Join us this Sunday!
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children's Time
10:00 am - Refreshments
10:00 am - Journeys in Faith Gathering
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist
12:15 pm - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour
Journeys in Faith Gatherings
Interested in membership? Baptism? Deepening your faith? A new Journeys in Faith group is currently being formed! We are gathering in the Fireside room of the Urban Life Center starting at 10:10AM. All are welcome to join in. Questions? Contact Liv Beck (beckliv@gmail.com).
Pastor Elizabeth is attending an ELCA Church Council meeting this weekend. She will be back in the office on Tuesday.
Guest preacher on Aug. 24 at the 11:00 am service
Please welcome Bishop Claire Burkat to St. Mark's on Aug. 24. She is visiting St. Mark's this day because of the baptism which will occur during the 11:00 service. She is a close family friend of the baptismal family. In addition, she has graciously offered to serve as our preacher. She will preach at the 11:00 a.m. service. Bp. Burkat was the first woman to be elected to serve as bishop of the S.E. Pennsylvania Synod. She was elected in 2006 and is known for her passion, savvy and sense of humor. Our Pastoral Intern, Rebecca Swee, will be preaching at the 9:00 service that day. See you in worship.
Please save the date! God's Work Our Hands Sunday, September 7
There will be service projects for all ages, interests and abilities following each service and during Sunday School. Details of all the projects planned will be announced next week!
Monthly Ministry Focus
Beginning in September, we will have a special focus each month on a particular ministry of St. Mark's. There will be an informational display in Heritage Hall to highlight the work of that ministry. In September, we'll learn about St. Mark's wonderful Sunday School program. Look for the display in Heritage Hall on September 7th!
Save the Date: Sept 21
Today, we are asking for your support of this event in a creative way. We are still seeking silent auction donations. Do you work for a company, or own a business that could make an in-kind donation to our event? We are seeking gift cards (restaurants, hotel stays, cultural institutions, services), gift baskets, tickets (sports, plays, concerts), unique wines, and more. This is a very special way you can directly impact the Salvadoran Lutheran Pastoral Support Fund, which seeks to raise $2,000,000 in principal to provide ongoing support for Lutheran pastors serving our brothers and sisters in El Salvador. If this opportunity interests you, please contact Allana Helland at allanahelland@gmail.com.
Fall Newsletter submissions due August 18th
The September, October, November Voice is just around the corner! Please submit all articles, photos, etc. to the church office by emailing them todayton@stmarks-sf.org. We'd like to have all content by Monday, August 18th.
Lutheran Disaster Response: Gaza Humanitarian Assistance
It has been a frightening time in the Middle East with more than 1,800 people killed and nearly 10,000 injured - with most of the victims reported to be civilians and children. Our brothers and sisters in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land have asked for our help. One way we are responding is through Augusta Victoria Hospital
in Jerusalem, a place that provides medical services regardless of race, gender, religious or political affiliation. When you give to Lutheran Disaster Response, you are helping send medical teams from Augusta Victoria into Gaza to care for the increasing number of people injured due to this conflict. Your gifts, designated for Gaza Humanitarian Assistance, will be used - 100 percent - in response to this crisis. Please visit www.elca.org for details on how to help.
Interfaith Food Pantry Dates
The Interfaith Food Pantry is held every Saturday at the Old First Presbyterian Church. Here are the St. Mark's dates in 2014: October 4th and November 15th. All Faiths Dates in 2014: August 23rd, October 11th, December 6th. For more info, contact Wendy Figliuolo at Northern.cal@gmail.com.
High School "Lock-in" at St. Mark's on September 13th
High school youth are invited to an overnight lock-in on Saturday, Sep. 13th. Gary Schilling will give a tour of the nooks & crannies of the church building; Pr. Lyle will give an overview of the Night Ministry. Contact Pr. Bekah if you're interested in attending!
From the Church Office
The church office summer hours (Monday thru Thursday, 9 am to 4 pm, and Friday, 9 am to 12 noon) continue until Tuesday, September 2. The office will be closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 1.
Lights! Cameras! Smile! Save the Dates: September 24-27
Do you remember St. Mark's last pictorial directory? Well, it was nine years ago! We made arrangements with Lifetouch to create a pictorial directory for St. Mark's, but a pictorial directory is nothing without you.
Pictures will be taken in the Conference Room in the Urban Life Center on September 24th through the 27th. You may schedule your appointment online. St. Mark's website has a link to the schedule system from the homepage: www.stmarks-sf.org. If you would like assistance with the online system, assistants will be set up in Heritage Hall during both coffee hours starting August 17th and each following Sunday.
Members of St. Mark's will assist by greeting members arriving for pictures and assisting with paperwork for mailing the photographs and directory. If you would like to help, or if you have any questions about the directory, please see Liv Beck, Jane Borg, Jeremy McClain, Marge Okuley, or Suzanne Smith. Please note: to receive a copy of the Pictorial Directory, you must have your photo taken by Lifetouch.
Lifetouch is a pet-friendly company. Feel free to bring your non-human family members.
Lights! Cameras! Talk!
Admit it. You have a reason you keep coming back to St. Mark's. Maybe you have many. We would like to learn about those reasons and what St. Mark's means to you. We will videotape your comments and edit them together to make a video lifting up St. Mark's for those who are church shopping.
On the same days pictures for the pictorial directory are taken, September 24th-27th, a video team will be set up in the Sanctuary to video individuals or families. Video sessions will last between 15 to 20 minutes. A member of the video team will contact you after you have scheduled your appointment for the Pictorial Directory.
St. Mark's Endowment Fund 2014 Request for Funding Applications Are Available
The Endowment Committee is delighted to announce that thanks to generous bequests we are now able to award grants to extend St. Mark's ministries both locally and globally. Up to a total of $2,000 in funds can be allocated among grants for 2014. Applications and instructions are available at www.stmarks-sf.org/endowmentor or by emailing endowment@stmarks-sf.org. Applications will also be available in the narthex. The application deadline is Sunday, September 7. Questions about the process, the application form, or the endowment distribution and allocation policy can be emailed toendowment@stmarks-sf.org.
Away for the weekend? Worship Wednesday evening instead!
Imagine 30 minutes of peaceful music, lovely candlelight, thoughtful reflections, and Holy Communion in our beautiful sanctuary streaming with the light of the setting sun. You don't have to imagine it - come and experience it every Wednesday evening at 6:45 in the sanctuary.
Do you love to arrange flowers?
If so, we need volunteers for Sunday morning flowers! This entails (1) purchasing the flowers ($50), (2) transporting them to St Mark's and arranging them, and (3) turning in receipts for reimbursement to the Church Office. If you would like to take part in this important ministry, please let Louis Gutierrez (twopugs98@yahoo.com) or the church office know. Our two flower arrangers, Louis Gutierrez and Sharon Reinbott will do some demonstrations to help newcomers to this ministry.
Interfaith Bible Study - Everyone Welcome!
An Interfaith Bible Study, led by Pastoral Intern Rebecca Swee, will continue at Martin Luther Tower in the Brockie Lounge on Tuesdays at 2 pm. Coffee and snacks will be provided. All are welcome. Should you have any questions, please talk with Intern Rebecca.
2nd Mile Giving in August - SF Food Bank
More than 200,000 hungry people are fed every year with nutritious food from the San Francisco Food Bank. St. Mark's is now partnering with the SF Food Bank when we provide food for nearly 300 families every month at Interfaith Food Pantry. Fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, beans, meat, pasta - healthy food! Every dollar donated to the SF Food Bank buys $6 worth of food. 97% of all donations go directly to providing food for hungry people. You can donate by writing a check to St. Mark's and note SF Food Bank in the memo line. -St. Mark's Social Ministry
Trip to Cordero de Dios with St. Mark's in November 2014
The El Salvador group at St. Mark's will travel to Cordero de Dios on Tuesday November 25 (probably around 12:30am), and return Sunday evening, November 30. We encourage all parishioners, including families with children, to consider making this trip to walk with our brothers and sisters in Soyapango, El Salvador. Come join us for this family friendly pilgrimage. We ask that potential travelers make a final commitment by August 1. Talk to Pastor Elizabeth, Pastor Bekah, Liv Beck beckliv@gmail.com or Mary Ritter mlrpeds@aol.com if you have questions or are ready to commit to go. -St. Mark's El Salvador Committee
Trip to Luther sites in Germany in October 2015
Join Pastor Elizabeth and Pastor Hans on this special trip to Germany as we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. We will begin our 11 day pilgrimage in the Rhine Valley and end our travels in Munich. In between we will visit some of the most "famous" sites where Martin Luther lived, preached, nailed his 95 Theses, taught, was born and died. From the lovely town of Leipzig, home to the 13th century Thomas Church immortalized by Bach, to Augsburg where Luther defended his 95 Theses, we will travel together, dine on wonderful German cuisine, and explore our Reformation faith. The dates for this trip are a departure on Oct. 30 and a return to San Francisco on Nov. 9. To make this trip work, we need a minimum of 21 participants. Friends are welcome. For more information, please contact Pr. Elizabeth atEkdale@stmarks-sf.org and 415 928-7770 ext. 2300. A brochure with prices and itinerary will be ready within a month.
Worship Leaders for this Sunday
Assisting Ministers...Kyle Schiefelbein (9); Richard Boyle, Linda Jackson (11)
Lectors...Suzanne Smith (9); Cora Rose (11)
Chalice Bearers...Lin Cerles, Randy Schieber (9); Jo Chadwick, Cora Rose (11)
Acolytes...Nora Hurley, Mila Sall
Welcome Ministry...Susan Sall (9)
Refreshment Hour Chairs...Susie Smith, Fred Blickle