Weekly Newsletter | January 19, 2021
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Join Us Online for Worship Every Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
We are happy to have people from all over the world worshipping with us online through the livestream on our Facebook page. If you miss any of our services, you can find them on our website and Facebook page.
Share prayer requests with us by sending them to prayers@smlutheran.org. If you would like us to include them in the Prayers of the Church during Sunday worship, please make note of that.
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Please Join Us Online for the Semi-Annual Meeting of our Congregation on Sunday, January 31, at 11:15 A.M. |
All members of St. Mark's are asked to attend this important meeting which will take place online via Zoom. Please sign up here to attend the meeting and we will send you a link to join.
We are asking every participant to sign-up ahead of time and to keep our leaders in prayer as they prepare to host this mission-driven gathering.
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Upcoming Memorial Services |
You are invited to join us ONLINE for the following Memorial Services which will be live-streamed on our St. Mark’s Facebook page at the times listed and also available to view in the Worship section of our St. Mark’s website.
Saturday, January 23, at 4:00 p.m.: Memorial Service for Bob Stivers
Saturday, February 6, at 10:00 a.m.: Memorial Service for Carolyn Patterson
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Interfaith Encounters Resume on January 26 |
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We are happy to announce that monthly Interfaith Encounters with members of Temple Beth El, the Islamic Center of Tacoma, St. Mark's Lutheran Church by The Narrows, and Bethany Presbyterian Church will resume this month with an online Zoom gathering on Tuesday, January 26, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. We will be discussing the Introduction and Chapter 1 of a book called “The Witness of Religion in an Age of Fear” by Michael Kinnamon. To sign up for this gathering, please click here and fill out the online form. A Zoom link for the gathering will be sent to you via email.
The book is available in Paperback and Kindle edition through sites like Amazon.
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Each Lent in the Home bag will include recipes and supplies for a fun Shrove Tuesday in your home, Lenten devotional materials for adults/parents and families of all ages, as well a couple more surprises. You are invited and encouraged to sign up ahead of time, by January 31. This will help make sure we have enough materials ready to go. However, if you forget you can just show up at one of the drive thru pick up events on Sunday, February 7 and February 14 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at church.
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Food and Hygiene Products Drive |
St. Mark’s will host a food and hygiene products drive to benefit Nourish Pierce County’s 23 food banks. You can drop off items in the upper parking lot on:
Saturday, February 6, from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. or
Sunday, February 7, from 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Please select standard sized items rather than bulk. The following items are most needed:
Food items-
Cooking oil
Cereals
Canned tuna
Peanut butter
Spices - salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, red pepper, cumin, lemon herb, oregano, paprika
Hygiene Items-
Toilet paper
Deodorant
Shampoo
Razors (bulk is ok)
Shaving cream
Soap (bars & liquid)
Sanitary napkins
Tampons (bulk is ok)
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Adult Faith Formation
Wednesday noon Bible study: On January 20, there will be no Bible study, as our rostered leaders will be attending the annual Bishop's Convocation. We hope you will study on your own! Bible study will pick back up on January 27.
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Wellness Wednesday podcast: special "Inauguration Day" prayer podcast. This week will focus on providing space for prayer as a continuation of our prayer vigil. The podcast will offer a meditation, scripture reading, and prayers for your use during this time and for the rest of the week. You can listen to the podcast after 8:30 a.m. by going to the website.
Congregational Care: These can be challenging times. If you would like someone to pray with you or need a little extra support St. Mark's care ministers are available to talk with you. Please contact Pastor Sigi if you would like to set up a virtual visit.
Support groups:
Caregiver support- Friday, January 22, at 10:30 a.m.
Grief support - Friday, January 29, at 10:00 a.m.
If you are interested in joining a support group contact Pastor Sigi for more information and Zoom link.
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Children, Youth, and Family Faith Formation |
Sunday Morning Opportunities for Children (Preschool-4th gr.) and Youth (5-12th gr.):
Weekly storytime for PreK/Kindergarten students continues as is-see weekly email to families for link to video. Or posted weekly here.
1-4th gr. through January-February
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Video and Story: Jan. 17 and 31, Feb. 14 and Feb. 28 in email to families Or posted bi-monthly here.
- Zoom class at 9 a.m.: Jan. 24, Feb. 7,and Feb. 21; see weekly email to families for Zoom link.
5-12 grades: Sundays at 11:00 a.m. Jan. 17, 24, Feb. 7 and 14.
NO class Jan. 31(Semi-annual meeting of the Congregation) also No Confirmation(7/8th gr.) Podcast this time around.
Wednesdays at St. Mark's:
- Middle School Youth Group 3-3:30 p.m.--this is a time to break in your day and check in with your St. Mark's Community--see email from Ingelaurie for Zoom link.
- Kids Choirs with Elizabeth Hirchl 5:30 p.m.--see email from Liz for Zoom link.
Thursdays: Youth Marimba's 7-8 p.m. --contact Jeff Brahe with any questions and space availability.
High School--"Bob Ross" Paint Event--Friday, January 29, 6:30-7:30 p.m. via Zoom. Sign up to reserve your paint supplies and snacks.
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This month everyone who made a financial contribution to St. Mark's will receive their annual statement for 2020. Actually, there will be two statements. One for calendar year 2020 (for tax purposes) and another for the first 6 months of our fiscal year…07/01/2020 to 12/31/2020.
First, Thank you for your continued generosity to St. Mark's and our many ongoing ministries. Because of your faithfulness we continue to balance our budget and enjoy strong financial health during this difficult pandemic year. Our Generosity of Abundance enable us maintain and actually grow our community. So, thank you very much.
Second, those of us who are over age 72 (no longer 70 ½) will receive our RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) if we have qualified savings like an IRA. One way to avoid paying the taxes on this money is to have it paid directly to a charitable organization such as St. Mark's. You can check with the financial organization that holds the asset to obtain the required paperwork. If you have questions let me know.
Again, thank you for your faithfulness.
Birger Nelson, Chairman Stewardship Committee
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Chase the Chill
We continue to collect items for Chase the Chill through these cold winter months. Useful items are hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and socks. We are also adding gently used clothing to the list to be given to Peace Lutheran Church to be distributed. Items can be delivered to St. Mark’s anytime before 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. Please place your items in a bag and leave it outside the office door near the fountain. If you have any questions or need to coordinate a different time for drop off, contact Teresa Handy at teresa.handy@smlutheran.org. Thanks!
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Moral Voices, Moral Choices |
The Peace and Justice Committee at St. Mark's invites us all to use our moral voices to advocate for justice and to make moral choices in our personal behavior.
A new era for immigrants will begin as President Biden has pledged to reverse many, if not all, of the policies and practices of the past four years. Look for opportunities to advocate on many of these changes which will include the following: allowing Dreamers to stay in the U.S.; the end of the construction of the new border wall; the end of the travel ban from Muslim-majority countries; a reversal of the number of people allowed as refugees currently set at 15,000 per year to 125,000; a reversal of restrictive asylum policies; and, the most difficult political task of all, passage of a new immigration bill to address the long-standing issues on immigration including the status of over 12 million undocumented people in the U.S. Here is an informative article on the range of issues.
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Antiracism Resources
Over the past few months, many members at St. Mark’s have been engaged in an urgent conversation about racial justice. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others have brought into focus the reality of systemic racism in our country and in our church. We have begun this journey through book studies, movie discussions, and extended conversation.
We all find ourselves in different places on this journey. Fortunately, there are abundant resources available to help us. St. Mark’s Peace and Justice committee hopes that you will look at the attached list and find some useful tools. We will be posting this on the church website soon, and we welcome new additions to the list.
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St. Mark's Lutheran Church by The Narrows
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