April 14, 2019

Worship Schedule 8:30 AM English Worship Service 9:46 AM The 9:46 Crowd (Adult Forum) 10:00 AM English Worship Service 11:05 AM Sunday School combined English/Spanish 11:06 AM The 11:06 Crowd (Adult Forum) 12:00 PM Spanish Worship Service

A message from Pastor Triolo

Dear Friends in God’s Love, Rodney Pendleton shared a great devotional at the April church council meeting. It was based on Mark 2 where four men peel back a roof and lower their friend on a mat to the room where Jesus was. The story is about the faith of the friends and their persevering to get their friend through the crowds and to Jesus. Rodent brilliantly tied the story to our spring congregational meeting where we heard story after story after story from the many caring ministries of St. Mark’s. He explained that the people of St. Mark’s are the friends on the rope. We are the ones caring for our friends and for one another. This is precisely the message I took away from our spring meeting. We are a community of care for one another AND for the hundreds and even thousands with whom our members are in relationship. The many caring ministries of St. Mark’s are resources for us as we care for our friends, families, neighbors, coworkers, or classmates. When someone you know can use some extra support or a little extra tender loving care, you have a community of faith that will support and assist you. St. Mark’s, through its dedicated friends of Jesus, provide tangible signs of God’s love through quilts, pillows, flowers, cards, care packages, casseroles (we forgot to mention these on Sunday!), visits, calls, and other means. We are a community of faith who accompany each other and those around us. We are the friends holding the proverbial rope, bringing those we love into the presence of Jesus. God has so richly blessed us at St. Mark’s. It is a joy to partner with you in loving and serving our neighbors in so many ways. You embody God’s love for all to see. I thank God for you, St Mark’s. God loves you and so do I, + Pastor Albert= To help us share St. Mark’s many blessings with our friends, families, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates, St. Mark’s is forming a New Connections team. This team will help us make new connections within our communities and show us ways to use our existing connections to connect people with St. Mark’s. Our goal is to partner with as many people as possible in the work God is already doing to bring hope and healing to the world If you might consider joining this team, please contact me, Pastor Albert, at atriolo@stmarks-elca.org . I would love to have a conversation with you about it!

Announcements

Holy Week begins on Sunday, April 14: Palm-Passion Sunday services are at our regular worship times: 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM, English and  12:00 NOON, Spanish. Holy Wednesday Prayer Service in Spanish is at 7:00 PM with soup to follow.  Holy Thursday services in English are at 10:30 AM (soup to follow) and 7:30 PM.  Good Friday services in English are at 12:00 NOON and 7:30 PM; Spanish Service is at 6:30 PM. Choral Presentations for Holy Week and Easter April 17, Maundy Thursday, 7:30 PM   We contemplate Christ’s mandate to love one another through foot washing and communion with meditative music. April 18, Good Friday, 7:30 PM   We reflect on the crucifixion of Christ through a moving choral presentation, The Seven Last Words of Christ by Theodore Dubois, presented by the Chancel Choir and soloists. April 21, Easter Sunday, 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM   We celebrate His Glorious resurrection with Hand Bells, choir anthems, “I Know that My Redeemer Liveth” from Messiah, and an instrumental ensemble. The service will conclude with the singing of the majestic “Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah by congregation and choir.

6:30 AM, in Spanish 8:30 AM, in English 10:30 AM, in English (note the time change) There will be two potluck breakfasts – one between the 6:30 AM and 8:30 AM services and the second between the 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM service. Bring your favorite breakfast item and join us for either potluck breakfast between our Easter Services!

Help Wanted! The nursery is in need of several volunteers to assist Tiffany. Vacancies exist for both 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM services. Volunteers are scheduled for the service your choice. We welcome all adults and high school teens. To volunteer, call or e-mail Fran Eck at 703-569-0814 or  franalaneck@msn.com.

St. Mark’s stands on a strong financial foundation at the close of the first quarter of 2019. As of the end of March, the church had received $171,500 in income from all sources and spent $193,500. The difference between income received and expenses paid is somewhat higher than expected at this point in the year but easily managed with the congregation’s continued support

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! The Senior Luncheon is only a few weeks away (May 22 nd ) and we need a few volunteers. You do not need to be a Senior to help! We need 12 host/hostess, one for each table, who would decorate that table and would be sure our guests from the community are welcomed. We also need 3 people to make a Caesar Salad and 3 people to make a fruit Salad. (Entrees will be catered by Noodles and Co.) If you’d like to help, please contact Jeannine Van Nostrand, 703-981-1404 or dinzee7@gmail.com .

You can help us help Lynbrook school. Do you know for each Coke bottle lid, the school gets $.05 and for a 12 pack case they get $.15? Don’t forget to bring in those coke lids!

St. Mark's Youth Group

THANK YOU To all who supported our Youth Ministry Dinner Fundraiser at our Congregational Meeting on 4-7-2019, we raised $661 towards our next ELCA Youth Gathering! 😊

MOPS April Meeting At MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers & Beyond), our lesson covered “Why Worry.” In a world riddled with fear and anxiety , we can more often than not allow this to be a habitual thought pattern in our own lives, but submitting our thoughts to God’s sovereignty can change our fears and anxieties to peace and trusting that God has provided and that God will continue to provide. Worry can rob us of valuable time with our family, so we talked about ways we can refocus ourselves so we can be light to those we love. To God be the Glory. Amen!  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry (be anxious) about your life …” – Matthew 6:25 Our craft for the evening was Bird Basket Necklace Pendants, with beads that matched our kids’ birthday stones. We had a smaller group than normal this month with Spring activities starting up and some abnormal conflicts, but we’re thankful for technology where we can still contact throughout the month via a text group to support and uplift each other!

Ministry Team April 14

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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