The Saints Among Us: Mary Jasmine

The Saints Among Us: Mary Jasmine
A Series by Carolyn Franzese Phillips

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
-Micah 6:8

I sat down with Mary on a dreary day at Starbucks. One of the first things I realized is that her smile and sweet laugh light up the room! Another thing quickly stuck out…Mary has a strong call to serve others. You can find her weekly during the 9 am service singing beautifully in the choir. Music is also fundamentally woven throughout her life.

Mary started talking about her upbringing. Faith was always part of her life. She explained that her parents had a very strong faith. Mary grew up in the Southern Baptist church. Her mother was Presbyterian but never joined the church due to not wanting to renounce her baptism. While she was quiet about her principles, she chose to serve.

When Mary and her husband came to All Saints’, they were drawn to the outreach that our church was providing in 1989. Cabarrus Victims Assistance Network and Cooperative Christian Ministries had just started and that “spoke to us.” Mark was raised Roman Catholic and they were searching for a “home to be together.” She recalled that after church, Bob Sessoms (the Rector at the time) invited them to lunch at his home. It was a way to blend the new/prospective members and those established. She received the “invitation” from Joe Stegman to serve on the outreach committee.

Growing up with a service background inherited from her mother, it was an “easy role” to provide service to others. Besides her participation in the music ministry, she has provided pastoral care and worked in the All Saints’ kitchen. She states “setting up, cleaning up, cooking…service is what we are called to do.” Her parents modeled service, to act kindly and fairly, and to do the right thing. This ultimately made a lasting impression on Mary. Her father was a farmer and she witnessed him being fair in his practices. She knows that her parents did what was right, even if it was what others wouldn’t do. They instilled in her to “do our little bit of good in the world and to focus on the good stuff.” Micah 6:8 provides a calling for her.

After Mark and Mary had their two daughters, she was called to “parent in the pew.” Once they had grown, she reconnected with the music ministry. She had grown up in music ministry and music has always been a part of her life. It’s a way to “worship and pray… share with others… and bring joy to my heart.” She states that God will give her songs that have sustained her through the hard times and those that were that energized the joyful times.

She recalls learning Psalm 23 set to music in camp as a child. When she was scared as a young college student, it would calm her down. She also discussed that, when her family was traveling traveling together, their plane almost crashed! She remembers laying over her daughter Laura, singing God is in Control by Twila Paris:

This is no time for fear
This is the time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here carried away by the motion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together
God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
Oh, God is in control, oh God is in control

“God is in Control” Words by Twila Paris
©1993 Ariose Music (Admin. By Capitol CMG Publishing)
Mountain Spring Music (Admin. By Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI License #11109172

Mary states that “God gives us what we need.” She remembered when friends came to her house to pray with her a day before her surgery. They laid hands on her and prayed. She remembers feeling warm and had a vision of floating down a river. They had “stood in the gap” and she felt so calm. The next day during pre-op she was given the medicine to calm you down. She personally does not remember it, but apparently she started singing “Peace like a river.” Years later Mark shared that her singing at that moment helped calm him down. She stated “God gave me that song for Mark, not for me. I was good. I was at peace.”

Mary discusses that she has been given so many blessings in her life. God uses music for her needs and she in turn uses it to help others. Mark and her daughters share in their drive to serve. Both Mark and Mary had jobs in the medical field, empowering them to giving back to their patients. Mark is on the Board at CCM. Laura is a social worker with the Make a Wish Foundation and Suzanne is an academic advisor.

Mary recalls the words from childhood songs “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus loves the little children” and reflects on them in her daily faith walk. She has tried to love God and love one another… “ it’s what we are called to do.” We are so blessed at All Saints’ to have Mary, Mark and their family, for the sharing of their stories, of their music and their call to service.