6:00 p.m. Midweek Supper All are welcome to join for a community dinner prepared by church members in Heritage Hall prior to worship. 6:45 p.m. Midweek Worship You are invited to give yourself a gift in the middle of your week. This worship service will refresh you and leave you with a sense of calm and security. You will be fed through singing, and quiet contemplation of scripture. In our peaceful Sanctuary lit with candles, you will feel God's presence and trust more deeply that you are God's beloved child. Come and be fed.
Worship Committee
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)
Therefore, let nothing be preferred to the work of God. (Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 43)
...the purpose of this [church] may be such that nothing else may ever happen in it except that our dear Lord himself may speak to us through his holy Word and we respond to him through prayer and praise. (Martin Luther, "Sermon at the Dedication of the Castle Church, Torgau," LW 51, 333)
The Worship Committee is tasked with some of the responsibility for the congregation's worship. In its responsibility for worship, the Committee works closely with the Worship Planning Team and the Director of Music.
Committee
The Committee is made up of lay members of the congregation, representing both the Sunday 9 am and Sunday 11 am worship, as well as the pastors and Director of Music. The Committee meets monthly, as scheduled by the chairperson.
Logistics
The Committee deals with the "behind the scenes" aspects of worship. This includes recruiting, training and scheduling the worship assistants. The Committee also works with the Planning Team in drafting liturgical scripts and other materials pertaining to choreography to aid in maintaining "good order" during worship. The Committee also constructs any text needed to publicize special liturgies, working with the church office to create the material.
Seasonal Planning
The Committee constructs a "theme" for each of the liturgical seasons. This includes deciding on the seasonal ordinary of the liturgy (various prayers, and musical setting in consultation with the Worship Planning Team) and how that theme may be applied to the sanctuary artwork. This seasonal planning not only influences the Sunday 11 am liturgy but also the Sunday 9 am and Wednesday liturgies. The Committee also identifies any special liturgies, both in the temporal (seasonal) and sanctoral (commemorations) cycles, that may be celebrated at St. Mark's.
Specific Liturgies
The Committee takes the lead in planning the special liturgies (see paragraph above) in consultation with the Worship Planning Team. The Committee reviews the hymn selections made by the Director of Music and the Worship Planning Team, commenting as needed.
How to Get Involved
If you would like to get involved in any aspect of worship at St. Mark’s, including:
serving as an assisting minister (leading the Prayers of Intercession or assisting the presiding minister, and serving communion),
serving as an acolyte (carrying the processional torches and serving communion),
serving as a lector (reading the first and second readings),
assisting with altar guild (setting up and cleaning the sanctuary on Sunday morning),
baking bread (see <insert link> for the communion bread recipe),
being a liturgical artist (create banners and other artwork for the sanctuary), or
