Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost

Genuine repentance and pretentious piety stand in stark contrast in the gospel and all around us. All creation stands in need of God’s
forgiveness. Keep the faith. God’s people—”all who have longed for his appearing”—shall be accounted righteous for Jesus’ sake. Our God is merciful to sinners. For all this the assembly glorifies God forever.

This Sunday at St. Mark’s - Clergy Appreciation Day
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children’s Time - Auditorium
9:45 am - Sunday School - School Rooms
9:45 am - Lutheran Summer Music - Break room
10:00 am - Adult Forum - Dr. Pitkin - Reformation - Auditorium
10:00 am - Confirmation - Youth Room
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Fireside Room
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service - Auditorium
12:15 pm - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Fireside Room
12:30 pm - Call Committee Meeting - Conference Room

St. Mark's Adult Forum Kickoff on Sunday October 23 with Dr. Barbara Pitkin of StanfordUniversity, 10:00AM in the Auditorium Dr. Pitkin will widen the scope and talk about the Reformation as more than Luther. Even though many of Luther's contemporaries-both supporters and critics-identified Luther as the Reformation's first champion (or heretic, depending on your point of view), the movements for religious reform that sprang up across Europe and England had their own local and unique points of origin.

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
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 andKyle 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: please read pgs. 7 - 47 before the first session. If you only have time to read a few pages, we suggest you focus on pgs. 19-22.

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!

Summer Music Opportunity for High Schoolers
If you know an 8th-12th grade musician, you are invited to a presentation about Lutheran Summer Music on Sunday October 23rd from 9:45-10:15am. We'll meet in the staff break room of the church office, in the lower level of the Urban Life Center. A short video about the program will be shown and we'll hear from two students who attended last summer. This program offers choir, band, orchestra, small ensembles, electives like introduction to the pipe organ, hand bells, and early music where students play period specific instruments, as well as private instruction. Financial aid is available. Students come from all over the United States for this unique close-knit community. More information is also available on their website: lutheransummermusic.org. Students or adults from outside of St. Mark's are welcome- tell a classmate! Being Lutheran isn't required for the camp. Hope to see you on October 23rd!

Reformation Sunday: 9:00AM & 11:00AM worship services back in the sanctuary - Oct. 30
Wear red in celebration of this festive day. We will have the opportunity to sing some of the great songs of the Reformation in a reformed way with Jonathan Rundman, a gifted songwriter and performer, an artist with the gift of encapsulating the Gospel in memorable songs and engaging believers and non-believers alike.

Everyone is invited to worship on this Festival Sunday as we return to the sanctuary after worshiping in the auditorium for the past three months. Thank you for your gifts to the Capital Campaign which funded the new flooring in the sanctuary and the continued restoration of our stained glass windows. If you have not yet made a gift or pledge to the campaign, we invite you to do so. Your campaign gift will help with the costs of installing an elevator in the sanctuary next year and help pay for the floors and windows.

St. Mark’s 2016 Stewardship Campaign Kickoff Sunday!
The theme for this year’s Stewardship Campaign is "Forward in Faith... Lifted By Love2". As we begin our 2016 annual Stewardship Campaign we are pleased to announce that worship services will return to our beautifully refurbished sanctuary next Sunday, October 30, Reformation Sunday. We will soon be able to enjoy the newly installed flooring in the sanctuary and see the progress to date on refurbishing the stained glass windows. These are your Capital Campaign gifts at work!

Over the next few weeks you will be hearing more about St. Mark's 2016 annual Stewardship Campaign. As you do, please prayerfully consider making a pledge to this year’s Stewardship Campaign; your pledge of support is greatly needed to maintain and grow St. Mark's mission and ministries throughout the upcoming year.

Winter Newsletter Deadline
The Winter edition of St. Mark's Voice Newsletter will be in production soon and is scheduled to go out November 23rd. The content will cover December, January and February. Please send any Voice submissions by Friday, November 4th to be included in the newsletter. Contact Stefani (lawrence@stmarks-sf.org) to submit material or if you have any questions.

Support St. Mark's through your Amazon Purchases!
St. Mark's is now enrolled in Amazon Smile, which donates 0.5% of every purchase to charitable organizations. Make your Amazon purchases through the St. Mark's Amazon Smile portal, using your Amazon log-in: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-1418294

You will see eligible products marked as "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages. Note that recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible for donations.

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.

October 30th: Big Group, all classes meet together. Reformation Sunday will be celebrated with a puppet show about Martin Luther.
November 27th: Big Group, all classes meet together. Advent Sunday will be celebrated with games and Advent craft.
No Sunday School December 18th, 25th and January 1st.
January 8th: Big Group, all classes meet together. We will stuff stockings for the homeless. Please bring toiletries or small items suitable for stuffing. (tooth floss, granola, bars, mints...)

ELCA Webcast: Ecumenical and interreligious witness and the Reformation anniversarywebcast on Oct. 27, at 5-6PM PST
Please mark your calendars for the next live webcast, "Ecumenical and Interreligious Witness on the Eve of the Reformation Anniversary," on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 5-6PM PST. As Lutherans, we have 499 years of history, but on this day we will explore:

What was the Reformation, and what does it mean for Lutherans and ecumenical partners?
What is "Declaration on the Way," and why is it significant for Lutheran - Catholic relations?
What might ecumenical and interreligious relationships look like in the future, and what does this mean for our faith community?

Tune in to the live webcast on Oct. 27 by visiting ELCA.org/webcast, where a link to the recorded video will be made available after the broadcast. A live stream also will be available at Facebook.com/Lutherans. If you would like to submit a question to be considered during the live webcast, please send it to livinglutheran@elca.org and provide your name and your congregation's name, city and state.

Weekly Announcement Inserts
Please click the link below to see the insert for this week.
Oct. 16 Inserts

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...Sharon Reinbott (9); Phil Krikau, Steve Ernst (11)
Lectors...Dianne Velleno (9); Diana Gomez (11)
Chalice Bearers...Jeremy McClain, Mark Semonian (9); Nadine Robinson (11)
Acolytes...Clovis Cur, Ed Chitty
Sacristan and Altar Guild...Richard Boyle, Ed Chitty
Ministry of Welcome...Randy Schieber (9); Larry DeSpain (11)
Coffee Hour Chair...Barbara Bock
Next Week’s Coffee Hour Chairs...Nadine Robinson and Kimberly Hamilton-Lam

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
Beatrice & John Love
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
Pastor Rebecca Swee
Dana Utz
Jerry Witherspoon
Brent Wolfe

For Harry & Diane Velleno who mourn the loss of their son Carl, also for Carl’s wife, Laura and her children, Ava and Luke

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 Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara

For the Kindergarten Cynthia Espinoza in Paraguay

For MLT Residents who are hospitalized or in hospice care

Every effort is made to keep the Prayers of the Parish current.
Please email lawrence@stmarks-sf.org to add, remove or update a name on the prayer list.