In the psalm all the natural world praises God, including all humanity, male and female, young and old. The voices of Simeon and 84-year-old Anna join the chorus today, recognizing what God is doing in Jesus. Simeon’s song is often sung after communion, for we have seen God’s salvation in the assembled community and have held Jesus in our hands in the bread. Then, like the prophet Anna, we speak of Jesus to all who look for the healing of the world.

THIS SUNDAY AT ST. MARK'S

9:00 am - Holy Eucharist Worship Service - Sanctuary
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service - Sanctuary
12:15 pm - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM OUR SISTER PARISH IN EL SALVADOR, CORDERO DE DIOS
Members of Cordero de Dios send St Mark’s Christmas greetings and blessings. They wrote wishes and hope for us on little blue cards and sent these notes with the El Salvador travelers to share with the people of St Mark’s. These messages are now hanging as ornaments on the small tree in Heritage Hall, sharing with us their expressions of gratitude for our relationship and wishes for peace and love.

INSTALLATION FOR PR. CHRISTIAN JENNERT, JANUARY 7 AT 7 4:00PM
Pr. Christian has been called to serve as Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Oakland.

The St. Mark’s community is invited to attend the Installation Service at St. Paul on January 7 at 4:00 pm. Location: 1658 Excelsior Drive in Oakland.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS GIVING IN 2017
Your financial gifts and commitments to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church enabled us to serve:

Hungry families through the Food Pantry
Homeless men through the Winter Interfaith Shelter
Guests and visitors in worship through music, liturgy, preaching, and hospitality
Seniors needing community through our monthly luncheons and field trips
Children learning about God’s love through caring Sunday School teachers
And many more . . .

We invite you to give a year-end gift to St. Mark’s to ensure that we finish the year in healthy financial shape. Please complete your 2017 financial commitment if you have not already done so. Due to our many ministries and responding to the needs in our community, our expenses have been running ahead of income. We are depending on year-end gifts and members completing their 2017 financial commitments in order to close this gap.

Thank you for your generous giving, participation in our ministries, and presence in the St. Mark’s community.

In gratitude for you,

The Stewardship Team

A NOTE REGARDING YOUR END OF YEAR GIVING
As the end of the year approaches, we thought this might be a good time to review IRS rules regarding end of year donations.

Checks must be dated within the current year AND the envelope the donation is mailed in must be postmarked no later than December 31, 2017 to be counted as a 2017 donation.
Credit and Debit Card donations must be marked with a December 31, 2017 processing date to be considered eligible for a 2017 tax deduction.

If you plan on making a Stock Donation in 2017, please contact us at the St. Mark’s Accounting email (accounting@stmarks-sf.org).

Thank you for your generous and continued support of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. All gifts are welcome!

JOURNEYS IN FAITH SCHEDULE
The Journeys in Faith group will take a break for Christmas. There will be no Sunday gathering on December 31. The Journeys in Faith gatherings will resume on January 7, 2018. All are welcome.

ATTENTION KNITTERS
When you have finished all your Christmas knitting, we need 30 more scarves for our guests at the shelter by the end of January. If you need yarn, Marge can bring out the “Yarn Closet on Wheels” from its hiding place.

THANK YOU TO ST. MARK'S VOLUNTEERS
The staff of St. Mark’s expresses our deep appreciation for all volunteers who helped prepare for our Christmas services and activities. We are grateful for each one of you - whether you served “behind the scenes” or in the middle of the liturgical action. Thank you for your presence and participation in our worship services, activities, and ministries.

Warmly, Pr. Elizabeth and staff

SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Sunday School will not meet today. We will resume on January 7 with a Big Group.

We will be making “Stockings for the Homeless”. Please bring donations to fill the socks anytime over the next few weeks. We will be collecting them at Sunday School. We need items such as: toiletries, granola bars, toothbrushes and floss, antibacterial soap, breath mints or what ever you think the men in the shelter would appreciate, that would fit into a pair of socks.

HELP NEEDED NEXT SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, TO TAKE DOWN THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
It is time to remove the Christmas trees and decorations for another year. Please consider volunteering time and energy immediately following the 11:00 service toward these projects. Thanks for your help.

TO ALL “SMOP” (ST. MARK’S OUR PLANET) PARTICIPANTS!
Start the new year enjoying the outdoors with your St. Mark’s community. We will explore the Presidio of San Francisco including the Batteries to Bluffs Trail. Enjoy the native habitat along the trails and magnificent views. We’ll break for a snack. On this Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, we will have the opportunity to remember our own baptism with waters of the mighty Pacific. The hike will be approximately 2 miles long and have 400 feet of elevation gain and loss.

We will meet in front of the Church, upper parking lot, at 12:45 on Sunday January 7 to arrange car pools. For more information, please contact Andrew Sallach at andrew.sallach@yahoo.com.

Hope you can join us!

ADULT FORUM NEXT SUNDAY - HERITAGE HALL AT 10:00AM
January 7 - Claire Anastas will discuss living in Bethlehem and the challenges for Christians today in the Holy Land.

JANUARY 2018 LUNCHEON
St. Mark’s Seniors, Thursday, January 18th, is the next MLT monthly luncheon in Heritage Hall from 12:00-1:30pm! Please join us for a delicious meal prepared by MLT’s very own Delvone Anderson and his family; MLT resident, Tom Berg, will grace us with his talents on the piano! Entrée options are 1.) Baby Back Ribs, or 2.) Eggplant Parmesan. Both options come with Coleslaw, Potato Salad, Collard Greens and Bread & Butter. Dessert will be Pineapple Upside Down Cake. The cost is $5. Please pay in the Office by Friday, January 12th. Come be among friends. See you there!

MINISTRY TEAMS MEETING
On Thursday, January 11, the leaders and liaisons of all of the ministry teams at St. Mark’s will gather for their quarterly meeting to update each other on the current emphases and activities of each team as well as coordinate any programs or events that involve more than one ministry team. Everyone who represents any major ministry of St. Mark’s is urged to attend this gathering, 7:00 pm in the Conference Room.

INTERFAITH HOMELESS SHELTER AT ST. MARK’S
St. Mark’s will be hosting the San Francisco Interfaith Council Winter Shelter Jan. 15th-Feb. 4th for 65 homeless men. Members of St. Mark’s will be preparing and serving breakfast every morning, and helping other groups to serve supper in the evening. If you are available for this very important ministry any morning or early evening during this week, please contact John Elford at 415-490-7966, or jbruceelford@gmail.com, or catch him after either service this morning. You can also sign up at: http://www.stmarks-sf.org/serve/

WORSHIP LEADERS THIS SUNDAY
Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Rachel Boles (9); Phil Krikau, Linda Jackson (11)
Lectors...Dianne Velleno (9); Robert Rathmell (11)
Chalice Bearers...Steve Ernst, Nadine Robinson (11)
Acolytes...Katja Jackson & Pam Cheung
Sacristans...Ed Chitty, Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero
Ushers... Jerry Lundblad (11)
Coffee Hour Chairs...Brandee Marckmann, Kathy Lautz
Next Week’s Coffee Hour Chairs...Diana Gomez and Greg Gomez