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The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
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Worship
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In the baptismal covenant, we are asked, "Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?" and we respond, "I will, with God's help."
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The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost:
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
"We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, and the wonderful works he has done." - Psalm 78:4
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Chapel and Sanctuary Flowers
If you would like to donate money toward chapel and sanctuary flowers on a Sunday, a flower chart is available in the Parlor. The minimum suggested donation for one week is $25. Instructions for completing the form and envelopes for payment are next to the chart. This is a lovely way to remember or give thanks for a loved one.
If you would like to join the dedicated team of volunteers who prayerfully select and arrange the flowers for Sunday services, please speak with any member of the Flower Guild - Virginia Beatty, Ellie Bergman, Dorothy Laudati, Michael Schoen, or Dale Seifert or send an e-mail to Coty at [email protected].
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This Week's Lay Ministers
Thank you to the following individuals for bringing their best gifts to God in ministries at St. Mark's. If you would like to become involved, please contact Pastor Debra.
- Lector: Jane McCarron & Joanna Greene
- Eucharistic Ministers: Liz McElhatton & Ted Richardson
- Acolytes: Clark Alexander, Rachel McElhatton, Eva Sondgeroth
- Altar Guild: Evelyn Russell & Sharon Friend
- Flower Guild: Michael Schoen
- Vestry Persons of the Day: Bruce Gaede & Rima Lockwood
- Ushers: John Lucadamo, Nancye Kirk, Doug Sondgeroth
- Coffee Hour Snacks: Last names beginning with D-I
- Welcoming New Worshipers: All the People of St. Mark's
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Sesquicentennial Music Composition Competition Award Winner Announced
Congratulations to Daniel Bondaczuk, winning composer of St. Mark's Composition Competition for his celebratory anthem, "Gloria". His energetic and joyous setting of the Latin text is written for organ and choir and will be premiered at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Sunday, November 23rd, as the capstone of our congregation's 150th year anniversary celebration. Bondaczuk, a native of Brazil, lives near Nashville, Tennessee as he pursues a Master's degree in composition at Middle Tennessee State University. He has 10 years of experience as an arranger in the recording industry in Brazil and describes himself as very passionate about delivering sophisticated music. Congratulations Daniel Bondaczuk! The competition received 24 entries from a total of 8 countries and 12 U.S. states. St. Mark's extends its thanks to all the other composers who entered the competition for their hard work and creative efforts.
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Christian Formation
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Lifelong Christian faith formation is important for lifelong growth in the knowledge, service and love of God as followers of Christ. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, no matter what season of life you are in, you are invited to enter into a prayerful of continuous learning.
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Confirm not Conform (CnC) Reminder
The CnC Class will meet at St. Matthew's, 2120 Lincoln Street on Sunday, November 9 from 6:15 - 8 p.m.
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Adult Forum on Sundays from 9:30 - 10:15 Nov. 9th Church | An Imperfect Family: Bruce Reyes-Chow knows he's not inventing the metaphor of the church as family. So he suggests we take our changing notions about what it means to be a family and let them seep into our understanding of the church. For Bruce, it's the messiness, the dysfunction, and the joy that comes from complex relationships that make church worth hanging on to. So how do we stay connected to this sometimes-broken family system? What does it mean to commit ourselves to the church family, for better or for worse? Nov. 16th Kim Bobo | Interfaith Worker Justice:  Kim is the Executive Director and founder of Interfaith Worker Justice, the nation's largest network of people of faith engaging in local and national actions to improve wages, benefits and conditions for workers, especially those in the low-wage economy. Since 1996 she has been helping build interfaith groups and workers centers around the nation. Kim is the author of Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid - And What We Can Do About It, the first and only book to document the wage theft crisis in the nation and propose practical solutions for addressing it. The book and Kim's extensive speaking on the subject helped coin the phrase "wage theft" and has helped get the issue of wage theft on the national radar. And Kim will be leading our adult forum.
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Keeping God's People Safe
On Sunday, November 23rd from 1 - 4 p.m., Pastor Debra will facilitate the Level One training of Keeping God's People Safe. This is the Diocese of Chicago's Child Sexual Abuse Prevention training which is required of all employees and of all volunteers who work with children. It is also required of the treasurer, vestry members, lay visitors, lay eucharistic ministers, and all committee chairs. If you have not had the opportunity to take this training in the past five years, please contact Pastor Debra to RSVP. While not required, it is also excellent training for parents, godparents, and grandparents.
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 Children's Sunday School
This week's session offers an opportunity for children to reflect on the parable about the bridesmaids from the gospel of Matthew and to imagine what it means to be bready to shine with God's love. Pray that each child will discover her or his own inner light and be encouraged to let it shine. Thank you to this week's teachers and classroom assistants: Pat Acha / Kendra Johnson (ages 3 - 5), Anne Heinz / Ellen Bergman (ages 6 - 8), John Lucadamo and Lori Goede (ages 9 - 12).
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Fellowship
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Where are you today? Lonely and afraid? Joyful and confident? Somewhere in between? Wherever you are in your journey of faith, know that there is a place for you here, companionship for the journey in this community gathered.
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Annual Ladies Day Out - Save the Date
On Saturday, December 13 the women and girls of St. Mark's will continue their annual tradition of a day of shopping and lunch together. Location and times will be announced when we get a bit closer; but, for now, do save the date. For more information or questions, please contact Tacia Johnson at 847-328-0993 or Dorothy Laudati at 847-491-1026.
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InterPlay
The Chicago InterPlay community is excited to offer weekly community classes at St. Mark's Episcopal Church starting on Tuesday, November 4th and continuing through May of 2015. Congregants of St. Mark's are invited and encouraged to test out these classes. First time participants are welcome to show up to any of these weekly classes. No experience is necessary. The cla sses will be held each Tuesday from 7:30-9:00 pm, with doors open at 7:15 pm for registration and meeting other participants. The cost to attend the classes is $10 per class or $40 for a five class card ($8 per class). InterPlay is an easy to learn creative process that invites participants to express themselves through storytelling, movement and vocalization. Through well-established methods of play participants can simply have fun. They can also discover new things about themselves and others. Although many people have not heard about InterPlay, InterPlayers across the world are celebrating its 25th birthday this year. To learn more about InterPlay, visit www.meetup.com/ChicagoInterPlay and www.InterPlay.org. You can also email event leaders Christina Ernst at [email protected] or Jeff Breting at [email protected].
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 SMAC News
Middle- and High-School-age Youth are invited to join Pastor Debra at the Producemobile on Tuesday, November 11 from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. to help distribute fresh produce to our neighbors. If you are available and would like to participate, please contact Pastor Debra at [email protected]; text 847-732-9564. High school students, this is a great way to earn those community service hours!
Also, save the date: Chad Senuta, Associate for Youth and Campus Ministry and all-around fun guy, will be joining us on Sunday, November 16 from 5:30 - 8 for dinner, watching "Generation Like" and conversation. Feel free to invite your friends! An invitation has been extended to St. Matthew's Youth Groups as well!
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This Week at Saint Mark's
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Wednesday,
November 5
6:00 p.m.
Music Night
(ages 5 and up),
Choir Room
6:30 p.m.
Music Night
(youth and adults),
Choir Room
7:00 p.m.
Evanston English Country Dancers,
Cunningham Hall
Thursday, November 6
9:30 a.m.
Christmas Gift Sale Work Morning,
Gift Shop and Bethlehem Chapel
Saturday, November 8
10:00 a.m.
Christmas Gift Sale Work Morning,
Gift Shop and Bethlehem Chapel
Sunday, November 9
8:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist -
Traditional,
Lady Chapel
9:00 a.m.
Coffee Hour,
Parlor
9:30 a.m.
Children's Formation,
Classrooms
9:30 a.m.
Adult Formation,
Library
10:30 a.m.
Holy Eucharist
with Music,
Sanctuary
11:45 a.m.
Coffee Hour,
Parlor
12:00 noon
Handbell Choir Rehearsal,
Balcony
6:15 p.m.
Confirm not Conform Session,
St. Matthew's
Monday, November 10
7:30 p.m.
Worship Life Ministry Team,
Parlor
Tuesday, November 11
8:30 a.m.
Producemobile,
Robert Crown Center
7:30 p.m.
InterPlay,
Cunningham Hall
Wednesday,
November 12
6:00 p.m.
Music Night
(ages 5 and up),
Choir Room
6:30 p.m.
Music Night
(youth and adults), Choir Room
7:00 p.m.
Evanston English Country Dancers, Cunningham Hall
7:30 p.m.
Finance and Budget Committee Meeting,
Library
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Nov. 2
Aina Gutierrez
Nov. 3
Donald Lindstrom,
Judy Kopp
Nov. 6
Mason Rocca
Nov. 8
Elizabeth Furlong
Nov. 9
Betsy Sagan
Nov. 11
Ovaldo Buntin
Nov. 13
Debbie Nee,
Compton Chase-Lansdale
Nov. 18
Tori Gallegos
Nov. 20
Jane McCarron
Nov. 21
Ruth Duck,
Cath Carpenter
Nov. 23
Sadie Mysen
Nov. 25
Mickey Loewenstein
Nov. 27
Nia Himrod
Nov. 28
Dorothy Laudati,
Katie Gallegos
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Nov. 8
David and Shannon Najem
Nov. 11
Manel Valdes-Cruz and Phyllis Lyons
Nov. 23
Donald and Bonnie Lindstrom
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♪♫ Music Night ♫♫
 Each Wednesday from 6:00-7:30pm, our associate for Music Ministries, David Plank, will be leading "Music Night" at St. Mark's. People with any level of musical background-even those with no music experience-are welcome to come! If you like music, but can only play the radio, come join us! If you love to sing, but only sing in the shower, come join us! If you're young and want to join a group where you'll have fun with music, join us! If you're old and have always wanted to be in a music group but just haven't gotten to it yet, join us! If you're a professional musician and want to simply relax and have fun with music, you won't be bored! Sneak peeks include a "composer of the month", where we'll find interesting facts about various famous or not-so-famous composers, and an "instrument of the fortnight", where you'll get to see, listen to, and maybe even play on an instrument you may have never even heard of before! Ever wanted to learn how to read music? Or bang on a timpani? Come meet us upstairs in the choir room. Younger children, starting at age five, are welcome to join with all ages from 6:00-6:30. Youth and adults can come (or continue) from 6:30-7:30. Please contact David with any questions you may have at [email protected].
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Social Justice & Outreach Opportunities
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St. Mark's continues its commitment to young people through its many social justice and outreach opportunities. Each Sunday we pray, "Bring newness and change to our streets, O God, that we might commit ourselves to our young people and address the epidemic of gun violence which plagues our communities, our country, and the world. Awake, O Streets, rise from death!" Following are a list of ways in which you can get involved with the St. Mark's community in helping to create a better world.
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People of Faith Stand Up for Worker Justice: St. Mark's Black Friday Action
On Black Friday - the biggest shopping day of the year - St. Mark's will be gathering at Walmart in Niles to join Walmart workers in holding Walmart accountable for their poor treatment of workers. Why? Because we people of faith, gather in one accord, acknowledge that God sees ". . . people oppressed. . ." and God hears ". . . their cry of injustice. . . " (Exodus 3:7-8, CBE) because of the working conditions and low wages that deprive them from fully providing their families with fair living. And, because the Waltons (who own Walmart) could decide tomorrow to pay a fair wage to workers who help the company make $16 billion in annual profits.
Those who wish to carpool together should meet at St. Mark's by 8:30 a.m. on Friday, November 28th for a prompt departure or you may choose to meet us at Walmart, 5630 W. Touhy Avenue, Niles at 9 a.m. where we will pray a Litany of Confession and Commitment, take a group photo and share it on social media, invite you to sign a petition supporting Walmart workers' calls for $15/hr and access to full-time hours, deliver the petition to the manager inside the store, and, we willtake a stand together, joining our voices with countless others across the nation who are standing up for worker justice on Black Friday.
More information - including a sign up form, the petition for those who would like to read and sign in advance - are available in the parlor. St. Mark's is proud to be an Interfaith Worker Justice Congregation! OR, you can sign-up online at http://bit.ly/BlackFridayAtWalmart
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 ReVive Christmas Basket Program
St. Mark's once again has the opportunity to share our Christmas spirit and gifts with families on the west side of Chicago by participating in the annual "Christmas Basket" program sponsored by ReVive Center for Housing and Healing (formerly Cathedral Shelter). Information about each of the eleven families assigned to St. Mark's, along with instructions and sign-up sheets can be found in the Parlor. The deadline to return all wrapped and labelled gifts is November 30th. For further information call or see Dave Himrod (847-864-7815).
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 Producemobile - Tuesday, November 11 On the 2nd Tuesday of each month, Interfaith Action of Evanston teams up with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to bring free, fresh produce to our neighbors in need. The distribution takes place from 9:30 - 11:30 at the Robert Crown Center. Volunteers are needed from 8:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. If you are able to help on November 11, please sign-up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d4fafac2fab9-evanston or send an e-mail to Pastor Debra, [email protected]. Thank you to St. Mark's September volunteers: Clark Alexander, Nasim Alexander, Bruce Gaede, and Chris Schultze. |
Sesquicentennial Anniversary Blood Drive
LifeSource will continue to accept donations. to help us meet our goal of 150 blood donations to mark our 150th anniversary year. Please sign-up at https://donateblood.lifesource.org/ to donate at LifeSource, 2436 Main Street, Evanston, at a time that is convenient for you. When you donate blood, identity our blood drive by using the special code O57G (zero, five, seven, g). If you have any questions please contact Donna Richardson at 847-677-0701.
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Building Work
Some of you have already noticed the "upgrades" taking place at St. Mark's - ceiling repaired in the women's restroom in the Parish House, most of the water damage to the walls in the sanctuary taken care of. But, there's more to come. This week, roof repairs will begin. A dumpster will be placed in the alley behind the sacristy entrance (the 3-pack) so we will be short a few parking spots. The good news is that we will soon have leak-free roofing again! Next spring will bring some masonry improvements . . . Thanks to your generous giving and to the legacy of St. Mark's Saints, the vestry has determined not to undertake a capital campaign at this time. However, if you would like to make a donation to capital repairs at any time, you are, of course, encouraged to do so - simply make a note on your check that it is for capital repairs. And, if you haven't already, please do remember St. Mark's in your will.
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Old Treasures-New Treasures-Something for You --The Gift Shop Sale is coming up Sunday, November 23rd. If you would like to help, please contact Lola Himrod at 847-864-7815 or [email protected]. St. Mark's 150th anniversary will be honored by some items. YOU are invited to help by donating baked good, preserves, etc. (what do you make that others would enjoy?) and/or by volunteering to help at the sale. No books, media or other old items are being accepted other than Christmas items in very good condition.
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Sesquicentennial Photos
If you took photos during any of our Sesquicentennial events, Bruce Gaede would love to have copies. You can put actual photos in his mail folder in the hallway of the Parish House OR you can e-mail digital files to him at [email protected]. Also, if you enjoy scrapbooking and would like to help compile a Sesquicentennial Album, please contact [email protected].
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Social Media and St. Mark's
If you have your mobile device it would be good if you put it on silent when in worship. But if anything in Sunday's service - a prayer, reading, hymn or the sermon-moves you, please feel free to tweet it or post it to Facebook #StMarkEvanston. While you're at it, "check-in" with us on Foursquare!
St. Mark's website has up-to-date information on all that's new at St. Mark's - including a current calendar of events - check it out at http://www.stmarksevanston.org. Also, we are on Facebook and Twitter! Find us at http://www.facebook.com/StMarkEvanston and follow us @StMarkEvanston.
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In The Community
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God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Loving finds all of its meaning in relationship. The following are opportunities to be in relationship with one another and with the community of Evanston.
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Science Confronts Race: A Contested History On Thursday, November 6 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, Dr. Evelynn M. Hammonds of Harvard University will review some of this history and discuss why the use of race in science, especially the new genetics/genomics, raises significant ethical issues that require more meaningful pubic dialogue. Understanding differences between human groups using the concept of "race" has a long and troubled history in the biological and biomedical sciences. The evening begins at 5 p.m. with a reception, Dr. Hammonds talk begins at 6 p.m. and a tour of the exhibition, "Race: Are We So Different?" begins at 7 p.m. Advance registration is required. RSVP by November 1 to [email protected]
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55th Annual Episcopal Charities Ball
Join hundreds of friends on Friday, November 7 at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel beginning at 6 p.m. for a cocktail reception, auction, dinner and dancing 'til midnight with The Joe Lill Orchestra. This is a black-tie optional event that has the diocese coming together around a common goal: to raise support for the life-changing ministries of Episcopal Charities and Community Services in the Diocese of Chicago. To purchase tickets or to make your sponsorship gift online, go to https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=610310. If you have questions or need more information, contact Michael Cleavenger at (312) 751-3578 or send an email to [email protected].
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Parish Prayer List
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If you would like your loved ones added to (or deleted from) the prayer list at any time, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. Thank you.
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We bid your prayers for: Helen Baker, Louise Beem and her family, Louise Behrends, Ellen and Tom Bergman, Veronica Braithwaite, John Burnham, Karen Cornelius, Kendric Das, Bob Easton, Lynn Erickson, Hal Griffith, Mary Hair, Charlie and Judy Kopp, Ann Lettner, Ayden Lettner, Grace Lettner, Kathy Lettner, Sadie Mysen, Mary O'Dowd, Jan and Jeri Offutt, Joan Barr Smith, Carol Albertson, Carol Beatty, Dave and Jan Gurniak, Henry Gutierrez, Katie Iles, OJ Mabwa, Margot, Tim and his family, Jill Vannattam.
We pray for those who have died: Darrell Huddleston, friend of Joan Barr-Smith
We pray for the people in: the Diocese of Southeast Mexico and in the Diocese of Renk.
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Stay Connected
 
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