Worship Schedule
8:30 AM English Worship Service
9:46 AM The 9:46 Crowd
10:00 AM English Worship Service
11:05 AM Sunday School combined English/Spanish
12:00 PM Spanish Worship Service
|
|
Message from Pastor Triolo
|
|
My Dear St. Mark’s Family,
What a weekend. It was the toughest in my fifteen years of ordained ministry We commended three members of our family to God’s eternal care: Janice Barnes, John Means, and Wesley Carr (Jr). All three of them were unexpected; even John, at 88, was on the mend and expected to recover. All three of them were very close family of active youth at St. Mark’s. All three of them were either very active themselves or their families are very active and are people with whom we are all very close.
It was a hard weekend for us all. We were carried through it by the grace of God, whose loving hand sustained us and whose Spirit gave us the strength to care for each other and minister to the needs of our grieving families. I suspect many members of the congregation kicked their feet up and rested well Monday night.
I wish I could thank each of you personally for loving me through it. Your prayers and constant support were truly encouraging. One member even made the Triolos a casserole. I’ll admit it; that display of love made me cry.
I also want to thank you all for allowing Christ to work through you for our grieving families. You were a city shining on a hill. Hundreds of people saw what it means to be a community of faith this weekend. Your love, gentleness, patience, hospitality, and servant hearts were evident for everyone. During one of the receptions, a woman was brought to me. She was grinning ear to ear as she said, “I found my church. I’ve been looking for a long time. I found my church.”
I pray that God will continue to speak to the many people who came through St. Mark’s this weekend, especially those who do not have a community of faith where they participate regularly. I pray that the risen Christ will meet them and lead them back to us. They may be strangers to us today, but it would be so wonderful to one day call them family.
Lastly, I want to encourage you to continue doing what you are doing! We are a diverse congregation, with many different cultural expressions and a variety of preferences in every area. Through all of this, we are united with each other in our love for God and we are united with God in our love for our neighbors. In unity and diversity, we shine the light of Christ for all to see Thank you, St. Mark’s. God loves you and so do I.
Yours in Christ,
+ Pastor Albert
|
|
Thanks from the Saints, for the Saints
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I, with so many Americans, am counting my blessings and returning thanks. I want to thank you, my St. Mark's family, first for the many kindnesses shown me upon the death of my mother this past June. I want to thank Bob and the Chancel Choir – my family within a family – for the support of their prayers and songs and for the most beautiful basket of yellow roses (my mom's favorite) arranged and hand-delivered to our door by choir member Noreen Linnemann (the choir possesses more than musical talent!). Pastor Triolo, after a brief conversation with me, incorporated our words into a most beautiful prayer, not only for me and my family but also for my mom's friends and caregivers. Thank you.
As many of you know, Janet and I were blessed with two new grandchildren during the course of a year in which each of us lost a parent. Comfort and joy! Our St. Mark's family rejoiced with us and supported our daughters with prayers and good wishes as they became new mothers. When Pastor Varinia baptized baby Ella Anne at St. Mark's font, the choir and congregation were willing to sing the baptismal hymn I wrote. Alice set it in a readable format, and the hand bell ringers took of their rehearsal time to learn a bell descant I wrote for the occasion. I am surrounded by blessings. Each of you is among them. I thank you. I thank the Lord.
In my daily devotions, I often run across very interesting and meaningful writings by the saints of the church. I would like to share a brief passage from a writing by American Lutheran pastor Berthold Von Schenk (died 1974), from
The Presence
. This was assigned to All Saints' Day and gave me great comfort. As we remember our dead – and there have been so many among our St. Mark's family this past year – I hope you will count each, not as a loss, but as a blessing, a
continued
blessing. The following words emphasize the importance of coming to church and, particularly, coming to the altar to receive the gift of Holy Communion.
"When we are bereft of dear ones, it is a tremendous shock. For a time, we are stunned. Not everyone can feel at once their continuing companionship. We should not for that reason despair. An adjustment must take place in our lives, reaching deep into our habits, emotions and thoughts. Some souls may make this adjustment quickly. For most of us it comes slowly and hard; many an hour is filled with loneliness and agonizing doubt.
"By ourselves we can never make this adjustment. We must come to a sense of the continuing presence of our loved ones, and we can do this if we realize the presence of our Living Lord. As we seek and find our Risen Lord, we shall find our dear departed. They are with Him, and we find the reality of their continued life through Him. The saints are a part of the Church. We worship with them. They worship the Risen Christ face to face, while we worship the same Risen Christ under the veil of bread and wine at the Altar. At the Communion, we are linked with Heaven, with the Communion of Saints, with our loved ones. Here at the Altar, focused to a point, we find our communion with the dead; for the Altar is the closest meeting place between us and our Lord. That place must be a place of closest meeting with our dead who are in His keeping. The Altar is our trysting place where we meet our beloved Lord. It must, therefore, also be the trysting place where we meet our loved ones, for they are with the Lord. ......
"When we, then, view death in the light of the Communion of Saints and Holy Communion, there is no helpless bereavement. My loved one has just left me and has gone on a long journey. But I am in touch with her. I know that there is a place where we can meet. It is at the Altar. How it thrills me when I hear the words of the Liturgy, 'Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of Heaven,' for I know that she is there with that company of Heaven, the Communion of Saints, with the Lord. The nearer I come to my Lord in Holy Communion, the nearer I come to the saints, to my own loved ones. I am a member of the Body of Christ, I am a living cell in that spiritual organism, partaking of the life of the other cells, and sharing in the Body of Christ Himself."
Never think that your organist and other worship leaders are unaffected by the death of a member. I have played for hundreds of funerals in my 45-year career, and I would say that it becomes a more difficult task as I grow older. You might think I'd be used to it by now. But, no. On Sunday mornings, my back is to you. But I have a little round mirror on the organ (my "porthole"), and I can see all your faces, waiting eagerly to hear some good news, to receive the implanted word, to listen for the sound of the organ and respond with singing. When a face disappears from among our midst, I notice it, and I miss it. I miss that person, that saint, that fellow "cell." Even so, I wouldn't miss church for anything. Eucharist, thanksgiving, together – singing praying, listening – around the Word and Sacrament. I wish each of you peace and contentment in this season of thanksgiving.
See you at the Altar.
Gratefully,
Chris Michaelsen
Church Organist
|
|
World Hunger
St Mark’s 4
th
Quarter Benevolence Offering
God richly provides for our daily bread —
the earth can produce enough to feed everyone. Yet many still go hungry. Working alongside other organizations, ELCA World Hunger has already made a huge collective impact on hunger worldwide. But the rate of global progress against hunger is slowing in many of the world’s poorest communities. And here in the United States, one in six Americans aren’t always sure where their next meal is coming from. Many are forced to choose between paying for food and other basic necessities. There is more work to do here at home and around the world. And God invites us to participate and lead in this effort.
As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and through our gifts to ELCA World Hunger, we commit to pursuing a world of justice where all are fed.
Please give generously.
|
|
Did you know your purchases can make a difference? AmazonSmile donates to St. Mark's Lutheran Church when you do your holiday shopping at
smile.amazon.com
.
|
|
St Mark’s Congregation Meeting
Once again the youth provided a scrumptious meal, to which we added conversation and our meeting was off to a good start. Opening with prayer we asked for the Holy Spirit to help and guide our deliberations. The meeting began with nominations to the Council. Elected to the Council for three year terms are Robert Akers, David Mendez, Sean Murphy, and Cris Potter. Elected to the nominating committee for 2020 are Harriet Latta and Stephanie Stock.
Thanks be to God for the three years of service generously given by Jim Kyger and Cris Potter, and Bob Akers. Jim plans to stay involved in many projects at St Mark’s. Cris and Bob have volunteered for a second term on the Council. David Mendez, who replaced Juan Argueta earlier this year, has agreed to serve a 3 year term.
The budget proposal for 2019 was presented by Treasurer Steven Carlson. An amendment was offered to change the proposal for the music program but was not accepted. The budget was approved as presented.
A summary was presented on an initiative to expand the St Mark’s music program. Music is important for our worship and it touches all our Connections themes (up, in and out). The chancel choir anchors the music program with leadership in worship and anthems. The Rejoice Contemporary Choir is working hard to offer their voices and volunteers are forming a youth choir. We have marvelous musical talent at St Mark’s and we are actively working to expand the opportunities for those talented members to enhance our worship.
Paul Palm, President.
|
|
Next Military Packages Collection: Sunday,
November 25
Our recipients this month will be members of a deployed Air Force group, a B-52 squadron. We received this suggestion via a neighborhood friend of Sandy Lind’s. The squadron commander is going to distribute our boxes to individuals who don’t usually get much mail. This will – in effect – be Christmas packages from us since we historically have not collected on the last Sunday in December.
The wife of the squadron commander reports that they will be happy with whatever we send them, so your usual wonderful treats and homemade goodies will be most welcome. You have already contributed a large treasure trove of candy from Halloween, so that is already a great start to the individual packages. They also like to receive beef jerky, nuts, granola-type bars, etc., since sometimes they do not have time for actual meals and just have enough time to grab something that we send before they go off on their missions. Because this collection date will be Thanksgiving weekend, you may put any items in the military packages box in the narthex either before or after the Nov 25
th
collection date, and we will look for them.
Thank you so very much for your continuing support of our deployed service members via this project.
|
|
The Elves are getting ready for jingle bell time which comes early in December at ECHO. Residents of our community who have had a difficult year, have found assistance at ECHO and who have young children are invited to come in between December 1 and 12 to choose gifts for their children. You can be Santa’s helper by donating new, unwrapped toys, games and clothing by early December. Items that are popular for younger children are Barbie doll clothing, baby dolls and accessories, activity books, electronic toys, and track car sets. Items for young teens include sports logo shirts, quality headphones, books for 10-14 year-olds, hoodies or polar fleece jackets for girls or boys, sizes 14, 16, adult small and medium.
In addition to the holiday program donations, ECHO currently needs shaving razors, deodorant, detergent, box potatoes, muffin mix and dried beans. We need medium and large pots and fry pans as well as winter coats- especially for men and boys. Lists of needed household goods and open volunteer jobs are updated monthly on our website,
www.echo-inc.org/volunteer
.ECHO is open to receive donations from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on weekdays, as well as on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 7:00 to 9:00, at 7205 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield.
ECHO conducts a Holiday Meal Program to bring cheer to struggling people at Thanksgiving or Christmas. In order to do that, we seek help from groups or individuals to purchase and deliver either the actual groceries for a festive meal, or food store gift cards appropriate for family size, to one or more of over 300 local families. Find out more at
www.echo-inc.org
, under Donate/Holiday Programs, or send an email to
holidayfoodprograms@echo-inc.org
. The Program Coordinator can supply a list of suggested foods, guidelines for the value of gift cards based on family size, plus contact information for the family(ies) you wish to assist. It will be helpful to know by December 1, if you wish to provide a Christmas meal. St. Mark’s coordinator for Holiday Meal Program is
Janice Apruzese
The Burke Fairfax CROP Walk, scheduled for 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 18, shares a percentage of donations with ECHO. Walkers may also help by bringing non-perishable food and personal care items for ECHO to the beginning of the walk at Fairfax Presbyterian Church. Please see information about participating in the walk at
www.burkecropwalk.org
|
|
Thank you to each of you for your continued support of the Coke product lids for Lynbrook Elementary School.
Be sure that the lids have the Coke codes on them before placing them in the box.
Again, THANK YOU!
|
|
Save the Date
Winter Property Cleanup, December 8, 2018
Connect with members and friends of St. Mark's to help with the winter cleanup of our church property (church, Friendship House, parsonage) on December 8, 2018, between 8:00 AM and NOON. If you have them, bring your truck, gloves, rakes, leaf blowers, ear plugs, tarps (to haul leaves), loppers, wheel barrows, elbow grease, and enthusiasm. Extra tools will be available if you don't have them.
A leaf vacuum
truck will begin taking up the leaves around 9:00 AM, so come as early as possible to
get the leaves ready for the truck
. Please contact Alan Eck at 703-569-0814 or
FranAlanEck@msn.com
with questions or requests. This is a great way for Civics students and people required to do Community work to earn service hours. Make this a family affair.
|
|
Communion Cards.
Please don’t forget to fill out a communion card each time you
worship
. Cards are located in the pew racks. If your address has changed, you can include that information so the church office can update your records. In addition, use of the card allows the church office to enter your communion and attendance in the official church records. Thank you.
|
|
Article Deadline
We need YOUR help! In order that ALL OF US receive the necessary documents for This Week, The Messenger, and the website, please send all articles you wish to have published
no later than 5:00 PM on the Tuesday
before the Sunday you wish for the articles to appear. Send those articles to
communications@stmarks-elca.org
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|