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
10:00 am - Parents with Kidlettes - Heritage Hall
10:05 am - Adult Forum: Dr. Steed Davidson: " God's Grace 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

Guest Preacher at St. Mark’s This Week, Sunday, March 1st
ELCA clergy in San Francisco will be preaching at each other’s congregations on Sunday, March 1st. We will welcome Pastor Megan Rohrer at St. Mark’s! Pastor Megan is the first openly transgender pastor ordained in the Lutheran church, serving as the pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Sunset since 2014 and as Executive Director of Welcome, serving the homeless of San Francisco since 2002. Pastor Bekah Davis preaches today at La Iglesia Luterana de Santa Maria y Santa Marta in the Mission.

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. Take a box home and fill it with your spare cash and change, or write a check, then bring it back at Easter on Sunday, April 5th.

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. In March our groups will meet on:
Evening Gathering – March 3 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm in the Fireside Room
All women are invited to come for dessert and fellowship for the first half hour and then discussion until 8:30. This month we will be reading Zealot: The Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan.
Second Tuesday – 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

From the February 2015 Council Meeting
Council met on February 19 and approved minutes from its January 15 meeting. A list of meeting highlights follows. Please contact Marisa Louie (louie@stmarks-sf.org) if you wish to receive a copy of the full minutes by email, or if you have any questions.

Reviewed 2015 budget to be approved at congregational meeting
Received report from the Elevator Committee regarding recommendations that will be brought forward for approval at the congregational meeting
Received report that the Executive Committee approved the reimbursements a portion of Pastor Bekah’s and Pastor Elizabeth’s travel expenses for their Rwanda and Ecumenical Pilgrimage trips, respectively
Passed motions relating to the housing allowances of both pastors