Sixth Sunday of Easter
Visions abound in the readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter. Paul has a vision about what to do. John has a vision of what will be. The risen Lord Jesus provides visions of peace that passes human understanding and power beyond human imagination.
Join Us This Sunday
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children’s Time - Sanctuary
9:45 am - Sunday School - School Rooms
10:00 am - Parents with Kidlettes - Heritage Hall
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
10:10 am - Confirmation - School Rooms
10:05 am - Adult Forum - Karen Leslie Hernandez - Theological Responses to Religious Extremism - Auditorium
10:05 am -Journeys In Faith - Fireside Room
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service - Sanctuary
12:15 pm - Garden Party - Community Garden
12:15 pm - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
Adult Forum: Sunday, May 1
Karen Leslie Hernandez will teach a forum on Theological Responses to Religious Extremism. In what ways can we respond with and in our faith to acts of religious extremism that occur overseas, as well as here in the United States? For her Bio go to: theinterfaithobserver.org.
Next Week’s Adult Forum: Rev. Deborah Lee, Sunday, May 8
Global Migration & Our Corner of the World: Faith Responses to Recent
Migrants in the Bay Area
Hear stories of recent immigrants - their joy and struggles. Learn about the immigration challenges and possibilities for ministries with the immigrants in the Bay Area and in California.
The San Francisco Interfaith Council’ 6th Biennial Disaster Preparedness Workshop for Congregations
Please join the workshop on “Crisis to Resilience: Congregations Understanding and Responding to Climate Change Impacts” on Wednesday, May 4. The workshop will be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco. Please register at: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event
Garden Party on May 1
Please drop by the community garden after the 11:00 service to celebrate our garden. Our volunteer gardeners will be available to answer questions and show you the vibrancy and growth in the garden. We are also looking for new volunteers to serve in the garden. A potted plant will be sent home with each person who comes by. The location of the garden is directly behind the sanctuary. All are welcome!
Spirituality and Aging group offered at Martin Luther Tower
Pr. Elizabeth will host a five session group on Mondays from 11:00 - 12:00 on “Spirituality and Aging” in the Brockie lounge of Martin Luther Tower. This group is open to the St. Mark’s community as well. This group will offer a safe place to reflect on aging issues in light of our faith - whatever our faith may be or wherever we are in our faith journeyRefreshments will be served.
Pr. Elizabeth to host Mosaic television show on Sunday, May 8
Tune in or tape the show that Pr Elizabeth is hosting. on Mother’s Day. Her guests are three members of the Golden Gate Mother’s Group. Each of them share their joys and struggles of parenthood and the resources they have received from the Golden Gate Mother’s Group - a well known group of over 4300 mothers in SF! The shows air at 5:00 a.m. on May 8 - KPIX channel 5.
Voice Newsletter Deadline
The Summer edition of the voice will coming out in the beginning of June and will cover the months of June, July, and August. Please submit all newsletter content by May 13th to Stefani at lawrence@stmarks-sf.org.
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 May our groups will meet on:
Evening Gathering – May 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 Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor.
Second Tuesday – May 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. Our Bible Study will be on “Mary and Elizabeth” as found in the May issue of Gather Magazine.
If you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Smith at 415.285.7438 or suzathome@comcast.net.
Update on Call Process
Your St. Mark’s Call Committee has completed the ministry site profile for our opening for an associate pastor and the Congregational Council approved it during their April meeting. This document describes our mission and our search for a rostered leader. The next step will be to receive names of candidates from the Synod and begin interviewing. The Call Committee members are: Margaret McLean, chair; Gretchen Armstrong; Laura Evenson; Pastor Ekdale; Philip Krikau; Lew Randall; Cora Rose; and Andrew Sallach. Please hold the committee and their deliberations in your prayers.
Produce Market on the Square
Support our community market! Please come and purchase fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs every Wednesday from 11am-12pm in the Urban Life Center Auditorium! The market is co-sponsored by Episcopal Senior Communities and Martin Luther Tower.
Easter Midweek Services
Wednesdays at 6:45 pm
Beginning Wednesday, April 6, we will use “Unfailing Light,” a new setting of the Holy Communion service composed by Marty Haugen, with text by Susan Briehl.
This service was written especially for evening, and was commissioned by the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Texas in Austin.
6:00 - Community Dinner - All Welcome!
6:45 - Unfailing Light Worship
Donate Flowers in 2016
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. Please go to http://www.stmarks-sf.org/flower-donations/ to sign up on our online chart. If you are unable to sign up online please call the office (415-928-7770).
The donation is $50 and can be paid via check in the
offering plate. Please note “Flowers” in the memo of the check. If you would like to submit your payment online please click on the donate tab on the main page on St. Mark’s website and enter your flower donation under the “other” option and write flowers in the box.
Camp Noah Kids Kits
We are gathering the following items for the 50 children who will attend the Camp Noah in Middletown, CA: Pack broadline washable markers (classic colors), 8-count washable watercolor paints with brush, glue stick, 24 count box of crayons (ONLY Crayola), kids-sized scissors, pens, pencil (unsharpened), pencil sharpener, 5-ounce container of Play-Doh (any color).
The Camp will be held on June 12-17, 2016 organized and sponsored by the Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota. The Women of the ELCA of St. Mark’s will organize the packing of the kits which will be received until May 22nd. Please put them in the Camp Noah Box found in the narthex, and for more information please contact Nadine Robinson, 650-735-5036 or Marlo Tellschow, 415-771-6690.
Walk & Bike to Worship Week
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Walk San Francisco, San Francisco Interfaith Council and leaders from local congregations are partnering to create Walk & Bike to Worship Week from Saturday, May 21 to Sunday, May 29. Our date for St. Mark’s is MAY 29. There will be a blessing of the bikes in-between early and late services, at the bike rack on the side of the church.
Throughout the week various congregations will celebrate walking, biking and taking transit to their place of worship. Walk & Bike to Worship is an event that gives congregations and community members the opportunity to raise the visibility of walking, biking, and/or taking transit to worship to make communities safer and more pleasant places to live. Additionally, it’s a collective celebration that promotes physical activity, health, and safety for neighbors and the environment. Please join in and bike or walk to service on May 29! For more information contact Andrew Sallach at andrew.sallach@yahoo.com or Fred Blickle at blickle3@comcast.net
St. Mark’s Looking for Weekday Building Attendants
St. Mark’s is looking for one or two individuals with weekday morning availability to serve as an on-call paid building attendant for facility rentals. Attendants insure the security of the facilities during non-regular operating hours, perform various duties related to providing proper space setup, welcome and grant access to users of the facilities and secure the facilities after events. Training is provided. Qualifications: must be punctual, reliable, able to follow instructions, communicate effectively, and comfortable working with the public. Some knowledge of building operations is preferred. If you are interested in this position, please contact Chiara DeJoy at dejoy@stmarks-sf.org.
Weekly Announcement Inserts
Please click the link below to see the inserts for this week.
Inserts
Worship Leader This Sunday
Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Richard Boyle (9); Richard Boyle, Ed Chitty (11)
Lectors...Randy Schieber (9) Shannon Valenti Cheng (11)
Chalice Bearers..Jane Borg, Viknesh Silvalingam (11)
Acolytes...Clovis Curl
Sacristan and Altar Guild...Richard Boyle, Ed Chitty
Ministry of Welcome...Tina Hogan (9); Pam Cheung, Kimberly and David Lam
Tina Niu, Pedro Ospina, Linda R. Jackson (11)
Coffee Hour Chairs...John Elford, Marge Okuley, Hiroko Nagata
Next Week Coffee Hour Chairs...Donna Dindia and Chuck Lewis
Prayers for the Parish
Cassie Allen
Debbie Brant & Ted Bernardi
Pastor Raymond H. Birkel
Diana Bock
Natalie E. Bock
Riley Brooks
Lee Bryan
Michelle Chernock
Corrine Cottrell
Marilyn Desmond
Bonnie Elliot
Debby Halladay
Jack Heiter
Carolyn Johnson
Taylor Jones
Arnold Lehmann
Margaret Massialas
Roderick Mobley
Stan Moeller
Lee & Irma Opitz
Ryan Parker
Cassie Pili
Lee Randall
Marc Randall
Pr. John Rutsindintwarane Travis Schwartz
Matt Seiples
Justin Stevenson
LaVonne Strutz, mother of Geri Bailey
Dana Utz
Carl Velleno
Jerry Witherspoon
Brent Wolfe
For all military personnel, especially Will Lehmann
For the growing families of St. Mark’s, especially those who hope for andthose who are expecting children
For the Mumeya congregation of the Lutheran Church of Rwanda
For the Cordero de Dios congregation in El Salvador
For our Missionary, Pastor Kate Warn, YAGM coordinator in Rwanda
For all Christians in the Holy Land, especially Bethlehem
For the people of Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal
For the Kindergarten Cynthia Espinoza in Paraguay
For MLT Residents who are hospitalized or in hospice care