January 20, 2019

Worship Schedule 8:30 AM English Worship Service 10:00 AM English Worship Service 11:05 AM Sunday School combined English/Spanish 12:00 PM Spanish Worship Service

Message from Pastor Triolo

Dear Friends in Christ, The government shutdown is already the longest in US history and there currently is no end in sight. I know this is growing more and more difficult for people. If you are directly effected by the shutdown, please let me know. I want to know how you are doing, pray for you, and know if there's any way your community of faith can assist you. + Pastor Albert Dwelling in the Word Bible Study will resume in February . Pastor Albert will be taking some time to finish and polish his thesis this month. We will begin 2 Corinthians if you want to read ahead.

You are invited!

J anuary 14, 2019 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, You recently received a message from several of us at St. Mark’s about our strong financial position going into 2019. This includes the complete payoff of the promissory notes we made to pay for our 1990s’ refurbishment. We give thanks to God for your generosity that has made this possible. We are going into 2019 debt free with great dreams of what God might have in store for our future. We are writing today to invite you to a celebratory event for the whole congregation on February 10 at 1:30 PM. We will celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord in a combined bilingual service at 11:00 AM and move to the Fellowship Hall for a 12:30 PM catered lunch. We will begin with a brief order of praise and thanksgiving followed by a ceremonial burning of the mortgage. This will be a fun way to fan the flame of faith as St. Paul has written. Once we have completed our lunch, Pastor Albert and Cheryl Dwyer will share with the congregation what your council has been up to and present a vision and strategies for the coming years. This presentation is a direct result of the work we did together as a congregation at last year’s spring town hall meetings. It revolves around three connections: with God, with each other, and with our neighbors. We are excited about the work we have done for the Gospel and expect you will be also. Humbly, yours in God’s service, Albert Triolo, Senior Pastor              Cheryl Dwyer, Council President

Announcements

Hypothermia Week January 27 – February 3, 2019 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! The Life Center at St. Mark’s

Contact Kay Graff for Hypothermia Volunteers. The evening volunteers come and talk with the guests, or maybe play a game. One goes into the movie room to watch movies with the guests. They are there to help the Facets coordinator in case there is a disruption or anything that needs to be taken care of....If they are musical and wish to play the piano that is great....Probably the most important trait is to be a good listener..... We also need movie DVD donations! Thank you! Contact Trudy Stellar for Hypothermia Food Donations.

If your New Year’s Resolution was to pray regularly, join us Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM in the narthex for prayer group. We’re small but committed, and we’d love to help you keep that resolution!   Contact: Jeannine Van Nostrand 703-981-1404 or dinzee7@gmail.com RIDES ARE AVAILABLE!

Dear St. Mark’s Family, I am pleased to report to you that I am now happily back in Cancun (especially after all the snow you had over this past weekend!). The cat and I had an uneventful trip and are now safely back in our home here. Many thanks for all of your support, concern, prayers and love given to me over the weeks I was in the US. I want to thank Pastor Triolo, again, for his Reformation Day sermon about HOPE. That really brought me through the rough days I experienced here, before returning to Virginia. And then to cross the threshold of St. Mark’s and instantly feel the love of the congregation was an experience I will never forget! God is definitely at work through St. Mark’s! Keep on doing what you do well—praying! I have often throughout my life announced that “I believe in the power of prayer. Prayer works!” I now believe that more strongly than ever. Thank you, St. Mark’s, for your prayers and love for me! With love for each of you, Jane Hernandez

Next Military Packages Collection: Sunday, January 27 Our recipients this month will be CDR Tara Hodge and her cohorts. Tara is the daughter of Judy Cole, who joined our church recently. Thank you so much, Judy, for telling us about your daughter’s deployment. Tara is a Naval officer, deployed on the USS Kearsage, which is an amphibious assault ship. She has not requested any specific items, so your usual wonderful, generous contributions will be great. Since this is the time of year we can send chocolates without them melting, if you have leftovers and want them out of your way and not a source of temptation, we will be happy to include them in boxes we send. You know you can place them in the military packages box in the narthex any time, or bring them any last-Sunday-of-the-month military packages collection. Thank you so very much for your continuing generous support of our deployed service members via this project.

STEPHEN MINISTRY WE’RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN Do you recognize that slogan? It was used by the United States Marine Corps for many advertising campaigns and recently I saw it on a church website. Now it seems fitting to borrow it to emphasize the need we have for men to serve as Stephen Ministers. Recent illnesses and moves affecting our Stephen Ministry team have left several openings for men. When an unexpected event happens—death of a loved one, chronic illness, or loss of job—initially there is a rush of support and visitors. Several weeks later that person may find himself alone, but the hurt and grief are still there. If you have gifts for encouragement and listening, please prayerfully consider becoming a Stephen Minister Training sessions to become a Stephen Minister are being offered through our Stephen Ministry network on Saturday mornings during February and March. Location has not been determined yet, but it will be at one of the local churches. For more information about the class or to find out more about becoming a Stephen Minister, contact Debbie Griffes at debgriffes@gmail.com or call 703-672-1904. To see what a difference you can make by becoming a Stephen Minister, view one or more testimonial videos found on the St. Mark’s Stephen Ministry web page link: http://www.stmarks-elca.org/stephen-ministry/

Dear Friends in Christ, Thanks be to God! As a result of the overwhelming generosity of St. Mark’s members, we ended 2018 with a surplus of over $33,000 . Total income for the year was approximately 2% higher than last year while total expenses remained essentially unchanged. Total giving for the year in regular envelope, seasonal, and loose offerings was about $22,000 above budget . All great news, but there’s more! In December, we redeemed the last mortgage promissory note for $50,000 and wrote off the final note “borrowed” from dedicated funds, leaving a debt balance of ZERO ! We are debt free! “Thank You” seems woefully inadequate considering the financial challenges we faced back in 2017, if you recall. As we neared the end of 2017, there was some question whether we would be able to fund staff COLAs, fully fund reserve accounts for the Youth Gathering, replace aging office technology or fund capital improvement needs. What a difference a year can make! You, the members of St. Mark’s, rose to the occasion and pulled us out of our financial hole. But even more importantly, that extraordinary generosity continued throughout 2018 and hopefully will extend into 2019 and beyond. There is so much important work that needs to be done for the Kingdom of God, and St. Mark’s remains in a great position to continue to make a difference! So “Thank You!” Yours in Christ, Albert Triolo, Senior Pastor; Cheryl Dwyer, Council President; Bob Akers, Chair, Stewardship Committee; and Ray Griswold, Chair, Finance Committee

2019 Flower Dedication Form

St. Mark's Youth Group

Ministry Team January 20

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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