SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
It is an age-old question: why is there evil in the world? In the parable of the wheat and the weeds Jesus suggests that both grow together until the harvest. With Paul, we long for the day that all creation will be set free from bondage and suffering. Having both weeds and wheat within us, we humbly place our hope in the promises of God, and from the Lord's table we go forth to bear the fruit of justice and mercy.
THIS SUNDAY AT ST. MARK'S
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children’s Time - Sanctuary
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
10:00 am - “Telling the Tale” Brian Richards & Greg Jahnke - Heritage Hall
11:00 am - Holy Eucharist Worship Service - Sanctuary
12:15 pm - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
St. MARK’S FOOD PANTRY - JULY 22
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.
St. Mark’s does 8 distributions per year. Remaining dates in 2017 are:
July 22, Aug 26, Oct 21, Dec 2
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 AMUnloading
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.
Diana Gomez
dianamrsgomez@mindspring.com
JULY 22 PROPERTY PROJECT MORNING
Please join the Property Ministry Team on Saturday, July 22nd, starting at 9 AM for a morning of activities and projects to improve the church building and grounds. If you have questions about the Property Team, please contact Gary Schilling at 415-218-2778.
NEW TO ST. MARK'S? WELCOME!
If you are interested in learning more about St Mark’s, we would love to talk with you! All questions are welcome. Contact Liv Beck (beckliv@gmail.com; 415-205-3292).
“TELLING THE TALE” – STORIES FROM A THAILAND HABITAT BUILD
In March of this year, St. Mark’s members, Brian Richards & Greg Jahnke traveled to Thailand to help build two homes with Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. Join them in Heritage Hall on Sunday, July 23rd after the 9:00 service to hear stories from the build and to see slides of the work. Breakfast will be provided for all attendees. Children are welcome.
WELCOME PR. TITA VALERIANO
Pr. Tita will be preaching and leading worship at St. Mark’s while our Pastors are on vacation and attending the St. Mark’s Family Camping trip. We are grateful to welcome back Pr. Tita after having served as St. Mark’s interim pastor from Sept. 2015 - February 2017. She will be at St. Mark’s July 23, July 30 and Aug. 6.
While Pr. Ron and Pr. Elizabeth are away, please contact Pr. Chuck Lewis, St. Mark’s Visitation Pastor, if you are in need of pastoral support. Pr Chuck can be reached at 415 956-2069 or through the church office: 415 928-7770.
ST. MARKS 6TH ANNUAL FAMILY CAMPING TRIP
This year’s camping trip will be at Portola Redwoods in the San Mateo mountains. it is a little over an hour from San Francisco and in a beautiful mountain area, but also not far from Pescadero.
Most people come Friday evening and stay through Sunday breakfast. We have hikes, games, campfire and outdoor Sunday Worship.
We do have a reservation on hold for Thursday night, August 3, if anyone would like to go up earlier, please let us know.
This is our 6th annual St. Marks Family Camping Trip, hosted by parents with Kidlettes. In late July, we will circulate a Sign up Genius list for families to sign up for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and campfire preparation. For more information contact Laura Dickinson at 415-730-9583 or larajdickinson@gmail.com.
ELEVATOR PROJECT UPDATE
The design and construction teams were busy these past weeks reviewing the fabrication drawings for the structural steel frame and finalizing the elevator car finishes. With those tasks complete, the steelworkers are fabricating the steel structure that will support the elevator addition and the elevator fabrication is underway. St. Mark's architect (ARG) and our builder (Plant Construction) have prepared and reviewed mock-ups of the exterior brick and will soon present these to the San Francisco Planning Department staff for their review as required by the City's Conditions of Approval. You can see the mock-ups mounted on the scaffold as you enter the church along the ramp. Take a look and let us know which one you'd pick!
SCHEDULING EVENTS AT ST. MARK'S
If you have any calendar items, including meetings, events, activities or groups that you would like included in the on-line calendar, please send them to Deidre Rettenmaier, Events Administrator at events@stmarks-sf.org. Thank you!
VOICE DEADLINE - MONDAY, AUGUST 7
The deadline for the next Voice newsletter is Monday, August 7 and will cover September, October, and November. Please send all submissions to Stefani Lawrence (lawrence@stmarks-sf.org). Thank you!
INTERGENERATIONAL EVENT – SUNDAY, AUGUST 13
Last month during our Intergenerational Event, we played “Ring on a String,” and “Bumpity, Bump, Bump,” and everyone had a lot of fun learning each other’s names. We will be having another Intergenerational Event on Sunday, August 13 at 10:15 a.m. in the Auditorium of the Urban Life Center. Everyone is welcome to join in this fun activity coordinated by Pastor Ron. If you normally worship at the 11:00 a.m. service, try to come an hour earlier on this Sunday to join in this event, and get to know those people who worship at the 9:00 a.m. service.
ST. MARK’S EL SALVADOR TRIP NOV 21-26, 2017: RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AT CORDERO DE DIOS!
All members of St. Mark’s are encouraged to participate in the next accompaniment journey with Cordero de Dios, El Salvador on November 21-26, 2017 (Thanksgiving week). Singles and couples and families with children are all invited to travel with the delegation.
St. Mark’s is a sister parish with Cordero de Dios, in Soyapango, El Salvador. We have visited them several times and always learn and grow and share much as we build wonderful relationships with our Salvadoran Lutheran brothers and sisters!
Let Mary Ritter mlrpeds@aol.com know as soon as possible if you are interested in going, or have questions about travel and safety issues.
We have started purchasing airplane tickets - the tickets prices are good right now but will likely go higher. We hope to have all tickets purchased by mid to late July 2017. We will set dates in late summer and fall for learning and conversation about the trip. Watch for information about upcoming planning events.
YOUTH MINISTRY TEAM
As we move into our fall program, Pastor Ron would like some assistance in thinking through and planning what our Youth Ministry at St. Mark’s would entail. If you have an interest and investment in the youth of our congregation, please let Pastor Ron know if you desire when he returns from vacation in early August. This team can consist of adults and youth.
OUTREACH TEAM
As Pastor Ron has described in the summer edition of the VOICE, the time has come to reconstitute an Outreach Team that would envision and strategize how we might make St. Mark’s more visible in our community and reach out to the people in our community to invite them to become a part of our faith community. If you have any interest in this ministry, please let Pastor Ron know when he returns from vacation in early August.
CELEBRATING LGBTQ PEOPLE AT CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Since 1987 Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has been publicly
proclaiming God’s love to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Join them on their anniversary as they continue to celebrate LGBTQ people. The party begins with stories & musical performances at 4:00PM on August 19 at 1550 Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA.
WORSHIP LEADERS THIS SUNDAY
Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero (9), Sharon Reinbott, Ed Chitty (11)
Lectors...Randy Schieber (9); Kathy Lautz (11)
Chalice Bearers...Cristin Owens (9); Matthias Will, Jane Borg (11)
Acolytes...Allison Schieber and Evan Schieber
Altar Guild...Cora Rose & Cory Schoolland
Sacristans...Ed Chitty, Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero
Ministry of Welcome...Louis Gutierrez (9); Larry DeSpain (11)
Coffee Hour Chairs...Barbara Bock
Next Week’s Coffee Hour Chairs...Nadine Robinson, Kimberly Hamilton-Lam