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To Be and Make Disciples of
Jesus Christ
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Change of
Contact Information?
Click here to fill out an online form to help us update your information for our records.
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Contact Us?
Saint Mark UMC
616 Quincy Road
Seneca, SC 29678
Call us:
9 am - 5 pm (M-Th)
(864) 882-2603
Pastoral Care
Emergencies or after regular office hours
call or text
(864) 888-7072
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Saint Mark 2018 Ministry Guidebook
Click here
to view the entire Saint Mark 2018 Ministry Guidebook with information about church structure, leadership, ministries and our 2018 budget.
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Check Out Our Entire Church
Calendar of Events
Click here
to see what is going on at Saint Mark this week and the weeks to come.
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August 19, 2018
Faith Formation Sunday
Sunday
Schedule
9:00 am
Sunday School
9:40 am
Fellowship Time in the Atrium
10:00 am
ONE Combined Service of Worship in the Sanctuary
(Blessing of Backpacks)
11:15 am
Churchwide
Covered Dish Lunch in the
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Quick, easy and available
HERE
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Listen to Last Week's Sermon Today
If you were not able to attend worship on any given Sunday, you can still listen to the sermon.
Click here to select and listen to sermons that you may have missed.
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Got Information to Share in Next Week's
Heart Beat?
Click here
to send your Heart Beat post to us by no later than 12:00 noon next
Thursday. On the subject line, please type in "Heart Beat" so that we can easily find your article among the other emails.
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Got Good News To Share With Your Saint Mark Family?
Good news lifts our spirits. Share your good news with us. We will publish your good news in our
"People 'Neath Our Steeple" feature. Your news will be sent out as an email.
Click here to share your good news (achievements, births, awards, etc.). Include pictures if you have them.
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Interested in LGBTQ+ Inclusion?
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Prayer Focus for This Week
Pray for all students who will be returning to school - preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, college and all centers of learning. Pray that each child will be successful in his/her pursuit of an education. Pray that everyone returning to school will be enriched by their experiences with their teachers and fellow students.
Pray for every person who teaches at any level. Pray that they will be encouraged, knowing that they are making a difference in the lives of their students. Pray that God will grant them grace, patience, love and wisdom as they use their God-given talents and gifts to form and shape the minds and lives of their students.
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Submit Your Prayer Requests
Saint Mark is pleased to receive your prayer requests . . . for yourself or for friends or loved ones.
Click here
to submit your request to Pastor Todd Davis.
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Faith Formation Sunday
THIS Sunday, August 19
ONE Combined Service at 10 am
Sanctuary
Rev. Todd Davis
Faith Formation happens better when we are together! Worshiping all together this Sunday, we will bless our children's backpacks; our rising third graders will receive new Bibles; our rising sixth graders will receive pocket crosses; and all of us will renew our commitment to this journey called faith.
JOIN US THIS SUNDAY FOR WORSHIP!
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All children and youth are invited to bring their school backpacks to our one combined service of worship at 10 am during Faith Formation Sunday this Sunday, August 19. The children will be invited to come forward with their backpacks to have them blessed by our congregation before they head out to begin a new school year the next day. During that time, we will invite our educators to stand to be recognized. For more information, click here to contact Pastor Shawna.
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Let's Share Table Fellowship Together!!!
There is almost nothing more delicious than a church covered dish lunch! In addition to giving you the opportunity to taste lots of home-cooked food, this time of table fellowship will also serve an important purpose. While you enjoy your meal, you will learn about faith formation opportunities, offered through Saint Mark, that will assist you as you live into your commitment to grow in faith and discipleship over this next year.
Prepare or bring food with you to share.
Let's have a great turnout!!!
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Escape Zone Retreat
for 5th Graders (rising 6th Graders)
Friday, August 17
6 pm
Tomorrow, Friday, August 17, our 5th graders will go to Escape Zone of Seneca. Please have your children at Saint Mark by 5:30 pm so we can arrive 15 minutes prior to our lock-in time. Our session will begin at 6:00 pm. We will end our fun at Pizza Buffet for pizza, then parent pick-up will be at 8 pm.
Because even though there is no checklist for knowing everything about God, there are a few things we can do every day that will help us to know God better . . . HEAR, PRAY, TALK and LIVE. This wonderful book, Know God, a 28-day Devotional for our 5th graders, has allowed the kids to journal daily and actually experience knowing God.
For more information about this retreat,
click here to contact our Children's Minister, Lisa Kiser.
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Those who made reservations to ride the bus to the game should plan to be ready to leave from the bus parking lot, across from the sanctuary, by no later than 4:45 pm. Thanks for bringing an extra $5 to cover the cost of transportation. We will stop in Easley to eat at Mutt's BBQ, then continue to the ball park for an evening of entertaining baseball and great fellowship.
For those of you driving to the game, we hope you will join us at Mutt's in Easley between 5:15 and 5:30 pm. (1020 Powdersville Rd.)
At Fluor Field, pick up your tickets that are being held for us at the "Will Call" window outside the main gate. When asking for your ticket(s), they are being held under "Saint Mark UMC."
Pay your $10 (plus $5 to ride the bus) directly to Marla Fuller the day of the game.
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CALLING ALL SINGERS!!!!!
Chancel Choir Rehearsal Resumes
Wednesday, August 22
7 pm
Choir Room
Have you been feeling a nudge to join our Chancel Choir? Come to one of our rehearsals and find out what a great group of folks we have who "make a joyful noise" each week on Sunday mornings during our Traditional Worship!
For more information, click here to contact David Wilcox.
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We return to our new regular schedule and begin our new sermon series,
Moving Forward, in which we will be addressing head on the ways we are moving forward together at Saint Mark.
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August 26 -
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Moving Forward: Changing Lanes |
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September 2 -
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Moving Forward: Life in the Carpool Lane |
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September 9 -
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Moving Forward: GPS |
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September 16 -
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Moving Forward: Keeping Our Eyes on the Road |
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This event will kick off the new program year for our Saint Mark youth, grades 6 through college. For more information, click here to contact Donna Poston.
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Attention All Youth
Grades 6 - College
Get Involved In Our
Saint Mark Youth Ministry!!
For more information, click here to contact Donna Poston, our Minister of Youth and College Discipleship!
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Attention All Women!
Circles of Faith - Circles of Hope -
Circles of Love in Action
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION SOON!
Saint Mark UMW (United Methodist Women) is collecting products to use in putting together feminine hygiene kits for homeless women and girls in need. Kits will be assembled following the August 28 UMW General Meeting and subsequently made available locally through distribution points like Safe Harbor, Grace's Closet, Our Daily Rest, etc. Containers for collecting hygiene products are located in the atrium entrances. Items needed are pads, tampons, panty liners, and individually packaged non-alcohol cleansing wipes. Please support this effort with your contributions!
Click here
to visit the
Homeless Period Project website for more information.
For questions, or to make a reservation for the UMW August 28 General Meeting, please click here to contact Becky Hazelwood
, or call her at (770) 633-2434. We need your reservation by Tuesday, August 21.
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Our Next Memory Café Event
Come Cruise With Us!
FRIDAY, September 7
Memory Café participants will be cruising on Lake Keowee on Friday, September 7 at 1:30 pm. If enough people come, we may have a fleet of pontoons. Won't that be fun!
Participants should plan to meet at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Seneca at 1:00 pm, to caravan together to Keowee Cove, where they will board the pontoon boat(s). (Pontoon boats are easy to get on, even with a wheelchair or a walker).
Memory Café is a social group for family caregivers and their loved ones with memory loss or any type of dementia. The group meets once a month, usually the second Monday of each month. The purpose of the group is to keep caregivers and their loved ones from becoming isolated, and to promote support and socialization. It is a place where participants can laugh, cry, talk about their concerns and realize they are not alone. Memory Café will offer lots of fun activities throughout the year. These activities will be determined with participant input, and will all be free because Memory Café is sponsored by people who understand and appreciate the heroic role of caregivers, and want them to succeed.
In July we had 4 participants. At our gathering in August, we had 12 participants! This ministry is growing rapidly. If you would like to participate with your loved one on this boat trip, you will need to make your reservation soon so that we can ensure that there will be enough boats and snacks for all to enjoy. (Please note that this event is on a Friday and not on the customary Monday.)
For more information and to make your reservation, call Bonnie Holmes at (864) 916-9204. Bon Voyage!
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Pontoon Boats and Drivers Needed
Memory Cafe
Do you live on Lake Keowee, and do you have a pontoon boat? Our
Memory Cafe participants will be cruising on Lake Keowee on Friday, September 7 at 1:30 pm. We need two or three pontoons to accommodate our group of caregivers and their loved ones. Participants will board the boats at Keowee Cove.
Would you be willing to offer your time and boat for this worthy cause? If so,
click here to contact Bonnie Holmes, or you may call her at (864) 916-9204.
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TREK Will Meet on Sunday Afternoons!
(for children through 5th grade)
For more information, click here to contact Lisa Kiser, our Minister of Children's Discipleship.
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We are excited about the return of our monthly midweek "gatherings" that will provide the opportunity for our church family to enjoy delicious meals and great fellowship.
Following our meal on Wednesday, September 12, we will enjoy a rousing game of Bingo. This activity is for ALL ages - children, youth and adults. Come join us as together we kick off our new program year!
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The
Mini Mission Auction is almost upon us! We have some nice items coming in for our Clemson table and our holiday table, but we could always use a few more. We also need more handmade items for the
Buy It Now table. For this table, we are looking for handmade craft items or homemade food items (quick breads, soup mixes, etc.) that would sell in the $10-$25 range.
The date of the auction is
Sunday, September 16, and the time is from 8:30 until noon. Substantial snacks will be provided, so please plan to stay after the worship services that day to place your bids, buy some nice items made by fellow Saint Mark disciples, and support the mission work of the church. Proceeds will support local and global outreach projects. Please contact Jane Harlin at (864) 638-2462 or
click here to email her for more information or to list your donations for the auction/sale.
Thanks for your support!
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The Commission on a Way Forward was proposed by the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, and approved by the 2016 General Conference to do a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph of the
Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and explore options that help to maintain and strengthen the unity of the United Methodist Church. This is all in preparation for a Special Session of the General Conference to be held February 23-26, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. The purpose of this conference will be to receive and act on a report from the Commission on a Way Forward based on the recommendations of the Council of Bishops.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SAINT MARK?
Join Pastors Todd and Shawna on Sunday afternoon, September 16, as they lead us in a very important conversation about the issues that face our denomination and how, as a congregation, we can continue to be the loving, grace-filled Body of Christ God calls us to be.
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Are you 50+?
Another Elderberries Event!!!
Join us for a relaxing evening of fun, food and fellowship at beautiful Biggerstaff Retreat Center, right here in Seneca. The evening will begin at 5 pm with conversation and hors d'oeuvres, followed by our meal at 6:30 pm.
Plan to bring a dish to share (hors d'oeuvres, salad, side dish, dessert), plus $5 to cover meat, beverages and paper products.
Transportation is available, if you prefer not to drive there.
LET'S HAVE A GREAT TURNOUT!!!
Click here to RSVP and to indicate that you would like to reserve transportation for that evening.
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For more information,
click here to contact Marlene Edlund.
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For more information,
click here to contact Donna Poston.
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Anderson District
Lay Servant Ministries School
Saturday and Sunday, October 13 and 14
First United Methodist Church in Easley
It's fall, a time full of new possibilities and new opportunities for serving the Lord. Have you heard a call to be a Lay Servant, and want an overview of what it means to be a Lay Servant? Would you like to learn how to deliver an effective message? Would you like to know more about the organization of the United Methodist Church? Now is the time for you to explore these options at the the Anderson Lay Servant Ministries School.
Courses offered:
- Basic Lay Servant Ministry
- Preaching (From Pew to the Pulpit)
- United Methodist Church Polity
Cost:
- $45 if registered before August 24
- $50 if registered between August 25 and August 31
Classes are open to everyone, regardless of whether or not you are interested in becoming a certified lay servant. For those who are, or who wish to become a certified lay servant, remember that you must take a course beyond the basic course at least once every 3 years.
For more information click here to contact Gwendolyn Brown, Chair of the Anderson District Lay Servant Ministry Board, or call her at (678) 480-5176.
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An Elderberries Event
The Lettermen in Concert
Sunday, October 14
7 pm
Walhalla Civic Auditorium
Tickets are available now: $37 per person
Only 11 of 35 tickets are left . . . Reserve your tickets today!
If you have already reserved your tickets, or if you would like to purchase tickets, Marla Fuller will be available in the atrium between Sunday School and worship this Sunday, August 19 to receive your payment of $37/ticket, and you will take your tickets with you. OR you may stop by her office Monday - Thursday during the week to pay for and pick up your tickets.
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FIRST Monthly Elderberries Lunch Bunch
Tuesday, October 23
12 noon
Commons Room
Fall Festival for Children
Wednesday, October 24
5:00 pm
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ELDERBERRIES EVENTS (FOR 50+)
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ARE YOU 50+?
Here are some
Elderberries Events
that might interest you. Save the date(s) on your calendar.
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Covered Dish Supper at Biggerstaff Retreat
Friday, September 28
5 pm - hors d'oeuvres
6:30 pm - supper
Transportation will be available
The Lettermen in Concert
Sunday, October 14
7 pm
Cost: $37 per ticket
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!
Transportation will be available
Monthly "Lunch Bunch" Gathering
beginning on Tuesday, October 23
(4th Tuesday of each month)
12 noon
Commons Room
PLEASE NOTE:
It has been reported that a few of you have made reservations for Elderberries events online, but for some reason, they didn't make it through. Going forward, if you do not receive an email confirmation (in a reasonable time) that your reservation has been received, please resubmit your reservation, or contact Marla Fuller at mfuller@smumcsc.org to get your name on our list.
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RESPONDING TO EVERYDAY BIGOTRY
Your brother routinely makes anti-Semitic comments. Your neighbor uses the N-word in casual conversation. Your friends habitually use ethnic slurs when describing people from different cultures. You overhear a group of teens insulting an event or activity by saying, "That's so gay."
And you stand there, in silence, thinking, "What can I say in response to that?" Or you laugh along, uncomfortably. Or, frustrated or angry, you walk away without saying anything, thinking later, "I should have said something."
No agency or organization counts or tracks these incidences. They don't qualify as hate crimes, and they rarely make news. That's part of their insidious nature; they happen so often we simply accept them as part of life. However, left unchecked, like litter or weeds, they blight the landscape.
THE SPEAK UP! PLEDGE
Commit to respond to everyday bias and bigotry . . . because what we say really does matter.
I PLEDGE TO SPEAK UP!
In pledging to respond to everyday bigotry, I will:
- Speak up when I hear or see bigotry;
- Question and identify bias when I see it;
- Be mindful of my own comments and behaviors;
- Promote and appeal to higher principles (e.g. my Christian faith);
- Set limits on what is said or done around me;
- Seek help and help others to work against bigotry; and
- Remain vigilant and persistent.
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FOR YOUR INFORMATION . . .
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A Note of Thanks!!
My heart is full of gladness and appreciation for the love and support shown towards our 2018 Vacation Bible School and the Saint Mark Children's Ministry.
We had a blast finding clues and discovering God's truths and promises. With the assistance of 33 Saint Mark disciples, this year's VBS hosted 47 children, some new, some CDC, and most of our very own cadets. God's love blessed us all.
I look forward to another exciting time together next summer for VBS 2019.
With Great Appreciation,
Lisa Kiser- Minister of Children's Discipleship
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Want To Be Part of Our
Saint Mark Music Ministry?
Would you like to sing or play in one of our choirs? We offer opportunities for all ages, abilities and commitment levels. If you love to perform music, there is a place for you! Below are the choirs, rehearsal times, rehearsal locations, and persons to contact for more information:
Celebration Praise Team
Thursdays at 6 pm
Saint Mark Center
Gospel Choir
Wednesdays at 5 pm
Room A205
Table Talk Classroom
Chancel Choir
Wednesdays at 7 pm
Choir Room
Saint Mark Ringers
Thursdays at 5:30 pm
Handbell Room
Wings for the Lord Youth Choir
Sundays at 4 pm
Choir Room
Children's Choirs
Sundays at 4 pm
Room A102
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2019 Disciplines
Daily Devotions
Growing in faith and discipleship includes an intentional time for devotions, prayer and reflection. The Upper Room publishes an annual devotional guide that will soon be available for you to purchase. Click here to contact Pastor Shawna to reserve your copy. The book also comes in large print.
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SAINTS IN SERVICE
HELPING YOU PLUG IN . . .
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LET US KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO PLUG IN!
Click here to discover the many ways to serve at Saint Mark. Fill out the form and return it to Marla Fuller in the church office. We will get you plugged in!
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