September 23, 2018

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

Town Hall Meeting Dear Friends, We had some very good conversations last spring—and let’s not forget the wonderful fellowship!—at our town hall meetings. We will continue this practice on Sunday, October 7, with another potluck supper followed by presentations and round table discussions. Emerging themes are “visions and dreams,” innovation, change, and tolerance. I hope to see you all in the Fellowship Hall on 10/7 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Yours in the Trinity, + Pastor Albert

Announcements

Please welcome the following new members  into the St. Mark's congregation on September 23, 2018 John and Clera Baroi, David and Aster Julie Brimmer Judy Cole Ismael and Annette DeLaTejeras, Gabe and Lexi Dan and Kathy Elbert, Johnny and Nicholas Please greet them at the narthex reception following the 10:00 AM service.

Council Meeting, September 10, 2018 We had the honor of receiving two guests at our meeting. First was Emelie Dajc, member of St. Mark’s and a Girl Scout. Emilie is trying to set up a fundraising dinner to support her Girl Scout volunteer service travel to Costa Rica over the Christmas holidays. She presented her project idea and requested use of the Fellowship Hall, which Council approved unanimously.   Our second guest was The Rev. Dr. Phil Hirsch, Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission, Metro DC Synod.  In response to our invitation, he talked with us about the Synod’s New Connections Program. One of it’s goals—of growing the Synod by developing three new congregations—has been accomplished. Another goal is to increase Synod membership by 10% with an emphasis on diversity. The New Connections program is also to raise funds for leadership and management training of Synod rostered staff. Questions were raised about recruiting new members and attracting them to stay. Rev. Hirsch says be friendly. For example, if someone in the pew with you is unfamiliar to you, be sure to introduce yourself. The Synod offers coaching to congregations on recruiting. Please talk with a Council member to learn more about this program. A motion was made and approved to rename the “Evangelism” fund to “New and Renewing Connections.” Pastor Albert made a motion to approve an expense of up to $600 from the N&RC Fund for a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry at St. Mark’s. The motion was approved. The Pastors proposed a motion to provide a $200-per-person sponsorship for up to 10 men and 10 women to attend Via de Cristo in October. The motion was approved. Council approved a thankoffering gift to Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dale City for the use of their facility for the first half of 2018. A Financial Review Team, nominated by the Finance Committee, was approved. Members of the team are David Appler, Michael Bianchetta, Bill Dinnison, Gayle Parsons, and Hugh Linnemann. They will review all financial operations and personnel. The fall Congregation Meeting is scheduled for November 11 at 5:00 PM .   Paul Palm, Council President

Military Packages Collection: Sunday, September 30 Our recipient this month will be Casey Dinnison and his deployed cohorts. He is the nephew and godson of Bill and Kathy Dinnison. (See picture of Bill and Casey at right.) Army Specialist Casey Dinnison is originally from Pennsylvania, married, and is currently embedded with Special Forces as a Combat Cameraman in Afghanistan. Kathy and Bill report that Casey will be happy with whatever we send him, so your usual wonderful treats will be most welcome. He did express interest in salty items, toiletries, and reading materials, in addition to your usual generous contributions. Thank you so very much for your continuing support of our deployed service members via this project.

WELCA Meetings All women of St. Mark’s are invited to attend one of the following October WELCA meetings: Martha Circle – Tuesday, October 2 St. Mark’s Lounge – 10:00 AM Hostess: Kathy Harris Program Leader: Laidler Campbell on And It was Good  (Genesis) Esther Circle – Wednesday, October 3 Friendship House - 9:30 AM Program leader and Hostess: Fran Eck on Chapters 1 & 2   Tales of Pointless People Deborah Circle – Wednesday, October 3 St. Mark’s Lounge – 7:30 PM Hostess – Anna Swann Program leader: Mary Anderson on Prayer lesson 1 from Gather magazine Tabita Circle – Fridays (Spanish language) Fellowship Hall and Kitchen – 6:45 PM Program Leader: Pastor Varinia              on Nutrition classes

JOB OPENING St. Mark’s Montessori School is looking to hire a part-time Assistant for our Before-and-After Care (BAC) program. Hours are 12:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday thru Friday. Applicant must enjoy working with small children (ages 3-6) and be willing to follow Montessori principles. For more information, please email the school  or call the school office at 703-451-4470. Send resumes to  info@stmarksmontessori.org .

St. Mark’s Montessori School is underway for the 2018-2019 school year!  We would like to invite all interested parties to a seminar we will be having at St. Mark’s on  Friday, October 5 th , about an (unfortunately) important and timely topic: Active Shooters. The speaker will be Dr. Willie McElroy from Health Best Services. The program will run about two hours and will start at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall.     AND, if you haven’t seen our new natural playground yet, please check it out. Even better, come to our Peace Day celebration on Friday, October 19th, when we will have a formal dedication of the playground. This program also starts at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Hope to see you at one or both events!

Online Safety Check-Up Do you need help checking for system updates? Do you know how secure your Facebook settings are? Do you know how to detect phishing e-mails, posts, telephone calls? Do you know how to detect fake news articles on social media? Do you need help searching online?  If you are interested in attending a session to learn more about these subjects, please contact Trudy Stellar tstellar@verizon.net . Let her know which subjects are most important to you and which day of the week you are able to meet for a session with others.

Dwelling in the Word – Bible Study Enrich your connection with God and each other and join our Tuesday 7:00 PM or Thursday 10:30 AM  Dwelling in the Word Bible reading events. We resume this week, after Re-Connect Sunday! All are welcome and no previous Bible knowledge is required! We will continue the reading of Paul’s letters, which we began in the spring. (He was quite character.) We meet in the narthex and look forward seeing you there.

Life Center Seniors Trip                                                                 Join us on a trip to the Graves Mountain Apple Festival!

October 13, 2018  9:00 AM-4:00 PM Graves Mountain is a working apple farm in Central Virginia, about an hour and 40 minutes from Washington, DC.  The festival includes 70 craft vendors, bluegrass music and food, and lots of food. Cost is $20 per person to cover the cost of transportation. We will either carpool ($ will be given to driver to cover gas) or rent a bus, depending on the number of participants. We have to cap the number of participants at 40, so sign up early! We will have two cars available for those who are unable to ride the bus due to a handicap.  Sign up sheet and brochure is on The Life Center bulletin board in the Narthex. (next to big bulletin board) For more information: Contact Jeannine Van Nostrand at 703-981-1404.

St. Mark's Youth

Ministry Team September 16

Altar Flower Dedications

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.

Kristin's Message based on the lectionary of the week by Kristin Berkey Abbott .

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