he uses objects, symbols and art to explain complex theological matters (pictured above with his artwork and preaching with a fish).
• He draws and paints most of the arts he uses in his preaching. He has sold CD's with his homilies to raise funds for the ministry.
• His emphasis is on proclaiming God's word and believes that transforming people's minds, and attitudes is just as important as transforming the bread and wine.
• He has been in the community of Southend for about 2.5 years and is making a difference!
• From the pictures we have seen we can tell he enjoys the great outdoors...

Fr Mark is busy preparing the community and his home for our visit, just as we are busy preparing for our time there. I know that more "Fun Facts" about Fr Mark will surface while we are there. We are looking forward to fun, fellowship, and friendship with him.

~Vernice~