The Lion's Pause

WE SEEK TO UNITE ALL PEOPLE WITH GOD AND EACH OTHER IN CHRIST THROUGH WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP, EDUCATION, AND SERVICE

For most of my childhood, I only had access to five television stations. We had the ABC, NBC, and CBS affiliates, one PBS station, and one independent station. Many of my friends who lived in town had cable, but we lived a mile outside of town, so it was not available to my family until I was in high school. For us, the news came on three times a day. Now, even without cable, I can still stream news 24 hours a day if I choose.

When various crises arise, there is a temptation to watch or listen to the news every free moment of the day. If I choose to do that, I notice my anxiety level increases. I begin to wonder what will happen next. What will I miss if I’m not watching? Maybe there will be some urgent message that I need to hear.

I have a friend who performed an experiment about a year ago. He started listening to the music he enjoyed during high school. A few weeks into the experiment he discovered that he was feeling depressed most of the time. He then switched to listening to mostly Christian music, with a scattering of movie soundtracks and classical music. Within a week he discovered that his mood had improved greatly.

At the end of the Epistle reading for last Sunday, Paul wrote, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

I do not mean to say that we should ignore the news or should only listen to Christian music. We may, however, benefit from monitoring what we feed our minds. Are we reading books that are uplifting? Do the movies or programs we watch have positive messages? It might be worth trying an experiment of changing what we are taking in to see what changes happen in how we think.

RJ+

Sunday, October 22

Holy Eucharist at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

New Member Class at 9 a.m.

Lessons

Bulletin

Live Stream

Monday, October 23

Knitting, 1 p.m.

Finance Committee Meeting, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, October 25

Evening Prayer, 4 p.m.

Zoom Bulletin

Lazarus Committee Update

Thank you to the Vestry, the Lazarus Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee for coordinating the renovation of the Columbarium floor. We have included a few photos, but if you have a moment, please take a visit to see it in person.

I would also like to thank the Vestry and the Lazarus Committee, especially Kathy Sloan and Katie Kuceyeski, for updating the documents for our End of Life Resources. I will elaborate on the benefits of these documents at an upcoming service, but please take a moment to review these resources if you have not already done so. We encourage parishioners of any age to take advantage of these resources. They are incredibly helpful to loved ones and for the church to assure that parishioners' funeral arrangements and other wishes are followed at the time of their passing. If you have additional questions about these documents, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or Fr. R.J.

Derek Gordon

Christmas is coming….and so is Thanksgiving! It is time to donate to Thanksgiving Baskets Downtown, led by our sister church, St. Paul’s, and A Community Christmas. Both organizations need our financial support and donations will be split between the two groups. No longer do we need to lug food to the church. Stark Fresh coupons are given for recipients to select their own food. A turkey or voucher is also given. As for A Community Christmas, I have requested that we adopt two families of four. You may wish to volunteer to shop for the gifts. Intake day for all gifts is Tuesday, December 5. Any extra money will be donated to A Community Christmas to assist in aiding families who are not selected for adoption this year.

Sue Little

The Diocese has continued to offer easy online giving. To use this, please select "St. Mark's Canton" from the dropdown, and choose either a one-time or recurring gift. We thank you for your continued support.

Designate a Gift to St. Mark's

NOTABLE - Bob Morrison

The Sunday School children sent me a host of hand-made cheery cards for my birthday! So nice, with drawings of organ pipes and keyboards. And the congregation also sent clever cards including one which said, "The sun is the sky; the lake is filled with trout; You were younger yesterday -- just thought I'd point that out!"

My gifted friend Kennard Voyles was annoyed at a Christmas service when I played the antiphonal trumpet high

in the back of St. Mark's sanctuary. Well, I don't want to annoy anyone with my playing, so, after Ken's comment, I've considered ways to make good use of a good thing. My mom said, "Use it or lose it." I've always had the notion that if something is available, it should, indeed, be used. So, if I see an organ stop marked "Trumpet," I feel I should use it. But how to do so without incurring congregational wrath?

Method 1: Never follow silence in the service with full organ. Instead, start softly, gradually build up the volume to nearly full, and only then add a trumpet.

Method 2: Post a warning in the bulletin or even a pastor's announcement: "Our organist today is playing Gigout's 'Grand Choir Dialog' and will be contrasting full antiphonal in the back with full organ in the front." Actually, this is exactly what happened with our beloved late priest "Dutch" Sloan, who adored this piece!

Lately, I played it on the organ I donated to Holy Trinity Lutheran in Massillon on September 24. It might be time to play it again at St. Mark's -- but I will give timely warning.

October Birthdays

1 Robert Morrison

4 Ivy Smith

8 Gail Sack-Wetherell

10 Fr. RJ

16 Pat Silagy-Wesson

18 Bobbi Gordon

21 Tom Burns

24 Becs Hostetter

October Anniversaries

1 Dave and Christy Thorley

5 Chuck and Karen Violand

16 Derek and Emily Gordon

*Please note: Your birthday/anniversary will only show up if you've completed your profile on Instant Church Directory.

Need to log in? Go here.

Prayer Concerns

Vonda Temelkoff, Henry Aegerter, Jim Weaver, Jane Schutrum & Ron Brookes

Family and Friends: Heidi Hoekstra (friend of Father RJ); Judy Pilessi and Johnny Willoughby (friend & grandson of the Willoughbys); Israel conflict & Heather Armington (request & friend of the Watters); Jane King; Paul Kit’s family (son of Maxine Kit); Lee, Theresa & Addelyn (friends of the Hixons); Bill Schumacher; Don Siegfried; Darin Hill (friend of Derek & Emily Gordon); Elaine Campbell (friend of the Turners); Sammy (friend of Leslie Redmon); Bob Rownd (friend of John Werren & Anne Coen); Judy Heisser-Turner (sister of Bert Heisser); Melanie & Trish (friends of Paulette Frech); Broden Burt (Son of Ben and grandson of Chris & Carol Burt); Pam Lagodich & Bill Allen (friends of the Mulls); Pat Walter & family (friend of Barb Whitehouse); Don Martin & Mark Osterhage (classmate & neighbor of the Watters); Alycia Geis (Karen Violand’s friend’s daughter); Michelle Graber (Bobbi Gordon family/friend); Janet Sheatzley-Morgan (sister of Barb Siegfried); DaNay Jackson (friend of Ron Brookes); Allison Cornell-Hood, Jody Serentsis & Anne Higgins (daughter & friends of Diane Cornell); Finnigan Savage (friend of Pam McCarthy); Gail (sister-in-law to the Rands); Lynnda Hoefler & Jimmy Little (friend & son of Sue Little); Yanette Pysher (Vonda Temelkoff’s cousin); Tony Donahue (friend of the Boyds); Marc Hostetler (brother of Susan Hostetler); and Baby David (acquaintance of the Nadels).

For those who have died.

Ron Hill

For those in the armed forces.

PRAYER CHAIN:

St. Mark's has a group of prayer warriors who pray for the specific needs of those on the prayer chain. If you would like to place yourself or a loved one on the prayer chain, please contact Bobbi Gordon at ggordon24@sbcglobal.net

Prayer requests may be placed on the private Prayer Chain or on the Prayer Concerns list appearing in The Lion's Pause and Sunday bulletin or in both places. Please let Bobbi know your preference. Unless otherwise instructed, names will be listed as we receive them. Please update Bobbi or Katie on the status of your friends or family members as to when they may be removed from the prayer lists.