Update for the week of April 19 - 25, 2018
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Our Mission Statement

To Be and Make Disciples of  
Jesus Christ 

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Contact Information?
 
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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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send an email
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. 
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.
April 15, 2018

SAINT MARK FESTIVAL SUNDAY

Sunday 
Schedule 
 
10:30 am 
Saint Mark Festival Worship
in the Sanctuary 
with Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray 
 
12:00 noon
Saint Mark Festival UMW Luncheon 
Fundraiser

4:00 pm
Wings 'n Things

5:30 pm
In His Eyes 
 

Quick, easy and available HERE 

Join us every day at 3:20 pm to pray for Saint Mark - our people and ministries. 
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.
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.
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. 
Got Pictures? 
 
We are creating an archive of pictures taken at Saint Mark events and activities. If you have taken pictures and want to share them, please
click here and send them to us.

Or use our hashtag #stmarkumc and post your photos on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 
Interested in LGBTQ+ Inclusion?

Click here for more information. 
Prayer Focus for This Week  
 
Pray for our upcoming Saint Mark Festival, as we celebrate together, in one service, our "oneness" and unity as a Body of Jesus Christ.  Pray for Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray as she brings our message.  Pray for the Saint Mark UMW as they prepare our meal.  Pray for a special outpouring of God's Spirit on our celebrations! 
Submit Your Prayer R equests
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.
WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY  

Annual Saint Mark Festival 
THIS Sunday, April 22
ONE Combined Service at 10:30 am
Sanctuary

bringing the message 
Rev. Susan Leonard Ray
"We Are One"  
THERE WILL BE NO SUNDAY SCHOOL  
THIS WEEK!

Come celebrate with us!!! 


An exciting announcement, Moving Forward at Saint Mark, will be made during the Saint Mark Festival Worship Service THIS Sunday, April 22. You certainly won't want to miss it!  However if you can't be with us on Sunday morning, be on the look out for the announcement in your mailbox later next week.
THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARK 

Saint Mark Parents, Enjoy a
"Parents' Night Out"
 
(Sponsored by the Saint Mark
Child Development Center)
 
Friday, April 20
5:30 - 9:30 pm

For Children, infants up to 12 years old
Cost: $10 per hour for one child
$15 per hour for two children
You may pay by the hour.
 
Click here for more information or to make your reservation.

Help Us Beautify the Church Property 
This Saturday, April 21 
9 am
 
The mulch has already been delivered. Bring your wheel barrow, pitch fork, rake and work gloves this Saturday and help us to spread the mulch in our natural areas.  For more information,   click here to contact Joe James.

Are You 50+?
Hagood Mill
Music in the Mountains Series
  • If you are driving to Hagood Mill this Saturday, no reservation is needed. Meet the group at 10 am at the water-powered gristmill.  Once we get there and check in and say "hello," you are welcome to spend as much time you want to at Hagood Mills, unless you plan to join us for lunch (see below)
  • If you are riding the bus, meet at the church parking lot (across from the sanctuary) by 9:30 am.
  • There is still room on the bus, so click here to contact Marla Fuller if you would like to reserve a seat.  The cost will be $5 per person.
  • We will eat at Aunt Sue's Restaurant at 1:30 pm.  If you are riding the bus, you already have a lunch reservation and we will leave Hagood Mills at 1:00 pm.  If you are not riding the bus, but want to join us for lunch, click here to make your lunch reservation with Marla Fuller.

Saint Mark UMW Invites You to Bake
Kairos Cookies 
for Leath Correctional Institution 

The next Kairos weekend for the women at Leath Correctional Institution (in Greenwood) will be April 26 - 29. Would you be willing to bake cookies for this important and life-changing weekend?  Please bring your cookies and encouraging letters to the church office by this coming Monday, April 23.  Click here for special instructions about how to prepare and package the cookies. Thank you for caring!
LOOKING AHEAD

MENU 
Egg Casserole 
Pancakes 
Link and Patty Sausages 
Bacon 
Orange Juice 
Coffee (and other beverages)

COST 
Adults - $7 
Children under 12 - $3 
Children under 3 - FREE

There will be over 50 door prizes with 4 drawings throughout the morning! You don't have to be present to get your prize. Your ticket will be used for the drawing.

Proceeds from this fundraiser go to provide much needed glasses for children and adults. Each year, over the past six years, 100 pairs of glasses were given, first to children, then to adults.  Lions Club will generously tithe their proceeds back to Saint Mark.

For more information, click here to contact Dean Garland. 

An Opportunity to Serve
Wilderness Way Girls' Camp  
Thrift Store
Tuesday, May 1 and  Thursday, May 10
9 am - 12 noon

Save the dates for a new opportunity for active discipleship, right here in Seneca! We are planning to hold two work-days (actually half days!) at the Wilderness Way Girls' Camp School Thrift Store in Seneca. After serving on Tuesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 10 from 9 am - 12 noon, we will enjoy lunch together at a nearby restaurant.

We would like to get a team of 8-10 folks who will take on a variety of tasks from sorting clothing, to moving furniture, to dusting or tidying shelves, to testing appliances, all in an effort to help the store increase sales, which helps fund the wonderful programs at the Wilderness Way Girls' Camp School. You will hear more about the school and have an opportunity to sign up for one or both of the work days at the Saint Mark Festival Luncheon on Sunday, April 22nd. Training will be provided, and there are jobs available for men and women, young and old, in great shape or physically challenged!

Click here to contact Jane Harlin at if you have questions or if you just can't wait to sign up!

This very special service of worship will feature the Children's Choir, Wings for the Lord (youth), In His Eyes (youth), Saint Mark Ringers (bell choir), Celebration Worship Team, Gospel Choir and the Chancel Choir.   

Keep the Good Going, Pass it On

We committed ourselves to journey through the season of Lent, and we wore purple plastic bracelets around our wrists. These bracelets reminded us who we are and helped us to be connected as the people of Saint Mark. These bracelets urged us to do those things that point to God and to set aside those things that so easily distract. We committed to wear these bracelets for forty days, and now we have the opportunity to pass them on.

In worship on May 6, you will have the opportunity to give back your bracelet, we will bless them, and then we will send them to a congregation in South Africa where a friend of Pastor Shawna is serving as the Associate Pastor. They will distribute the bracelets to their people in their worship as reminders to them of their identity as beloved children of God, to live as disciples, and that despite living with an ocean between us we are connected as the body of Christ and committed to pray for one another.

Elderberries is sponsoring a 4-hour class to help you use your electronic devices more effectively.  Your facilitators will be our own Jim Redmond and Anna Baldwin.  Click here to register online.  If you have further questions, click here to contact Marla Fuller, or call her at the church office (864) 882-2603.  

The Saint Mark Elderberries (a ministry for seniors 50+) invites you to a community-wide workshop for family caregivers who have loved ones with dementia.  If you, or someone you know, is caring for someone with dementia, please make them aware of this event. 

Click here to register or to get more information.  
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS 


Pentecost and Confirmation Sunday 
Sunday, May 20
Contact: Donna Poston

Estate Planning Event 
Sunday, May 20
12:30 pm
Commons Room 
Contact: Ray Lanham

Graduate Sunday 
Sunday, May 27
Contact: Donna Poston   



Child Development Center
 Yard Sale 
June 15 and 16
Saint Mark Center
Contact: Becca Williams 
 
Wings for the Lord Choir Tour
June 16 - 23 
Contact: Donna Poston

Wings for the Lord 
Homecoming Concert 
Sunday, June 24
Sunday School at 9 am 
One Service at 10:00 am 
followed by a covered dish lunch
Contact: Donna Poston   

ELDERBERRIES EVENTS (FOR 50+)   

ARE YOU 50+?
Here are some Elderberries Events
that might interest you.  Save the date(s) on your calendar. 
   
Day Trip to Hagood Mill
Greater Clemson Music Festival  
and Pickens County Sesquicentennial
138 Hagood Mill Road 
Pickens, SC  29671 
Saturday, April 21
Click here for more information

Need Help With Your Electronic Devices? 
Saturday, May 19
10 - 2 pm (lunch included)

"A Walk in My Shoes" 
Virtual Alzheimer's Tour 
Thursday, June 7
6 pm
(Includes a light supper)

Square Dancing at Oconee State Park 
Friday, June 22
Supper at Puerto Nuevo Mexican
& Seafood Restaurant in West Union

6 pm
Square Dancing
8 - 10 pm

Tailgate at The Gorge 
Saturday, July 28
More details to come . . .

CHURCH AND SOCIETY  

"Much has been accomplished in terms of race relations in The United Methodist Church in the past 50 years, but many say there is always more work to be done."

The 
April 1968 merger that created The United Methodist Church not only birthed a new denomination, it abolished a painful part of Methodist history: The Central Jurisdiction, which segregated African-Americans from their Methodist brethren.

Click here to read the entire article. 
IN OUR COMMUNITY . . .  

Foothills Chorale Spring Concert 
Sunday, May 6 
3:00 pm 
Trinity Baptist Church in Seneca

The Foothills Chorale will present Franz Shubert's  Mass in G, Joseph Haydn's  Little Organ Mass, and other works for an exciting and diverse afternoon musical performance.

Click here to purchase your tickets online.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION   

A Set of Stoles for
Pastor Shawna

If you haven't already done so, it isn't too late to contribute toward the purchase of a set of four stoles for Pastor Shawna in recognition of the completion of her journey to Ordination as an Elder in Full Connection in the United Methodist Church at our annual conference the first week of June.

Click here to fill out a form to indicate the amount you will contribute.  We would like to receive your contribution by in the church office by no later than Monday, April 30.   


Celebrating the Ministry of
Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray 
 
Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray has faithfully served as our District Superintendent for the last eight years, and we at Saint Mark have been the beneficiaries of her God-given gifts and graces. She has been appointed to serve as pastor at Bethel UMC in Charleston, SC. She will be missed.

You have the opportunity to show your appreciation for her leadership and ministry by making a contribution toward a "love offering" that will be given to Rev. Leonard-Ray at a reception later in May. If you would like to contribute, please make your check out to "Saint Mark UMC" with "Leonard-Ray gift" in the "for" line, and drop it by the church office by no later than Tuesday, May 8.

The Saint Mark Library Team  
Is Looking  
for Short Term Volunteers 
 
Our Library Team is looking for a few volunteers to help on one or both of our Library Work Days, Tuesdays May 15 and 22 at 4:30 pm.  Some of the ways you can help include:
  • Sort donated books and check for suitability to put on the shelves
  • Check our donated books for duplicates
  • Correct some of our book labels
  • Glue card pockets inside of books
  • Stamp the card pockets

If you are interested in helping, click here to contact Marla Fuller. 


Welcome Our New Custodian
Rusty Summerville 
 
We are pleased to introduce our new custodian, Rusty Summerville. Originally from Texas, he now lives in the Utica community. His responsibilities are three-fold: 1) Church custodian, 2) Child Development Center custodian and 3) part-time maintenance for the Saint Mark Trustees.  Rusty has a quick wit, and is definitely a "people-person." When you see him around the building, please extend to him a warm Saint Mark welcome . . . and ask him about living on Wrong Road!  

To Stay in Touch . . . 
 
Holly Parrot will be moving to Georgia, now that her house has been sold.  If you would like to stay in touch with her, you may reach her at this address: 
Holly Parrott
4939 Highway 19 S
Zebulon, GA 30295

Please be in prayer for Holly and for her family as they discern the best living situation for her.

Epworth is OUR Ministry!

Did you know that in the last year Epworth Children's Home gave 184 children a safe and loving place to call home? Each of these children had this opportunity because people and church's like us embrace and provide for this wonderful ministry for the children and families in South Carolina. We will participate in the annual Mother's Day Offering on Sunday, May 13, 2018, to benefit the children who call Epworth home. Please be in prayerful consideration of what God is calling you to give to this valuable and life changing ministry.  Click here for more information about Epworth Children's Home.

UMC Abundant Health Initiative 

As United Methodists, we are committed to creating abundant health for all - a global connection striving for mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Lifesaving health ministries are enriching the lives of people around the world, from South America to Africa, from India to the Philippines and the U.S.

UMCOR Health Kits cost $12 each, so the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church needs your help to raise at total of $122,400 by Tuesday, May 15.  Click here to watch a short video about the initiative.

SAINTS IN SERVICE
HELPING YOU PLUG IN . . . 

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!    
 


Saint Mark United Methodist Church

616 Quincy Road
Seneca, South Carolina 29678-3820
mfuller@smumcsc.org

864-882-2603    

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors