This Week at St. Mark's         April 7, 2016
Worship
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." 
Third Saturdays Holy Eucharist, April 16-  This once per month worship will offer those who cannot attend on Sunday mornings - or those who might prefer an occasional evening service - the opportunity to come together for prayer, Bible reading and reflection, and sharing the bread and cup of Christ with one another. Like all worship at St. Mark's, this service is a family-friendly, single-friendly, GLBTQ-friendly, married-with-no-kids-friendly, come-as-you-are-friendly, doubter-friendly, seeker-friendly service. It is also a I've-never-been-to-church-friendly service - together we will learn and grown. We hope you will make it a part of your spiritual life. Please join us April 16th at 4:00 p.m. in Bethlehem Chapel.

This Sunday's Lay Ministers- Thank you to these parishioners for sharing their time and talent with the congregation this week. If you would like to be involved, contact Pastor Debra at [email protected]. 
  • Lector: Byron Scott, Aina Gutierrez
  • Eucharistic Ministers: Aina Gutierrez, Alison Walsh, Byron Scott, Joanna Greene
  • Children Formation: Pat Acha, Tyler Maegawa-Goeser, Anne Heinz, Debbie Nee, Maria Torres, Lori Goede, John Lucadamo, Chad Goeser, Deane Johnson
  • Acolytes: Eva Sondgeroth, Bruce Gaede, Neena Gaede
  • Eucharistic Visitor: Joanna Greene
  • Altar Guild: Sharon Friend, Evelyn Russell
  • Vestry Person of the Day: Doug Sondgeroth, Anne Heinz
  • Ushers: John Lucadamo, Doug Sondgeroth, Nancye Kirk
  • Coffee Hour Snacks: G-L
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 send an e-mail to Natalie Greene, Office Manager, at [email protected].  
Formation
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 life of continuous learning. Following are some upcoming opportunities for your journey in faith.
Following the Way to the Font and Beyond: Baptism, Confirmation and Reception Prep

Pentecost (Sunday, May 15) is a great day for baptisms.  And, on Saturday, June 11, the Bishop will be worshiping with us at 3:30 p.m. for confirmation and reaffirmation of baptismal vows. 

If this is the moment for you or your household to become intentional about following the way of Christ, this small group is for you. If you are ready to make common cause with other disciples of Jesus, this small group is for you. If this is the moment for you to deepen your relationship with the risen Christ, this small group is for you. The journey may lead to baptism (your own or that of your child), the journey may lead to confirmation or a reaffirmation of faith, the journey may lead you to asking more questions. Wherever the journey takes you, we will walk the path with you. If you would like to participate in this small group, please contact Pastor Debra at [email protected].  Every effort will be made to find a time that works for all who are interested.
ECW (Episcopal Church Women) Annual Meeting- On Saturday April 23, 2016 at Saint John the Evangelist in Flossmoor,  Mary Fran Crist will present a two-part workshop on adult bullying:  "Bullying: it even happens in our churches". The day will include the annual meeting, lunch and a worship service. For questions or to reserve your place please contact Dorothy Laudati at [email protected]. We will carpool to the event. 
The Quality of Mercy Project -We have the opportunity as a faith community to participate in a community effort on behalf of the Piven Theatre. The Quality of Mercy project is a 3-month community programming initiative which invites us to discuss the complex issues arising from the play Dead Man Walking. These include forgiveness, compassion, the death penalty, mass incarceration, racial inequity, and social justice, among others. Based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean, Piven Theatre's production of Dead Man Walking tells the story of Sister Prejean's journey through our system of capital punishment.
As a group, we will go to see Dead Man Walking on Friday, April 22 at 7:30 pm and attend a panel conversation at Curt's Cafe on Monday, April 25 at 6:00 pm. This panel will be centered on the stories of young people and how their lives have been impacted by the criminal justice system. There will also be an adult forum at St. Mark's on this topic on Sunday, April 24 from 9:30-10:15. In order to reserve group tickets for the play on April 22, please let Anna Holladay, Community Engagement Director, know no later than Tuesday, April, 12 if you will be attending either by email [email protected] or calling the church office. Additionally, please drop a check for your ticket(s) made out to St. Mark's in Anna's mailbox. Tickets are $15 each.  
Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:1-6; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

"O Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health."  Psalm 30:2
In This Issue:
Calendar
Thursday, April 7
10:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist, King Home

7:30 p.m.
Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room

Friday, April 8
6:15 p.m.
Second Friday Dinner, Celtic Knot Public House

Sunday, April 10
8:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist, Lady Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Children's and Adult Formation, Classrooms and Bethlehem Chapel

10:30 a.m.
Holy Eucharist, Sanctuary

12 noon
Handbell Choir Rehearsal, Loft

Tuesday, April 12
8:30 a.m.
Producemobile, Robert Crown Center

6:00 p.m.
Lunch packing, Cunningham Hall

Wednesday, April 13
6:45 a.m.
AA meeting, Bethlehem Chapel

11:00 a.m.
Midweek Sack Lunch, Cunningham Hall
Birthdays
April 5
 Sandra Howard

April 6
Elizabeth McElhatton

April 7
Ellen Bergman

April 9
Caroline Frowe
Dan Whitmore

April 10
Bob Barr

April 11
Kendra Johnson
Holly Yanaga

April 16
Jeremy Greene

April 18
Samuel Najem

April 20
Owen Baker

April 21
David Plank

April 23
Timothy Himrod
Rudy Burke

April 25
Anna Holladay

April 28
Holly Benz
Richard Brooks
Anniversaries
April 10
 Clark & Nasim Alexander

April 19
Elizabeth & Gary McElhatton
April 26
Michael Schoen & Nathan Waller

April 30
Blair and Dr. Melind Lele
Fellowship
Lifetouch Photo Directory this spring- On May 6th, 7th, and 10th, Lifetouch will behere taking portraits for our very own St. Mark's photo directory! You will receive a call on March 24th with information about how to sign up for a photo session. Everyone who participates will be included in a PDF photo directory and will receive a free 8.5x11 print photo. You will also have the option of purchasing more print photos for personal use. Click here to schedule your appointment. Contact Natalie Greene, our Office Manager, with questions at  [email protected]. 
Scond Friday Dinner, April 8-  This Friday, April 8th, we will have the Second Friday Dinner at The Celtic Knot Restaurant, 626 Church Street, Evanston.  This restaurant serves Irish and American food and provides a full range of beverage choices.  We will meet at 6:15 p.m.  Children are welcome.  If you plan to come, please rsvp Dick and Carolyn Brooks at [email protected]  or 847-424-8422.
Social Justice & Outreach Opportunities

St. Mark's continues its commitment to our community through its many social justice and outreach activities. Following are ways in which you can get involved with the St. Mark's community in helping to create a better world.
Third Sunday Food and Sock Drive- On the third Sunday of each month, St. Mark's will collect non-perishable food items to be shared with local food pantries. On Sunday April 17, please bring your boxes of cereals, cans of soup, jars of peanut butter and other non-perishables with you to church. The big red shopping cart will be waiting for you at the back of the sanctuary. This month's food donations will be given to the food pantry at Hemenway United Methodist Church. In addition, you are also encouraged to donate a pack of new socks that will benefit our sisters and brothers at the Hospitality Center. Thank you for your generosity!
Producemobile - Tuesday, April 12-  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 April 12, please send an e-mail to Pastor Debra, [email protected] or sign-up online .  

Midweek Lunch: Come and join us! There are two weekly opportunities to serve our neighbors who struggle with hunger and homelessness. Every Tuesday from 6:00-6:30 pm, lunches are packed in the kitchen here at St. Mark's, and every Wednesday lunch is served at 11 am. On Wednesday, volunteers are asked to arrive by 10:30 am and stay until 1 pm. 
 
Lunch packing and serving is a great way to get to know members of your church family and meet others from St. Matthew's, our partner in this ministry. Please join us as we joyfully build a deeper sense of community both within our church and more broadly in Evanston. You can make this commitment to fit your schedule: weekly, monthly, or every once in a while! Do you have summers off from school or work? Start thinking about ways you can plug in to this ongoing program. 

To sign-up, please click these links:
Questions? Contact Anna Holladay, Community Engagement Director, at
[email protected] with any questions.
Other Announcements
Society of Miriam Reception - If you have remembered any Episcopal entity in your estate planning, you are a member of the Diocese of Chicago's Society of Miriam.  So that the Diocese can invite you to its annual celebration at St. James Commons, please send an email to Pastor Debra at [email protected] letting her know.  Again, all that it takes is remembering any Episcopal entity in your estate planning.  If you would like to learn more about how to include St. Mark's in your estate planning, please contact Pastor Debra.
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. Also, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @StMarkEvanston! 
In the Diocese
Bexley Seabury Seminary Lead Change training June 2016-  Congregations...church organizations...judicatories. All need strong clergy and lay leaders to make a difference. Our sixth annual Bexley Seabury Leadership Institute will help leaders at all levels become more confident and more effective. 

Participants will interact and collaborate with one another and with faculty from Bexley Seabury and the Kellogg School Center for Nonprofit Management at Northwestern University.  Through lectures, interactive exercises and dialogue, participants will b uild skills for effective leadership, g ain a deeper understanding of complex cultural change, and l earn strategies to make your faith community more vital. Click here to apply online by May 2.
Contemplative Leadership Retreat: May 16-19- In this retreat, we will explore a way of being contemplative that can be practiced both in solitude and action. Often called "mindfulness," a contemplative awareness can transform both how we feel and how we effect others as we go through the day. As leaders in ministry, this gives us the opportunity to bring perspective, patience, compassion, and faith to bear even in the most demanding situations. And this has the potential to transform the community we serve, so that together we might experience and build up what Jesus called "the kingdom of God." Register online! 
In The Community

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.
Tai Chi Chuan is an ancient Chinese martial art that promotes well-being by circulating the chi of the body through a series of slow, relaxing movements.  The Human Process teaches the Yangstyle short form each Saturday morning at St. Mark's.  Practicing Tai Chi helps replenish energy reserves, improves balance, loosens tight muscles and brings more flexibility to joints and ligaments.  It is a cardiovascular and weight-bearing exercise.  For more information, contact The Human Process at 847-556-6040.  
 
Evanston Sings: A Community Choir- Do you like to sing? Perhaps only in the car or shower? There is a community choir that would benefit from your voice!  Every other Saturday, the Evanston Sings choir rehearses at Friendship Baptist Church (2201 Foster St.) at 3 pm. The next rehearsal is on April 9. Although rehearsals have already begun, people are more than welcome to join and catch up on the music (gospel and old spirituals). This choir has gathered for the purpose of having a concert on Friday, June 17. All ticket sales from the concert will go to benefit the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program. Contact Anna Holladay, Community Engagement Director, with any questions at [email protected].  
 
Evanston Creative Writing Group- Do you like to write?  Do you like to be creative but find it challenging sometimes to put yourself on the page?  Do you enjoy receiving challenging prompts that spur your creativity?  The Evanston Creative Writing group is a creative prompt group designed to get you on the page and start the creative juices flowing.  Each meeting one member will act as the Prompt Master, offering a writing prompt like a picture, a first line, an object, or even a single word.  From these prompts members will write for fifteen to twenty minutes, creating a unique and original story, or perhaps creating something that will be the start of something bigger.  Please note that this is not a critique group.  We offer positive comments on what our authors create, understanding that the writing generated within our group is rough or "first-draft".  We accept all members, from those who are serious about writing to those who use the time offered to blow off some creative steam.  We meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month in the library at St. Mark's. For more information visit us online here. 
Evanston English Country Dance Group  
This group meets every other Wednesday in Cunningham Hall. All dances are taught and prompted. We learn English Country dances devised from pre-1650 to the present. Jane Austin would recognize much of the dancing we do. Once a month, we have live music performed by Putting on Aires; the other Wednesdays, the music is from an extensive CD collection. You are welcome to come with or without a partner. Wear comfortable shoes (the type you would use to walk a mile) and casual clothing. We ask for a $5 ($3 for students) admittance fee to cover the rent and to buy music for the band. For further information, contact Tom Senior 847-606-8704, [email protected].
Soul Mates is an ongoing support group for those who have experienced the death of a spouse or life partner. This free group meets at NorthShore Hospice, 4901 Searle Parkway, Skokie on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Legacy is an ongoing support group for adults who have experienced the death of a parent. This free group meets at NorthShore Hospice, 4901 Searle Parkway, Skokie on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month from 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Parish Prayer List

If you have loved ones you would liked added to (or removed from) the prayer list at any time, send an email to Pastor Debra at [email protected]. 
We bid your prayers for:   Helen Baker, Astley Bent,Veronica Braithwaite, John Burnham, Karen Cornelius, Bob, Rachel and Nicholas Easton, Lynn Erickson, Hal Griffith, Charlie and Judy Kopp, Grace Lettner, Kathy Lettner, Ayden Lettner, Ann Lettner, Ted Loda, George Mitchell, Jake Morris, Mary O'Dowd, Jan and Jeri Offutt, Sarah Sutcliffe, Casmir Szczepaniak,   Char Wiss, Ronnie Witt IV, Carol Albertson, Betty Augustinos, Carol Beatty, Margaret Beatty, Janice Dillman, Janet Gurniak, Mary Hair Graham, Nancy Hair, Katie Iles,  Dennis Johnson, OJ Mabwa,  Pat Martin, Tim and his family, Richard Walsh, Miriam, Christopher and Jonathan Witmer.
 
We pray for those who have died: Holly Anderson, sister of Bill Hall; The Rev. David F. Gurniak, father of Rachel (Bob) Easton, grandfather of Nicholas Easton and former Rector of St. Mark's (1984-1988). 
 
We pray for the people in:   the Diocese of Southeast Mexico and the Diocese of Renk.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church | 847-864-4806 | [email protected] |   http://www.stmarksevanston.org
1509 Ridge Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201