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
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Message from Pastor Triolo
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
At this past Sunday’s Town Hall meeting, I presented an idea that I recently heard from our synod’s Director for Evangelical Mission, Pastor Phil Hirsch. He had picked it up from a presenter at a conference. It’s called the 70-30 rule. You’ve probably heard of the 80-20 rule, where 20% of the people do 80% of the work. This is different.
The presenter teaches the 70-30 rule to all new members of his congregation. He says something like, “You are going to love 70% of what we do here. The other 30% will give you the opportunity to practice Christian virtues of love and patience.” Another way to look at this same principle is that our 30% (that which we do not like) will be part of someone else’s 70% (that which they love).
I find this concept very helpful. I have been a member of six different congregations and worshipped in another three during my seminary years. In every one of those, there were things I absolutely loved about the church’s ministry; and, there were things that I found, at minimum, less than desirable.
St. Mark’s is a congregation with many cultural influences. We are quite different, even among those who speak the same language. What one person places a high value on, another might find meaningless for their own faith development. This is no different from our families, where even among siblings there might be very different appetites, a variety of preferred music, or ways of dressing. Nonetheless, it is one family and it finds ways of being together.
When it comes to St. Mark’s, what’s your 70%? What is most meaningful for your faith development? And, what are those areas that require your love and patience? Might you consider praying about those and for the people who are blessed by them?
Yours in the love of Christ,
Pastor Albert
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Dear St. Mark’s family,
Thank you for being with us as we grieve and rejoice Dick’s return to God. Each card, phone call, embrace, and expression of support has strengthened and carried us through these difficult days. Thanks to the WELCA for your generous hospitality to our family and friends at the memorial service and for your worship, singing Dick to heaven.
Much love, Nancy Hartman and family
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Has summer ended? Could we actually be talking about Thanksgiving already? Wow! Yes, we at ECHO have to start working on the holidays before the leaves even turn colors! We will appreciate your help in publicizing any of the ECHO needs and news below in your community.
Gratefully,
Jane Curtis
Community Relations Chair
ECHO’s big Fall Yard Sale will be held Saturday, October 27
th
from 8:00 AM until 12:00 NOON at St. Bernadette Catholic School Gym, 7600 Old Keene Mill Road. Toys, dishes, collectibles, small electronics, home decorations, and fashion accessories will fill the room. The quantity and quality will delight yard sale shoppers. Proceeds go to support ECHO (Ecumenical Community Helping Others.)
The Rolling Valley congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will conduct a food and personal care products drive for ECHO on October 13
th
as a part of this fall’s
Day to Serve
. Virginia’s Governor Northam has called on Virginians to commit to a day of serving one another, and this congregation has responded! The drive will take place at Cardinal Plaza Giant in Springfield and the Shoppers Food Warehouse in Burke, and will offer the public a chance to participate by donating food and hygiene items that will be distributed by ECHO to people in need in our community.
In addition to providing practical, basic-needs assistance, ECHO conducts a Holiday Meal Program to bring cheer to struggling people at Thanksgiving or Christmas. In order to do that, we seek help from groups or individuals to purchase and deliver either the actual groceries for a festive meal, or food store gift cards appropriate for family size, to one or more of over 300 local families. Find out more at
www.echo-inc.org
, under Donate/Holiday Programs, or send an email to
holidayfoodprograms@echo-inc.org
. The Program Coordinator can supply a list of suggested foods, guidelines for the value of gift cards based on family size, plus contact information for the family(ies) you wish to assist. It will be helpful to know by October 25
th
if you wish to provide a Thanksgiving meal, and by December 1
st
if you wish to provide one at Christmas.
ECHO currently needs personal care items such as shaving razors, deodorant, and shaving cream. When we don’t have donations of personal care products, we have to use ECHO funds to purchase them because people who are having a hard time financially also need the hygiene products that everyone needs. Topping the list of food needs this month are boxed potato products, muffin mix, vegetable oil and bags of rice. Also, ECHO is grateful to get donations of desktop and laptop computers. Donors can rest assured that ECHO uses the best security methods to erase the hard drives of donated computers before troubleshooting them and loading free software for our clients. Because several volunteers have moved away from our area, or changed to different jobs at ECHO, volunteers are needed for all kinds of jobs—clothing, housewares, counselors, and office assistants—and especially in the food pantry on Friday mornings. If you have one or two mornings or evenings a month to spare for helping in a large, cheerful community service effort, please see
www.echo-inc.org/volunteer
to find out how to join.
Food Drives
October - First Baptist Springfield, St. Mark’s Lutheran, Sydenstricker Methodist
November - Boy Scout Drive: Scouting for Food
Upcoming Dates to Note
October 8 - Closed for Columbus Day
October 13 - Saturday opening
October 13 - Day to Serve Food Drive Cardinal Plaza Giant, Shoppers in Burke
October 15 - Exec Committee meets at ECHO, 7:30
October 27 - ECHO Fall Yard Sale, St. Bernadette Gym, 8:00 am to noon
November 3 - Saturday opening
November 10 - Boy Scout Food Drive
November 18 - Burke Fairfax CROP Walk
November 18 - Thanksgiving Meal grocery distribution deadline
November 21 - Closed for evening hours only
November 22-25 Closed for Thanksgiving
For more information about ECHO on the following topics, please click the links to our website:
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Have you ever thought about making a legacy gift to St. Mark's? A legacy gift to St. Mark's is a planned future donation, given through your will or other form of beneficiary designation (life insurance, IRA, or trust document). It can be in whatever amount you designate and can take any number of forms, which are described in greater detail in the two-page tri-fold pamphlet at the link below. There are many benefits of Legacy Giving to St. Mark's, benefits such as showing your love for God and your neighbor, changing the world for the Kingdom of God, supporting missions and programs that have been important to you over your lifetime, improving your life satisfaction, and reducing your tax burden. Your gifts can make a real difference! It's truly a win-win for everybody! Want to know more? Go to St. Mark’s website at
http://www.stmarks-elca.org/legacy-giving/
or contact Cindy Hausch-Booth at
cindyhauschbooth@hotmail.com
.
Caroline Furnace needs our help!
Caroline Furnace has an industrial style sewage treatment plant that requires major maintenance. The plant handles the sewage for the entire main portion of the camp including the cabins, Sukkahs, dining hall, showers and bathrooms, and the primary meeting facility – the Upper Room. The cost is $40,000 and the work will take three (3) months to complete. This past summer the camp was used by almost 300 youth for various themed summer camps. If the treatment plant were to fail next summer, the camp could not function.
The Caroline Furnace Board would like to start the repair work this month (October) when camp use is low. Board members are reaching out to Caroline Furnace congregations as well as to individuals in an effort to raise the much-needed $40,000.
Can you help?
Our goal is to contribute
$5,000
from St. Mark’s. Your check made out to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church designated for Caroline Furnace will help ensure that St. Mark’s youth and youth throughout the Synod have a camp for next summer and beyond.
Counters Needed
. We have a shortage of Counters at St. Mark’s and are looking for a few good men and women to volunteer their services. The job is pretty easy (accurately count and record offerings), the hours are convenient (about an hour-and-a-half on your scheduled Sunday), and you serve once every six weeks. Plus, the camaraderie is second to none! There are six teams each with three or four members. If interested, please contact Ellie Schwarze at
eeschwarze1@verizon.net
or (703) 354-8896.
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Youth Group and Confirmation on Sunday October 7
th
Columbus Day Weekend
Connection Time with Highs and Lows for the Week, Fellowship Time with Food, Game and Prayer
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Left to Right: Allison Hernandez-Carderas, Oriana Avila, Nayla Avila, Julia Bogstad, Anthony Ruiz, Brian Mendez, Anna Stock, Joy Weekly, Bonnie Vigil, Maureen Murphy, Joseph Triolo, Kara Barnes, Albert Triolo, David Mendez, Chris Aguilar, Raiden Westerburg, and Yovani. Not Pictured: Stephanie Ogle (taking picture), Erland Herfindahl, Nils Herfindahl and Ove Herfindahl (had to leave a little early for sports).
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Life Center Seniors Trip
Join us on a trip to the Graves Mountain Apple Festival!
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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.
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Holiday Bazaar—It’s Coming Soon!
Believe it or not, St. Mark's Holiday Bazaar is only a month away on November 4
th
.
Because the Bazaar Crafters group has shrunk down to three people, we will be depending on donations from the congregation much more than in the past.
Soooo, get your creative juices flowing, cooking, making gift baskets, offering gift certificates for flower arrangements ... whatever you'd like to share. Use this opportunity to donate your no-longer-needed treasures to Grandma's Attic or books to the Dime (or more) Novel Table. If you have ideas for offering something new, please let us know ... soon!
As usual, we will need set-up help on Saturday, November 3, beginning at 1:00 PM, people to work at the Bazaar from 9:00 AM to 12:00 AM, and clean-up help beginning at noon on Sunday.
Thank you in advance from the crafters, but most importantly, a big THANK YOU from those who will benefit from the Bazaar proceeds via St. Mark's Outreach Ministries.
Questions ... suggestions ... contact Mary Anderson, Beverly Clemsen, or Mary Eskelund.
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Save the Date
Winter Property Cleanup, December 8, 2018
Connect with members and friends of St. Mark's to help with the winter cleanup of our church property (church, Friendship House, parsonage) on December 8, 2018, between 8:00 AM and NOON. If you have them, bring your truck, gloves, rakes, leaf blowers, ear plugs, tarps (to haul leaves), loppers, wheel barrows, elbow grease, and enthusiasm. Extra tools will be available if you don't have them.
A leaf vacuum
truck will begin taking up the leaves around 9:00 AM, so come as early as possible to
get the leaves ready for the truck
. Please contact Alan Eck at 703-569-0814 or
FranAlanEck@msn.com
with questions or requests. This is a great way for Civics students and people required to do Community work to earn service hours. Make this a family affair.
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SAVE THE DATE
Hypothermia at St. Marks
January 27 - February 2, 2019
Thanks so much!
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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.
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Article Deadline
We need YOUR help! In order that ALL OF US receive the necessary documents for This Week, The Messenger, and the website, please send all articles you wish to have published
no later than 5:00 PM on the Tuesday
before the Sunday you wish for the articles to appear. Send those articles to
communications@stmarks-elca.org
.
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