FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

The image of the Good Shepherd shows us how the risen Christ brings us to life. It is the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep, one of mutual knowledge and love, that gives the shepherd authority. The shepherd’s willingness to lay down his life for the sheep shows his love. First John illustrates what it means to lay down our lives for one another by the example of sharing our wealth with any sister or brother in need.

THIS SUNDAY AT ST. MARK'S

9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children’s Time - Sanctuary
9:50 am - Sunday School - School Rooms
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
10:00 am - Adult Forum - Rev. Janelle from Rwanda/YAGM - Fireside Room
10:00 am - Journeys in Faith - JIF Room
10:05 am - Confirmation - Confirmation Room
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service - Sanctuary
12:15 pm - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall

ADULT FORUM IN THE FIRESIDE ROOM - THIS SUNDAY AT 10:00AM
Adult Forum April 22 and Coffee Hour May 27: Lutherans from Rwanda at St. Mark’s
Our Lutheran Sierra Pacific Synod has a companion relationship with the Lutheran Church of Rwanda (LCR). These flourishing, mutual relationships strengthen the worldwide Lutheran community and deepen our global mission engagement. All of us have gifts to support God’s mission. There is no mission to, only mission with and among, and our connections with Rwanda embody this sentiment.

In April, St. Mark’s hosted Robin Strickler from Rwanda (founder of rwandaschoolproject.org), and we took her on a tour of sustainable buildings in the Bay Area, including the Exploratorium. If you missed that, we have more educational events and visits from Lutherans of Rwanda coming up.

Sunday April 22: ELCA missionary Pastor Janelle Neubauer will join us at the 9am and 11am worship services and Adult Forum. She is the Rwanda country coordinator for Lutheran Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGMs). She will talk about her work with youth in mission.
Sunday May 13: Allana and Linnea Helland recently returned from a trip to Rwanda with PICO International. They’ll share inspirational stories about the work happening in Rwanda through PICO, the LCR, and The Rwanda School Project.
Sunday May 27: Pastor John Rutsindintwarane, Assistant to the Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Rwanda and Director of PICO Rwanda will join us in worship and will share information at noon coffee hour about PICO Rwanda and the Lutheran Church of Rwanda.

Pastor John will also attend SPS Assembly in Sacramento June 1-3 and will be the featured speaker at SPS “Rwanda Connection” in Sacramento on Saturday, June 9. Contact Allana Helland or Mary Ritter (mlrpeds@aol.com) for more information about these visits and other ways to get involved with out planning and hosting.

ADULT FORUM NEXT SUNDAY
APRIL 29 AT 10:00AM IN THE FIRESIDE ROOM
LUTHERANS DOING MORE ETHICS--EDITING THE FUTURE
Recent developments in gene editing (including the breakthrough technology called CRISPR) have enabled genetic modification of crops to improve disease resistance and of insects to reduce transmission of diseases like malaria. Many human diseases are caused by genetic errors, some of which may be corrected by these new techniques. Such developments can have profound positive effects on human health but, as with previous technologies, their widespread use raises ethical questions. Dr. Margaret McLean returns to continue our moral deliberation about important matters--this time, we consider how we might respond ethically to the promise and power of gene editing. Please join us.

SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
May 20th: Bay to Breakers, no Sunday School

May 27th: Last Day of Sunday School PARTY!!

YOU CAN NOW MAKE ONE-TIME DONATIONS TO ST. MARK’S USING PAYPAL GIVING FUND!
If you’d like to utilize this service, please see the instructions below:

Open or Download the PayPal App
Log in or Create an Account
Tap the “Send Money” Icon
Enter “give@stmarks-sf.org” in the search field and continue as prompted

SIERRA PACIFIC SYNOD ASSEMBLY
Our annual Synod Assembly will be held on Friday-Sunday, June 1 – 3 at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. St. Mark’s is eligible to have 4 voting members at this assembly. Attending this assembly is a great opportunity to experience the greater church in operation, to be a part of determining our Synod’s goals for this next year, and to elect our Synod’s voting members to the next ELCA National Assembly. The Synod Assembly starts at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, but if you are not able to come until later that afternoon or early evening due to work, there still is plenty of time for you to participate in this Assembly. If you are available and would like to represent St. Mark’s at this assembly, please contact Pastor Ekdale or Mark Semonian.

ST. MARK'S YOUNG ADULT GATHERING
On Sunday, May 6, the young adults of St. Mark’s will be gathering at 12:30 p.m. in the Fireside Room of the Urban Life Center for a simple lunch and time to catch up with everyone in terms of what is happening in people’s lives. We also will use this time to talk about what we may want to do together throughout the summer months. This is a very open and informal group and both members and friends of St. Mark’s are welcome to participate. If you have the opportunity, please let Pastor Ron know if you are planning to attend so that he can plan food accordingly.

INTERFAITH WINTER SHELTER WALK
The San Francisco Interfaith Council is sponsoring a Walk on Sunday, May 6, to raise funds for the Winter Shelter. The Walk will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Lake Merced (parking circle) in SF. To register, donate, or obtain more information, visit: http://winterfaithshelterwalk.dojiggy.com. If you have any questions, please call 415-474-1321 or email winterfaithshelterwalk@gmail.com. Perhaps we could get a team of walkers from St. Mark’s to participate.

ST. MARK'S FOOD PANTRY
We are a part of the larger Interfaith Food Pantry group of 6 churches in San Francisco. Our shared responsibility is to distribute groceries, from the SF/Marin Food Bank, to 300 patrons on Saturday mornings. Distribution takes place at Old First Presbyterian Church on Sacramento St. between Polk and Van Ness.

The next distribution date is April 21. We usually divide our morning’s work into 3 shifts. Volunteers can sign up for 1-3 shifts as follows:

7:30 AM - 9:00 AM Unloading
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM Distribution
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM Clean-up

Come join the St. Mark’s volunteers at the next distribution. To sign up, contact Diana Gomez at dianamrsgomez@mindspring.com

VOICE DEADLINE
The deadline for the next Voice newsletter is Monday, May 14 and will cover June, July, and August. Please send all submissions to Stefani Lawrence (lawrence@stmarks-sf.org). Thank you!

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MUSIC LOVERS!
Create your own organ music at home! A beautiful CANTICUS 1 HOME ORGAN in excellent condition is available at reduced price! Owner is relocating out of California. The advanced digital Viscount technology permits simulation of traditional pipe organ sounds and personalization of the organist’s preferences. The organ’s reduced price: $9000
Interested? Please phone (415) 238-3642 or email: ghj0108@yahoo.com.

WORSHIP LEADERS THIS SUNDAY
Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Barbara McCormick (9); Phil Krikau, Libby Pfaff (11)
Lectors...Dianne Velleno (9); Cora Rose (11)
Chalice Bearer...Nadine Robinson (11)
Acolytes...Pam Cheung, Linda Jackson
Altar Guild...Linda Jackson, Sharon Reinbott
Sacristans...Ed Chitty, Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero
Ushers...Louis Gutierrez, Tapio Boles (9); Larry DeSpain, Gail Culp, Cal Culp (11)
Coffee Hour Chairs...Eva & Matt Dober, Kate Knickerbocker
Next Week’s Coffee Hour Chairs...Barbara Bock