PALM SUNDAY
The voice of the suffering savior, Jesus, can be heard in the prophet Isaiah’s words and the pleading of the psalm. We are invited into the agony of our Lord in the extended reading of the story of Jesus’ passion. In the second reading, we who have put on Christ in holy baptism are urged to let the mind of Christ be our own. Lent leads us to this holy moment. Embrace it.
This Sunday at St. Mark's
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Procession Around the Square - Sanctuary
9:50 am - Sunday School - Sunday School Rooms
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Heritage Hall
10:00 am - Adult Forum: Holy Week, A Journey with Jesus with Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein - Heritage Hall 10:00 am - Confirmation - Youth Room
10:00 am - Journeys in Faith - JIF Room
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service with Procession Around Square - Sanctuary
INTERFAITH FOOD PANTRY, SATURDAY, APRIL 13
St. Mark’s members staff this food pantry on several Saturdays throughout the year at Old First Church in SF from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. You could help for any length of time by unloading the food from the truck, setting up the distribution sequence, or handing out food to over 300 people. For more information contact Diana Gomez at dianamrsgomez@mindspring.com
Adult Forum this Sunday!
April 14 - Holy Week - A journey with Jesus. Join Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein as he discusses the meaning of Holy Week in our worship services and for our faith. This forum meets in Heritage Hall at 10:00 a.m.
April 28 - Meet our Seminary Students and Pastoral Intern - hear their faith stories - and learn about these three remarkable women who are preparing to serve as clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Pr. Elizabeth will moderate this discussion with Pastoral Intern Sonja Pilman, Teaching Parish student Libby Pfaff, and Teaching Parish student Evangeline Dai. This forum meets in Heritage Hall at 10:00 am.
SHARE OUR HOLY WEEK AND EASTER CELEBRATIONS WITH CORDERO DE DIOS!
We are looking for ways to deepen our relationship with Cordero de Dios while including more members of St. Mark’s in this sister parish relationship. One way to do that is by sharing letters and pictures. On Palm Sunday, April 14, please join us in Heritage Hall at 10:00 am and 12:30 pm to write a short note to Cordero de Dios describing the Holy Week and Easter Celebrations at St. Mark’s. What does Holy Week mean to you? How do we celebrate the death and resurrection at St. Mark’s? We will send these notes, along with pictures from Holy Week and Easter, down to our brothers and sisters at Cordero de Dios.
USHERS NEEDED
We could use a few more ushers for the services of Holy Week, and especially Easter Sunday. Please contact Tapio Boles (tapio@hotmail.com) if you can help out this one time.
NOW IS THE TIME TO TURN IN YOUR LENTEN OFFERING BOXES
Bring them to church and turn them in with you regular offering. There are a few boxes left if you would like to make a spontaneous gift to help fire victims in Paradise through Lutheran Social Services.
SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
April 14: Big Group: Palm Sunday lesson and activity.
April 21: Easter: No Sunday School
April 28: Big Group: Passover meal and lesson.
May 19: Bay to Breakers, no Sunday School
May 26: Last day of Sunday School PARTY!!
EASTER VIGIL RECEPTION VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Vigil Reception on Saturday evening, April 20, following the Vigil Worship service, is one of the most festive and joyful receptions of the year. Traditionally, we “break the Lenten fast” at the Easter Vigil reception with rich and delicious food such as fresh strawberries, baked goods, and other goodies.
We are looking for volunteers to help with the reception - Lindsey Carlin is our reception coordinator. Please contact her at lindseycarlin5@gmail.com if you would like to support and be a part of the festive Easter celebration. Thank you!
UPCOMING MOSAIC TELEVISION SHOW WITH PR. ELIZABETH
Please tune in (or record) Pr. Elizabeth’s upcoming show on KPIX Channel 5. She interviews Laura Magniani who has dedicated her work and life to the abolishment of the death penalty and ending the abusive practice of solitary confinement of prisoners as a management tool. Laura works for the American Friends Service Committee and is a Quaker. This show will air Sunday, April 21 at 5:00 am.
UNDERSTANDING PALESTINE THROUGH THEATER!
Come and see “Scenes from 71 Years”: stories of family and friends revealing the real human story of daily life in the shadow of the Separation Wall in Palestine. Presented by Golden Thread Productions and Palestinian-Irish playwright Hannah Khalil; cast includes members from the Bay Area Palestinian community; U.S. Premiere. April 5 - May 5, 2019 at Potrero Stage, 1695 - 18th Street, San Francisco. Tickets: $15 - $38 ; call 415-626-4061 or email: boxoffice@goldenthread.org.
MARTIN LUTHER TOWER & ST. MARK’S APRIL SENIOR LUNCHEON
St. Mark’s Seniors, Thursday, April 25 is the next MLT monthly luncheon in Heritage Hall, from 12:00-1:30pm. We will be serving Lasagna with eggplant, spinach and meat sauce or Vegetarian Lasagna. All entrees come with Mixed Greens with vinaigrette dressing and Garlic or French bread. We will be serving Tiramisu for dessert. MLT resident, Tom Berg, will grace us with his musical talents at the piano. The cost is $2 at the door. Please sign-up in the MLT Office by Friday, April 19 by calling 415-885-1084. Come be among friends. Hope to see you there!
ST. MARK'S MEN'S RETREAT
Now is the time to make preparation for our next Men’s Retreat to be held at the Mercy Center in Burlingame on (Friday and Saturday, June 7-8) (4:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.). Under the theme, “The Connection between My Faith and Daily Life,” we will explore topics such as our faith journeys, our experiences in the Church, the challenges of our society, our relationship with God, and our involvement with the St. Mark’s community. The retreat will include 3 meals, single-room occupancy overnight, and our meeting room where we also will gather for worship at the end of the retreat. The cost is $160 (or $70/day = $140 for commuters) to be paid to St. Mark’s and earmarked for “Men’s Retreat”. To register, you may use the Welcome Card and give it to Pastor Ron, email Pastor Ron at moe-lobeda@stmarks-sf.org, or respond to the forthcoming email about the retreat. The registration deadline is Monday, May 6 as we need to submit an accurate count to Mercy Center by then. This event is a great opportunity for the men of St. Mark’s to come together and strengthen the relationships that we already have with one another.
TWO SANCTUARY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: COURT ACCOMPANIMENT & COORDINATING
The St. Mark’s Sanctuary Team is hosting a Guardian Angel training in Heritage Hall on May 18th from 9 am - 12 noon. This session will train you to volunteer in immigration court by offering spiritual accompaniment, providing physical accompaniment, and sharing resources for unaccompanied migrant children and single-parent families going through immigration court. Mary Campbell, director of AMMPARO ELCA in Chicago, will lead the workshop. The training prepares volunteers to accompany in teams of two (ideally one a Spanish speaker, though this isn’t required) at immigration court in San Francisco. No legal experience is needed, and the time commitment is very flexible.
Why are we doing this? As sisters and brothers in Christ, our church is called to bear witness to the conditions impacting so many communities, and to work to find solutions that will acknowledge the humanity in all of God’s children. Join us in making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and families.
Furthermore, for a volunteer interested in a deeper, more regular opportunity to support sanctuary, the St. Mark’s Sanctuary Team and Sierra Pacific Synod Guardian Angel seek a Volunteer Coordinator who would spend 4-5 hours a week communicating with a court clerk about upcoming cases, and connecting Guardian Angel volunteers to accompany specific people.
Interested in either training to be a Guardian Angel volunteer or stepping up as the Guardian Angel Volunteer Coordinator? Please RSVP for training or to indicate interest in the coordinator position at 415-294-1832 or email at FLeBAS@ses.plts.edu.ter
CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED ON EASTER MONDAY
The Church office will be closed on Monday, April 22 and will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, April 23.
WORSHIP LEADERS THIS SUNDAY
Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Evan Schieber (9); Matthias Will, Katja Jackson (11)
Lectors...Narrator: Randy Schieber, Jesus: Becky Burad, Peter: Libby Pfaff
Centurion: Evangeline Dai, Servant: Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, Witness: Evan Schieber
Pilate: Robert Rathmell, First Criminal: Pastor Ron, Second Criminal: Pastor Elizabeth (9); Narrator: Diana Gomez, Jesus: Kathy Lautz, Peter: Libby Pfaff, Centurion: Evangeline Dai
Servant: Jesse Peirce, Witness: Greg Gomez, Pilate: Cora Rose, First Criminal: Pastor Ron
Second Criminal: Pastor Elizabeth
Communion Ministers...Beth Dioli, Mark Semonian (9) Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Jesse Peirce (11)
Altar Guild...Sharon Reinbott
Acolytes...Grace Ekdale-Hoch, Violet Battaglia
Sacristan...Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero
Ushers...Randy Schieber, Evan Schieber, Alison Schieber (9)
Donna Dindia, Linda Jackson, Pam Cheung (11)
Fellowship Hour Chairs...Barbara Bock
Next Week’s Fellowship Hour Chairs...Susie Smith, Fred Blickle, Rachel Boles, Kathy Lautz