Join Us This Sunday
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children's Time - Sanctuary
9:40 am - Sunday School Chapel - Conference Room
9:45 am - Journeys in Faith Gathering - Fireside Room
10:00 am - Sunday School - School Rooms
10:00 am - Refreshments - Heritage Hall
10:05 am - Adult Forum: Dr. Steed Davidson: "Leading Ladies in the Old Testament" - Auditorium
10:00 am - Confirmation Class - Youth Room
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist - Sanctuary
12:15 pm - Refreshments & Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
1:00 pm - Central Gardens Worship - Central Gardens
Weds. Evening Worship and Bible Study: Feb 25 to March 25
Come to St. Mark's on Wednesday evenings for supper, worship, and Bible study on the Gospel of Mark. A light supper is served starting at 6:00 pm, and Lenten Vespers worship begins at 6:45 pm. Pastor Elizabeth, Pastor Bekah and Pastor Lyle will lead a one hour Bible study in Heritage Hall immediately following the mid-week worship service (at approximately 7:30 pm) using study materials from the Kerygma Program. In the Gospel of Mark, the portrait of Jesus we find is one of a powerful man, confident in his choices, but thoroughly trusting in God as he faces persecution and death. Those who struggle in their own discipleship are comforted to read in Mark how even Jesus' followers so often fail to understand the depth and breadth of Jesus' power and authority. Mark's words are an encouragement to uncertain disciples from all ages to see clearly the path Jesus invites us to follow.
Adult Forum
Feb. 22 - Mar. 15 - "Encountering the Old Testament" with Dr. Steed Davidson of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
We are very excited to welcome Dr. Steed Davidson to St. Mark's for a series of Adult Forums in Lent. Dr. Davidson has taught Old Testament at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California since 2007 and served as a member of the core doctoral faculty at the Graduate Theological Union since 2010. Davidson, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Union Theological Seminary in New York. Topics for each week are "How the Old Testament Became a Book/Bible" (Feb. 22), "God's Grace in the Old Testament" (Mar. 1), "Leading Ladies in the Old Testament" (Mar. 8) and "Understanding Violence in the Old Testament" (Mar. 15).
Lenten Box Collections for This Season
The money collected in the St. Mark’s Lenten boxes this year will be split between the Campaign for the ELCA and Lutheran Social Services of Northern California. The ELCA Campaign will support renewal efforts in 100 congregations, plant new congregations, and expand ministries to people with disabilities. Bernal Gateway Apartments (BGA) provides permanent housing for formerly homeless families located in the Mission. Lutheran Social Services provides onsite services, including encouraging academic success through tutoring and coordinated activities. Your support will help purchase arts and crafts supplies for after school activities with the children living at BGA.
While all of the Sunday School-made Lenten boxes have already been distributed, you are encouraged to keep a collection of cash and change in an envelope, bag, or box of your own choosing, and bring this with you on Easter Sunday. Thank you!
Women’s Monthly Study Gatherings
All women are welcome to come and study together at our evening and/or morning Women of the ELCA Gatherings. The Second Tuesday group in March will meet on March 10 from 11:00am to 1:00pm in the Fireside Room. All women are invited to come for study at 11:00 and then at noon to eat their sandwich or salad and share fellowship. Drinks and dessert will be provided. This year our focus will be on Transforming Life and Faith by Carol Scheersten LaHurd and our program topic for March is “Suffering and Endurance.”
If you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Smith at 415.285.7438 or suzathome@comcast.net.
Next St. Mark's, Our Planet (SMOP) Outing: Sunol Regional Wilderness, Sunday, March 22
The next SMOP outing will be Sunday, March 22nd departing at 1:00 pm from the upper parking lot for Sunol Regional Wilderness in the East Bay. Our hike will include Little Yosemite, a scenic gorge on Alameda Creek about two miles upstream from the Visitor Center. Contact Pr. Bekah if you are interested in car-pooling.
Interfaith Food Pantry
Each year, St. Mark's - along with several other churches - rotates on a weekly basis to distribute food to the needy at Old First Presbyterian Church (1751 Sacramento Street near Van Ness Avenue.) We are looking for at least 12 volunteers for each session to help. The dates for 2015 are Saturdays March 28, May 9, June 27, Aug. 8, Sept. 26 and Nov. 7. The time commitment is from 7:30am-10:30am. Visit http://www.stmarks-sf.org/ministries/pantry to sign up or for more information.
Save the Date!
Summer Day Camp at St. Mark's: June 29-July 3, 2015
Children can come enjoy a week of faith-based fun here at St. Mark's during the week of June 29 - July 3. Day Camp is a unique partnership between our congregation and Mt. Cross Lutheran Camp. Children will enjoy group games, arts & crafts, worship, community building activities and Bible Encounters. The camp is open to youth who have completed kindergarten through 6th grade. For more information, please contact Kimberly Hamilton-Lam (mjjkmom@yahoo.com).
Training for New and Current Worship Leaders:
Saturday, March 28 at 12:00-3:00 pm
Have you ever been interested in serving Communion, reading Scripture, greeting visitors, carrying the processional cross, or arranging the altar flowers for Sunday worship? We are recruiting additional assisting ministers, lectors, acolytes, ushers, and other worship leaders. There will be a training on Saturday, March 28 at 12:00 pm. We will serve a light lunch before having a brief worship time and then training. Please contact louie@stmarks-sf.org if you would like to sign up for this opportunity!
Loyalty Awards Program Coordinator for St. Mark's
We are looking for a volunteer to coordinate and promote eScrip and other customer loyalty programs to support St. Mark's ministries. The coordinator will help to encourage St. Mark's friends and members to sign up with these loyalty programs and designate St. Mark's as a recipient. St. Mark's receives a small percentage of money from the purchases made with these specific merchants. Interested? Please speak with Pr. Elizabeth for details.
Donate Flowers in 2015
The 2015 Flower donation chart is posted in the hallway across from the church kitchen. St. Mark's members and friends can sign up to donate flowers for the chancel on a Sunday by placing your name on the chart for the Sunday you wish. Your donation can be in memory of a loved one or in honor of a particular occasion. The donation is $50 and can be paid via check in the offering plate. Please note "Flowers" in the memo of the check.
2015 Luther Lecture at PLTS: Dr. George Tinker
The 2015 Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary Luther Lecture will be on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 9:00am, featuring Dr. George Tinker, a PLTS graduate and a professor at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He will speak on the topic "Indians, Lutherans, and Decolonizing Creation: Postcolonial Salvation". How does Euro-Christian theology supplant a Native holistic understanding of the world? Can individualized salvation and concern for ecology and creation be part of the same worldview? Please contact Pr. Bekah if you wish to attend the lecture and carpool to Berkeley. Registration for the lecture and a lunch following is $20.
News from Mt. Cross
Registration is now open for summer programs at Mt. Cross! This year's theme, "A Love that Never Ends", centers around discussion of Deuteronomy 6:5 and what it means to love as God loves. Visit the Mt. Cross website to view a list of exciting programming options for children, youth groups, and families: http://www.mtcross.org/#!summer-programs/c3vg
Mt. Cross has also begun hiring staff for the summer of 2015! Camp can be a transformative and rewarding experience for participants and staff alike. Know of anyone 18 years or older who would enjoy working at camp? Please encourage them to apply at: http://www.mtcross.org/#!employment/c1vud
Worship Leaders for this Sunday
Assisting Ministers...Sharon Reinbott (9); Kyle Schiefelbein, Richard Boyle (11)
Lectors...Debby Halladay (9); Robert Rathmell (11)
Chalice Bearers...Matt Helland, Lin Cerles (9); Jane Borg, Kimberly Hamilton-Lam (11)
Acolytes...Nora Hurley, Linda Jackson
Welcome Ministry...Randy Schieber, Tapio Boles (9); Rachel Letchumanan, Viknesh Silvalingam (11)
Refreshment Hour Chairs...Barbara Bock
(Next Week: Nadine Robinson, Kimberly Hamilton-Lam)