For your thought:

"This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict."

--Luke 21:13-15



Study this Sunday's Readings.

CDC Guidelines show that local COVID levels are yellow/moderate; therefore masks are strongly encouraged indoors. 

Important dates:

• Thursday, November 24 at 11:00 a.m. - Midweek Eucharist is still happening on Thanksgiving Day.
• Saturday, November 26 from 10-2 - Gathering of the Greens - more info coming soon!
• Sunday, November 27 at 10:45 a.m. - Advent 1 Greens Event - more info coming soon!
• Sunday, December 11th at 4:00 p.m. - Parish-wide holiday concert outing to see Santa Fe Desert Chorale at Immanuel Presbyterian Church

Useful links:

• Fill out a form to volunteer, donate altar flowers, fill out a new member/visitor form, and more!
• Access and/or edit your Member Directory information.
• Access previous sermons.
• To check CDC COVID-19 Risk for Bernalillo County, click here.

Half of our Households Have Pledged; We're Halfway There!

If you have not yet had a chance to join with the whole community of St. Mark’s in making your own financial commitment, please take a moment to complete your pledge this week. Pledge Cards are available in the church office, on the welcome table in the narthex, or online https://www.stmarksabq.org/give.Together we are Rising to the Challenge, Reconnecting with Joy and Reaching out with Love.

Gathering of the Greens

Saturday, November 26th, at Heather Gaume's Mountain Retreat, from 10-2. Everyone is invited to our annual Green Gathering Get-Together. We will work together to collect greens required for assembling Advent Wreaths on Sunday, November 27th, just after worship. There will also be a fellowship potluck lunch with plenty of wide-open spaces for our young people to explore. All ages are welcome.

Please RSVP to Heather via email.

Click here for instructions on how to get Heather's place (please note that if you plug in her address into Google Maps, you'll wind up in Rio Rancho...wrong way!).

Important note regarding weather: If there is snow on Forest Road 333, you will need 4-wheel drive to make to the Piedra Lisa parking lot where Heather will come and pick up folks. If there is more than 3 inches of snow, we will cancel. There will be an email sent Friday evening to the parish if we cancel this event, so please watch your inbox.

The Return of the Common Cup for Communion at St. Mark’s

St. Mark’s will once again offer a Common Cup for the distribution of sacramental wine at two floor stations. We will continue to offer individual cups of wine at communion stations at the back of the nave as an alternative way of receiving sacramental wine. If you wish to receive wine from the common cup, please approach the chalice bearer directly after receiving the bread, and gently help guide the chalice to your mouth. Intinction (dipping of bread or wafer into the wine) is not permitted at this time for several significant health concerns.

A reminder: In the Episcopal Church communion in one kind, bread alone, is considered full communion.  There are many reasons people may not desire to receive the wine and all are respected. If you wish to hear the words of administration for the wine but do not wish to receive, please approach the cup with your arms across your chest and the words will be said over you but no wine administered.

Another note: when receiving the bread, we have both regular wafers and gluten-free wafers available upon request. If you want to receive a wafer instead of the yeast bread please say, "wafer." If you need a gluten-free wafer please say, "gluten free.”

Thank you for your patience as we continue to adapt to this new reality of worship in the COVID era. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to share them with one of our clergy.

Advent Wreath Frames Needed

Please bring Advent wreath frames to the church to be used for the Advent Event on November 27th. There is a shortage of new frames in town. If you have some hanging around from past Advents, please return them to the collection box in the narthex. Thank you.

Thanksgiving Food Collection for Crossroads for Women

Bring items to the narthex, or monetary donations to the church, to help Crossroads for Women, an organization whose goal is to provide comprehensive, integrated services to empower women emerging from incarceration to achieve safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives in the community, for themselves and their children. All donations are due by Sunday, November 13th.

Help FaithWorks Bring Joy to Asylum Seeker Children for the Holidays 

ABQ FaithWorks is gearing up for our 2022 Holiday Party for Asylum Seekers living in Albuquerque and YOU can help ensure that each and every child has a gift for the holidays. For as little as $25 you can sponsor a child and help bring joy and happiness to them as they and their family struggle for a better life here in the USA. Giving is as simple as mailing a check to ABQ FaithWorks, Attn: Christmas Party, PO Box 40482 ABQ NM 87196 or by going online to our website and donating via givelify. Please help us make this holiday as special for our newest neighbors as it is for you and your loved ones.     

Parish Group Outing: Holiday Concert

You are invited to join in a parish group outing to attend a holiday concert of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. If you have never heard the Desert Chorale, they are one of the most accomplished choirs in the United States. The group will present Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols," a classic of Christmas music. We will sit together at the concert and then optionally go together for dinner at a tasty restaurant on Central. The concert will be Sunday, December 11th at 4:00 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, just south of Carlisle and Central in Albuquerque. The tickets will be available at a discounted rate of $35/person. To reserve a ticket please contact Taylor Spence via email here. Please reserve by Sunday, November 20th. Ticket subsidies are available. Please contact Jeremy Wirths via email or Taylor Spence (via email) with any questions.  

A Call to Artists

This is a Call to Artists for our next gallery show here at St. Mark’s.

The title of this show is Small Works. All media are accepted and the maximum size limit is 12 x 12, including framing.

Please contact Audrey Minard via email for a prospectus form.

Thank you and feel free to share this information.

Thanksgiving Weekend: Pilgrimage in Place

A self-designed offering of gratitude

November 25-27, 2022

Register: pilgrimageforunity.org

Share gratitude as a pilgrim: Walk, Pray, Give Thanks

11/25-27 Self Designed Pilgrimage

Include others or walk alone; walk 1, 2, or 3 days; shorter or longer distances; consider walking with friends from other faith communities; seek blessings of unity

11/25 Pilgrimage Zoom Blessing Service, 8AM MT

• 11/27 Pilgrimage Zoom Closing, 6pm MT

LGBTQ+ Holy Eucharist & Potluck Dinner

Download a printable flyer here.

Diocese of the Rio Grande Convention

Bishop Hunn is inviting our entire Diocesan Family to Diocesan Convention this year: clergy and lay delegates, volunteers but also families including our youth and young adults. All are encouraged to attend!

Everyone is welcome to:

• Opening Eucharist (Friday, November 11 - 6:00pm) - Children and families are welcome!!
• Diocesan Choir (all comers are welcome! - practice at 4:30pm on Friday) 
• Bishop's Report (Friday, November 11 - 3:00pm)
• Keynote Speaker - the Rev'd Harry L. Atkins, Jr. (Saturday, November 12 - 9:00am)
• Workshops - (Saturday, November 12 - 10:00am)
• Borderland Ministries Learning Session
• Children's Ministry Learning Session (for children, and adults too!) 
• Ultimate Acolyte Pedagogy
• Working the CPG

More information can be found on the DRG website: 

Convention — The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande