Acts 9
The seeds for a coming shift in the storyline of Acts are planted in Chapter 9. It opens with Saul confronted by the risen Christ while he's out persecuting early believers in Jesus. It quickly moves to Peter and his ministry of healing and teaching about Jesus. It closes with Saul (whom Jesus has renamed Paul) trying to find his place among the believers. Even though one of the miracles God performed through Peter was the raising of a dead woman, it is Paul's experience as a persecutor turned supporter of the church that I would like to reflect on.

One can easily imagine this scene today. It would be as if someone who repeatedly came into your home to injure and rob from you invited himself over for dinner. Would you let him in? Probably not. You might be willing to meet him in a public place, but as a guest in your home? Unlikely. Saul was literally dragging Christians away to be tried for heresy. He even had the legal right to threaten them with death! Everyone knew to stay away from him. Suddenly, he began calling himself Paul and wanted to become part of their circle of friends. I can just see the doors literally slamming in his face and the people peeking through their curtains to see who was at the door, then quickly pretending that they were not home when they realized it was him. It wasn't until Ananias and the other apostles vouched for him that the people began to trust him.
 
Here are some lessons this chapter can teach us:

• We don't always know when someone has truly repented, (that is, when they've made an about-face away from their destructive behavior).
• Discernment is a corporate endeavor. The believers relied on each other to know whether or not to trust Paul.
  
• There is always room for forgiveness in God's preferred future for humanity.
  
• Because God is gracious and merciful, even people who were once enemies can become partners in the work God calls us to. Paul will become one of the greatest missionaries to ever walk this planet. Through him (and an early partnership with Peter), God will bring the Gospel beyond Judea and Samaria and to the center of the known world:  Rome.

As we enter the mid and later chapters of Acts, we will begin to read stories that are less familiar to many of us. Even if you haven't been with our Tuesday 7:00 PM or Thursday 10:30 AM groups at all this year, I encourage you to jump in wherever we might be in the book. It would be fun to read these with you! Your presence would make our already fruitful conversations even more insightful!
 
See you at St. Mark's!
+ Pastor Albert

LUTHERFACTS 
In his struggles against the medieval church, Martin Luther was not alone. He joined forces with a variety of other reformers. Among them was Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), the most important reformer in the Swiss Protestant Reformation and the only major reformer of the 16th century whose efforts did not result in establishing a separate church organization. Like Martin Luther, he accepted the supreme authority of the Scriptures, but he applied it more rigorously and comprehensively to many doctrines and practices. After completing his university studies in 1504, he became a pastor in Glarus and began to question certain church practices. In the following years, he attacked the selling of indulgences—the sale of divine favors that many church officials argued could be used for forgiveness of or license to sin, or to immediate entrance into heaven upon death. Luther welcomed Zwingli's reform efforts in Switzerland but came to strongly differ with him over the meaning of communion. That difference did not prevent Zwingli from crediting Luther as "that one Hercules ... who slew the Roman boar.” In the end, both men needed each other in the fight against Rome.

Both pastors continue efforts to help build a Latino Lutheran Network for our Metro DC Synod. We are planning to meet with Bishop Graham and our nearest ELCA congregation pastor, the Rev. Carmelo Santos, shortly after Easter.

The council is currently seeking volunteers—for a chair of the Worship Committee and for new musical talent. Recently, a meeting was held to discuss the augmentation of the music program at St. Mark’s, and it was noted that there is a wealth of musical talent among our members, both adults and youth. The Worship Committee is discussing how to tap into this rich resource.

Council decided to set the summer worship schedule as one English worship service at 9:30 AM and the Spanish worship service at 11:00 AM beginning June 4.

Paul Palm, Council President

SAVE THE DATE:  The Life Center is sponsoring a Senior Luncheon on May 24th, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The theme this year is Amazing Africa. We will have our usual fun and games, African Food, African Music, some special African Safari Animals, and Beverly Clemsen will give a short talk about her recent trip to Africa. Bring a friend and your sense for adventure!

BLOOD DRIVE:  The Life Center is teaming with other churches in the Springfield area to host a blood drive. It will take place on Sunday, April 30th, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, at Springfield Christian Church, 5407 Backlick Road, Springfield. There is a signup sheet on The Life Center board (next to the main bulletin board) or you can call Jeannine Van Nostrand at 703-981-1404. This is a chance to bring hope and healing to so many in need! 

Our April recipient will be Jeff Darden, deployed currently in Baghdad. He was suggested by Lisa Ryan—Lisa and her husband, Tim, have both been recipients of our packages when they were deployed. When we asked for suggestions of what they need/want, he replied with the most wonderful letter, and, with his permission, we are including most of the text here:

Good morning!

It is so nice to receive your email and I’m grateful Lisa is thinking of me (us) over here. I’m happy to hear that you guys have a Brownie Brigade because we love them and they will certainly not go to waste. We do get some cookies here and other desserts but one thing we have yet to see in our dining facility is a pan of brownies….they will be most welcomed :)

Deployment staples that are always in demand and always appreciated are beef jerky, toothpaste, floss, and hand sanitizer. Q-tips, baby wipes, finger nail clippers, cough drops are also welcomed. Thanks for anything you send along…mail and packages are always exciting to receive. 

A little bit about the unit here:  We are the 770th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron assigned to the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center at the Baghdad International Airport (we don’t work with the airport folks but it’s part of the bigger compound). We are a mix of career field specialties from many different US Air Force bases and we come together to achieve 2 goals…to partner with the Iraqi Air Force helping them, however we can, to defeat ISIS and to build a long term Iraqi Air Force capable of sustaining themselves. We do daily missions “outside the wire” working hand in hand with Iraqis while they fix aircraft, do aeromedical evacuations, build their supply warehouses, invigorate their medical enterprise, inventory and teach about munitions, write headquarters policy, teach English, and so many more. We operate out of several locations working with the Iraqi Air Force and the Iraqi Army Aviation Command.

We love BBQs, playing cards and dominoes, hitting the volleyball around, and just spending time together after a long day of working with our Iraqi counterparts. While we miss our families and the creature comforts at home, we are enjoying the time here doing our mission, learning Arabic and the culture, and helping build the Iraqi Air Force. This deployment has given us quite a bit of perspective on just how blessed we are in the US. It’s too easy to take for granted all that we have and how blessed we really are. The poverty in Iraq is staggering. The mindset that daily bombings will happen and that is just a part of life is depressing. We are doing good things over here and the support from people like you and the church lifts us up after long and taxing days. Thanks to you for not losing sight of what matters and all the generosity. We are blessed and we will not soon forget it…may God bless you and St. Mark’s Lutheran!

In a follow-up message, he added:

Please say a prayer (or two :) for us and our families. Please say a prayer for the people of Iraq…who are generous, gracious, and very polite. Thanks again for all you do in the community and for us wayyyyyy out here!

Sincerely,

Jeff Darden

We’re always looking for names for recipients for May and beyond—please let Mary or Gerald Eskelund or Gayle Parsons know of any deployed person who would like to get packages. If you can give us their email address in addition to their regular mail address, that would be wonderful—we will try to contact them to see if they have any particular needs or likes.

Thank you for your always-generous support!

St. Mark’s and the Metro Synod have been long time supporters of Caroline Furnace Lutheran Church Camp.

In addition to the celebrations planned for Memorial Day weekend, an anonymous donor has agreed to match any gifts designated for the 60th anniversary in any multiples of $60.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Caroline Furnace to continue its important mission of outdoor ministry. Dave Appler is a member of the Caroline Furnace Board of Directors. If you would like additional information about Caroline Furnace beyond the link above or on the Camp website, please contact Dave Appler.