5:00-5:30 p.m. Little Angels Choir (Preschool-K)

5:30-6:00 p.m. Joyful Noise Choir (Grades 1-2)

6:00-6:45 p.m. Jubilation Choir (Grades 3-5)

6:00 p.m. Praise Team Rehearsal

6:15-7:20 p.m. Midweek Renewal 

6:15-6:45 p.m. Holy Moly

7:30-8:00 p.m. Evensong

St. Mark's Preschool Director Opening

St. Mark's Preschool has enjoyed a history of excellent leadership over the years, and is ready for a new chapter to begin! If you have a background in Early Childhood education (or equivalent experience), are a member of St. Mark's (or excited to become one), and administrative experience, we invite you to consider this position. Click to access the Job Description and Application Process,  or you can find the documents in the Church Office. If you have questions about the position, please contact Pastor Shjerven ( [email protected]) or Preschool Board Chair Julie Milasich ( [email protected]).

Wanted: Lunch Buddies for DeLong Elementary!

 

YOU can make a difference in the life of a child! The social worker at DeLong Elementary School has asked St. Mark's to provide more Lunch Buddies for this school year. Each adult is matched with 2 fourth grade students who teachers have identified as needing the gift of time from a caring adult. You choose if you prefer to have girls or boys.

Volunteer chooses Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. DeLong Elementary is near South 12th and Orchard Street.

Eat lunch with Buddy at 12:40 and spend recess time together until 1:30. The relationship is limited to this time at the school and volunteers must pass a Volunteer Background Check with the Tacoma School District.  

About one hour each week seems "tiny." I asked the social worker if she thought it really made a difference to the students. "Yes! You probably don't "see" the influence you have, but the teachers keep asking if there can be more Lunch Buddies."

You may be thinking that a school year is a large commitment. And it is. However, every Lunch Buddy for the past 5 years has missed some weeks because of travel. They just let the teacher and students know in advance.

Consider this opportunity.  I will have a table at church on Sunday, October 28, and will answer questions.

Mary Olsen,  [email protected],  253-752-2844.

• $110,056 in principal sent to our mortgage lender to immediately reduce the interest portion of our monthly mortgage payments. Funded by our Blessing in Abundance capital campaign.
• $30,221 for new carpet and tile in the sanctuary. Funded entirely by undesignated bequest funds.
• $19,720 for patching, sealing, and striping of all our parking lots. Funded by undesignated bequest funds dedicated to our long-term maintenance program.
• $15,497 for exterior painting/maintenance of office and music wings. Funded through General Ministry Fund budget (offerings) dedicated to our long-term maintenance program.
• $13,882 for a new A/V system in the Parish Commons Classroom. Funded by $5K private designated gift and $8,882 undesignated bequest.
• $7,511 hearing loop system installed in the sanctuary. Funded by $5K private designated gift and $2,511 undesignated bequest.
• $2,909 for secondary screen/TV in the back of the sanctuary. Funded entirely by a private designated gift.

Habitat for Humanity Team Returns from Vietnam

Sixteen members of the Vietnam Habitat for Humanity Team arrived in Hanoi on October 5, 2018, to work for one week (October 8-12, 2018) building the entire four exterior walls and one interior wall of two houses for two different Vietnamese families. This was a Thrivent Builds Worldwide Team with Habitat for Humanity in Hoa Binh, Vietnam, northwest of Hanoi. In this part of Vietnam, clean, affordable housing can be difficult to find. In partnering with Habitat for Humanity Vietnam, we helped to bring strength, stability, and independence to the two families by helping to provide them with a decent place to live.

 

Our group of sixteen was divided into two teams of eight; with each team working on a different house. A major portion of our work was laying bricks and mixing mortar as directed by the Vietnam Habitat affiliate's professional construction leaders, our masons. Family members at both work sites participated fully with the respective team in the building of each of the houses.   

 

We stayed in a hotel about an hour's bus ride from the work site. Our schedule included breakfast and devotions each morning prior to boarding the bus to the work site at 7:30 a.m. On Monday morning, we first met at the office of the Vietnam Habitat Affiliate for a safety briefing and an opportunity to meet the members of the affiliate and the government, who would be supporting our build. Our daily schedule included working from 8:30-11:30 a.m. with a break for lunch until 1:15 p.m. This gave us time to eat, refresh, and shield ourselves from the hot weather before returning to the work site to continue mixing mortar and laying bricks until around 4:30 p.m. We returned each evening to our hotel for dinner and evening reflections to process the events of our day. During our reflections, we often talked about the enjoyment of building relationships with the family members who would occupy the new homes. Building relationships with family members would provide memories for both the families and ourselves that would long outlast our time in Vietnam.

 

On Friday we completed our work by noon. After lunch, both teams were able to attend the dedication of each of the respective houses. The families provided fruit and snacks for all to enjoy. The children played with toy cars, blew bubbles, and played with balloons. With both joy and sadness, we said our good-byes, knowing that we had made a positive and lasting difference in the lives of each of the families!

 

Time for touring and some fun!

 

Vietnam is a country of breathtaking natural beauty with a unique heritage where travel is fascinating. Our team of sixteen made the decision to spend six additional days touring areas in and around Hanoi prior to our return home. This included time in Hanoi to visit several sites in the city, including the Museum of Ethnology. Vietnam consists of 54 different ethnic groups. We attended a water puppet show in a theater in Hanoi. We learned that water puppetry was first developed by farmers in northern Vietnam, who manipulated wooden puppets and used rice paddies as a stage. We had time in Hanoi to walk around a lake near our hotel, visit various sites, such as, the Hanoi Hilton, the Temple of Literature, the Vietnamese Women's Museum, as well as other sites. 

 

We spent three nights in the Amazing Sapa Hotel in the beautiful Sapa District. We were able to go trekking among lush green hills with cascading rice terraces and tiny hill-tribe villages on two guided hikes. By bus, we traveled over the Tram Ton Pass, Vietnam's highest pass, to a fascinating village of Coc Ly for the Tuesday market near the Chinese border. We viewed the pedestrian bridge to China from the Vietnamese side at Lo Cai.    

 

Our final adventure included an overnight boat trip to Halong Bay, among more than 2000 limestone karsts and islands of various shapes and sizes. Here we were able to kayak or ride in small bamboo boats to the small fishing village of Vong Vieng. On the boat that evening, we attended a cooking class, learning to make fresh spring rolls. We enjoyed the diversity of Vietnamese cooking throughout our time in Vietnam. The following morning, the group visited the Thien Canh Son Cave before returning to Hanoi.  

 

We owe a great deal of appreciation to our leaders, Gary and Linda Petersen, who were thoughtful in the detailed way in which they planned such a fulfilling, productive, and thoroughly enjoyable adventure!

 

The Habitat Team, led by Gary and Linda Petersen, included Ana Casillas-Brownson, Andy Casillas, Steve Cox, Barb Haueisen, Don Haueisen, Gordon Henry, Melissa Henry, Dang Nguyen, Carol Petersen, Gary Petersen, Glenn Petersen, Linda Petersen, Elizabeth Skarshaug, Bruce Wilcox, Linda Wilson, Victor Wilson.

Submitted by Elizabeth Skarshaug