November 27, 2016

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

The new church year begins with a wake-up call: Christ is coming soon! In today’s readings both Paul and Jesus challenge us to wake from sleep, for we know neither the day nor hour of the Lord’s coming. Isaiah proclaims the day when God will gather all people on the holy mountain and there will be no more war or suffering. Though we vigilantly watch for the promised day of salvation, we wait for what we already have: Christ comes among us this day as the word and meal that strengthens our faith in the promises of God. 

This Sunday at St. Mark's - Celebration Sunday
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children's Time - Sanctuary
9:45 am - Sunday School - Sunday School Room
10:00 am - Confirmation - Youth Room
10:00 am - Adult Forum: Being Lutheran Together in a Wider World - Auditorium
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service - Sanctuary
12:15 pm - Thanksgiving Luncheon - Heritage Hall

Celebration Sunday - This Sunday is “Celebration Sunday” for the 2016 Stewardship Campaign, “Forward in Faith . . . Lifted by Love2”! The Stewardship Committee invites you to a festive Thanksgiving Luncheon with roast turkey and all the trimmings after the 11:00 worship service in Heritage Hall to celebrate the culmination of the Stewardship Campaign. There will be a regular coffee hour after the 9:00 service. We hope that all of St. Mark’s members and friends can attend the Thanksgiving Luncheon. All are welcome! 

Session 5 - Oct. 30 - Dec. 4 - Together by Grace:  Six Weeks of Introducing the Lutherans with Pr. Elizabeth Ekdale,  Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein, and Dr. Margaret McLean, 10:00AM in the Auditorium, This Sunday's Theme: Being Lutheran Together in a Wider World - Who are the Lutherans and what do we believe?  How do we live out our faith in the world? As we begin this upcoming year of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, join Pastor Elizabeth, Margaret and Kyle for six weeks of exploring local and global Lutheran identity.  

This interactive adult forum is designed for novice and experienced alike and draws upon multiple learning styles.  Using the book Together by Grace: Introducing the Lutherans as the primary guide for the journey, each session combines focused topic questions, prayer, readings from the book and Small Catechism, and discussion of diverse experiences of Lutheranism.  

Books are available on Sunday mornings to purchase for $8.  
Your homework: For Nov. 27 read pgs. 147-174 before the fifth session.
                            For Dec.4 read pgs. 175-204 before the sixth session.

All participants are encouraged to download the free Augsburg Fortress Small Catechism app. on your cell phones.  A few hard copies will be available too!

Advent Preparations - Please join us on Saturday November 26, from 9:00AM to 12:00PM to help create the large Advent wreath and spruce up the building and grounds for the Advent season. It will be a great opportunity to burn some of those Thanksgiving calories and help prepare St. Marks for the beginning of the new liturgical year.

Advent Midweek Services will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 6:45 - Holden Evening Prayer will be used throughout Advent on Wednesday evenings.  Holden is a lovely, candlelit liturgy with Advent and Christmas images.  Come and nourish your spirits during the season of Advent.  Note: our community dinner will begin on the same Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 6:00.  All are welcome.

Advent Devotions and Calendars - To celebrate the season of Advent, we have Advent Devotions, Advent Calendars, and Liturgical Calendars available in the Narthex and the information table in Heritage Hall. Please feel free to take one of each! 

Advent Luncheon and Fair at First Unitarian Universalist Society - On Dec. 4, members and friends of St Mark's are invited once again to be the guests of our Unitarian neighbors across the street from us.  We had a wonderful time last year at this event and look forward to it again. There will be festive music, baked goods and crafts to purchase - including products from Bethlehem. The cost for the lunch is $10 and all are invited to attend beginning at 12:00 pm.

Festive Christmas and Holiday Party for all St Mark's Seniors and Martin Luther Tower Residents - Join MLT residents, the MLT board, staff, pastors, friends and family for a wonderful evening of holiday cheer.  Dec. 9, Friday at 6:00 in Heritage Hall,

Cost:  $5.00.  Sign up in the Martin Luther Tower office or call 415-885-1084.
Please bring your $5.00 to the office by Dec. 5 in order to reserve your spot.

Dinner and festivities included! Bring new white socks as a donation to the homeless community. 

Volunteer for the Interfaith Shelter - St. Mark's will be participating in the San Francisco Interfaith Council Winter Shelter program and will be hosting Dec. 12th-Dec. 17th and Jan. 15th-Feb. 4th.

Please consider volunteering for this very worthwhile ministry.  Volunteers will be needed for both Breakfasts and Dinners. Please contact John Elford at 415-490-7966 or jbruceelford@gmail.com if you would like to participate in this ministry, which helps so many people in need at this time of the year.

Enjoy the Convenience of Electronic Giving - St. Mark's wants to remind you that we offer electronic giving as a way to automate your regular weekly offering. Electronic giving offers convenience for individual congregation members and provides much-needed donation consistency for our congregation. Direct Debit Giving is used to automatically transfer funds from your checking or savings account to the church's bank account. Credit & Debit Card Giving lets you make offerings automatically on a predetermined schedule using a credit or debit card. Online Giving lets you go to www.stmarks-sf.org at any time to set up an automatic donation plan, change your donation plan, make a one-time donation or view your online donation history. As you contemplate future contributions, please consider electronic giving. Authorization forms and additional information are available from the church office.

Please consider purchasing a hymnal in memory of or honor of a loved one. - We are in need of 25 additional hymnals - the cranberry colored hymnals in our pews.  Each hymnal will be embossed on the front with St. Mark's Lutheran Church San Francisco.

On the inside of the hymnal will be a nameplate which will include the name of the donor (or anonymous) and the name of your loved ones.  The cost is $30.  Please note your information on your check or on a separate piece of paper and submit to the office in care of Stefani Lawrence.  Thank you!

Sunday School Schedule - All children ages 3 years old through 6th grade are welcome to participate in Sunday School.  Sunday School rooms are on the ground floor of the Urban Life Center.  Parents are welcome to stay and watch.  Please contact Jenny Hart, Sunday School Coordinator for information or if you have questions:  hartx4@hotmail.com

  • November 27th: Big Group, all classes meet together.  Advent Sunday will be celebrated with games and Advent craft.

Weekly Announcement Inserts - Please click the link below to see the insert for this week.
Nov. 27

Produce Market on the Square every Wednesday - Support our community market! Please come and purchase fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs every Wednesday from 11am-12pm in the Urban Life Center Auditorium! The market is co-sponsored by Episcopal Senior Communities and Martin Luther Tower.

Donate Flowers in 2016 - 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. Please go to http://www.stmarks-sf.org/flower-donations/ to sign up on our online chart. If you are unable to sign up online please call the office (415-928-7770). 

The donation is $50 and can be paid via check in the offering plate. Please note "Flowers" in the memo of the check. If you would like to submit your payment online please click on the donate tab on the main page on St. Mark's website and enter your flower donation under the "other" option and write flowers in the box.  

Worship Leaders this Sunday

Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Richard Boyle (9); Kyle Schiefelbein, Ed Chitty (11) 
Lectors...Barbara McCormick (9); Debby Halladay (11) 
Acolytes...Clovis Curl, Katherine Lam (11) 
Sacristan and Altar Guild...Richard Boyle, Ed Chitty
Ministry of Welcome...Marisa Lee (9); Larry DeSpain (11) 
Coffee Hour Chair...Gail Culp, Cal Culp, and Phil Krikau
Next Week’s Coffee Hour Chairs...Dana Utz, Catherine Hurley

Prayers of the Parish

Cassie Allen
Debbie Brant & Ted Bernardi
Diana Bock
Natalie E. Bock
Riley Brooks
Jo Chadwick
Corrine Cottrell
Marilyn Desmond
Bonnie Elliot

 

Jack Heiter
Carolyn Johnson
Taylor Jones
Stephen Krefting
Arnold Lehmann
Margaret Massialas
Roderick Mobley
Stan Moeller
Lee & Irma Opitz
Ryan Parker
Cassie Pili

Marc Randall
Travis Schwartz
Matt Seiples
Tim Selander and family LaVonne Strutz, mother of Geri Bailey

Mary Sukanya Dana Utz
Jerry Witherspoon
Brent Wolfe

For all military personnel, especially Will Lehmann in Afghanistan
For the growing families of St. Mark’s, especially those who hope For and those
who are expecting children
For the Kigali Parish of the Lutheran Church of Rwanda
For the Cordero de Dios congregation in El Salvador
For our Missionary, Pastor Kate Warn,YAGM coordinator in Rwanda For all Christians in the Holy Land, especially Bethlehem
For the people of Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
For the Kindergarten Cynthia Espinoza in Paraguay
For MLT Residents who are hospitalized or in hospice care