Mark Baker can feel it. So can his wife, Nina.
“God called me to serve people, to love people. We love people,” Mark says.
“We feel an intimacy,” Nina adds. There’s something special about the cozy community inside Good Samaritan Society – Heritage Place of Roseville in Minnesota.
“That's one reason we believe God has brought us here is to love on people and encourage people,” Mark says.
Mark’s love starts with his faith – and Nina, of course. And it flows through music, including the grand piano that sits in the dining room.
“We go down kind of a little bit early. We just are sitting there at the table and we're all chatting, but he'll get up and go over and just do some light background music,” Nina says. “(Residents) really enjoy that. They just always are so thankful.”
Mark adds: “I always feel like music just fills the empty space.”
Connection through caring
Music was among the many things that drew Mark and Nina to Heritage Place.
He asked if that was something that he could play, and that's how it kind of started,” says Jen Foehse, a senior living sales specialist in Roseville. “It brings a new level of warmth and welcoming to people that live here. People that are visiting, people that are touring.”
Mark has a way of finding fellowship through music. The retired pastor recorded seven albums – ranging from vinyl to cassettes to CDs – including a song he wrote for Nina for their 50th anniversary.
“(Music) has been a major part of my ministry where we’ve been to lead worship,” says Mark, who has ministered in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska.
He also hosts “Music Days with Mark” in the dining room.
“I want to bring joy to these people. Put a smile on their faces,” Mark says. “And we have an opportunity to pray with some of them and to care for them and love them.”
And while Mark appears center stage, Nina often shows her love for neighbors behind the scenes.
“She's the same person that cares a lot about everyone around her, but it's not as upfront,” Jen says. “I’ll randomly hear that she went over to someone's apartment to help with something.”
“It doesn't have to be much,” Nina says. “Just check on somebody, you know.”
‘God has woven people into our tapestry’
Through their life of service, Mark and Nina have found community and connection in Heritage Place.
“God weaves us together. And tapestry, if you look at the back, you’ve got threads sticking out and everything all over,” Mark says. “But when you turn it over, you have this beautiful tapestry. And God has woven people into our tapestry.”
Nina adds: “I think, for myself, it has just filled a void.”
And that’s music to everyone’s ears.
“To see that play out, especially with new people, they were looking for something, they found us,” Jen says. “And then to see them be able to live the life that they were looking for, it's super fulfilling.”
