Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost

Pray always. Do not lose heart. This is the encouragement of the Christ of the gospel today.
Persistence in our every encounter with the divine will be blessed. Wrestle with the word. Remember your
baptism again and again. Come regularly to Christ’s table. Persistence in our every encounter
with the divine will be blessed.

This Sunday at St. Mark’s - Oktoberfest
9:00 am - Holy Communion with Children’s Time - Auditorium
9:30 am - Call Committee Meeting - Conference Room
9:45 am - Sunday School - School Rooms
10:00 am - Adult Forum - Dr. Pitkin - Reformation - Auditorium
10:00 am- Confirmation - Youth Room
10:00 am - Refreshments and Fellowship Hour - Fireside Room
11:00 am - Choral Eucharist Worship Service - Auditorium
12:30 pm - Oktoberfest - St. Mark’s Square

St. Mark's Adult Forum Kickoff on Sunday October 16 & 23 with Dr. Barbara Pitkin of Stanford University, 10:00AM in the Auditorium

October 16- Dr. Pitkin will talk about the 95 Theses in the context of late medieval Christianity. In 2017, Lutherans and others will mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses.
October 23 - Dr. Pitkin will widen the scope and talk about the Reformation as more than Luther. Even though many of Luther's contemporaries-both supporters and critics-identified Luther as the Reformation's first champion (or heretic, depending on your point of view), the movements for religious reform that sprang up across Europe and England had their own local and unique points of origin.

Oct. 30 - Dec. 4 - Together by Grace: Six Weeks of Introducing the Lutherans with Pr. Elizabeth Ekdale, Dr. Kyle Schiefelbein, and Dr. Margaret McLean,
10:00AM in the Auditorium
Who are the Lutherans and what do we believe? How do we live out our faith in the world? As we begin this upcoming year of commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, join Pastor Elizabeth andKyle for six weeks of exploring local and global Lutheran identity.

This interactive adult forum is designed for novice and experienced alike and draws upon multiple learning styles. Using the book Together by Grace: Introducing the Lutherans as the primary guide for the journey, each session combines focused topic questions, prayer, readings from the book and Small Catechism, and discussion of diverse experiences of Lutheranism.

Books are available on Sunday mornings to purchase for $8. Your homework: please read pgs. 7 - 47 before the first session. If you only have time to read a few pages, we suggest you focus on pgs. 19-22.

All participants are encouraged to download the free Augsburg Fortress Small Catechism app. on your cell phones. A few hard copies will be available too!

Summer Music Opportunity for High Schoolers
If you know an 8th-12th grade musician, you are invited to a presentation about Lutheran Summer Music on Sunday October 23rd from 9:45-10:15am. We'll meet in the staff break room of the church office, in the lower level of the Urban Life Center. A short video about the program will be shown and we'll hear from two students who attended last summer. This program offers choir, band, orchestra, small ensembles, electives like introduction to the pipe organ, hand bells, and early music where students play period specific instruments, as well as private instruction. Financial aid is available. Students come from all over the United States for this unique close-knit community. More information is also available on their website: lutheransummermusic.org. Students or adults from outside of St. Mark's are welcome- tell a classmate! Being Lutheran isn't required for the camp. Hope to see you on October 23rd!

Thank You from Pr. Tita
Thank you. No words of gratitude to respond to your overflowing prayers and support during our mourning on my father's death. I thanks God for the community of saints here on earth to embody God's grace and mercy especially in times like these. Maraming Salamat po from the Valeriano-Snow family.

Mosaic television show focuses on the homeless
Pr. Elizabeth's upcoming Mosaic show will be broadcast on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 5:00 a.m. on KPIX (channel 5). Pr. Lyle Beckman from San Francisco Night Ministry and Ms Laura Slattery from the Gubbio Project - Sacred sleep and sanctuary - are her guests. Both Pr. Beckman and Ms. Slattery have extensive experience and compassion for their work with the homeless in San Francisco.

Reformation Sunday: 9:00AM & 11:00AM worship services back in the sanctuary! - Oct. 30
Wear red in celebration of this festive day. We will have the opportunity to sing some of the great songs of the Reformation in a reformed way with Jonathan Rundman, a gifted songwriter and performer, an artist with the gift of encapsulating the Gospel in memorable songs and engaging believers and non-believers alike.

Everyone is invited to worship on this Festival Sunday as we return to the sanctuary after worshiping in the auditorium for the past three months. Thank you for your gifts to the Capital Campaign which funded the new flooring in the sanctuary and the continued restoration of our stained glass windows. If you have not yet made a gift or pledge to the campaign, we invite you to do so. Your campaign gift will help with the costs of installing an elevator in the sanctuary next year and help pay for the floors and windows.

Winter Newsletter Deadline
The Winter edition of St. Mark's Voice Newsletter will be in production soon and is scheduled to go out November 23rd. The content will cover December, January and February. Please send any Voice submissions by Friday, November 4th to be included in the newsletter. Contact Stefani (lawrence@stmarks-sf.org) to submit material or if you have any questions.

Support St. Mark's through your Amazon Purchases!
St. Mark's is now enrolled in Amazon Smile, which donates 0.5% of every purchase to charitable organizations. Make your Amazon purchases through the St. Mark's Amazon Smile portal, using your Amazon log-in: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-1418294

You will see eligible products marked as "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages. Note that recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible for donations.

Sunday School Schedule
All children ages 3 years old through 6th grade are welcome to participate in Sunday School. Sunday School rooms are on the ground floor of the Urban Life Center. Parents are welcome to stay and watch.

October 30th: Big Group, all classes meet together. Reformation Sunday will be celebrated with a puppet show about Martin Luther.
November 27th: Big Group, all classes meet together. Advent Sunday will be celebrated with games and Advent craft.
No Sunday School December 18th, 25th and January 1st.
January 8th: Big Group, all classes meet together. We will stuff stockings for the homeless. Please bring toiletries or small items suitable for stuffing. (tooth floss, granola, bars, mints...)

Fall Knitting Retreat
A FallKnitting Retreat will be held on Saturday, October 22 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in theFireside Room. The theme of the
retreat is using mosaic knitting to make prayer squares. All are
welcome. Please bring a lunch and a snack to share. Questions should be directed to jeremymcclain@me.com.

Clergy Appreciation Month
The month of October has been designated as Clergy Appreciation Month and is a special time for congregations to honor and thank our pastors and their families for the hard work, dedication and multiple blessings they provide. The mutual ministry committee has some special things planned for October 23...mark your calendar.

ELCA Webcast: Ecumenical and interreligious witness and the Reformation anniversary webcast on Oct. 27, at 5-6PM PST
Please mark your calendars for the next live webcast, "Ecumenical and Interreligious Witness on the Eve of the Reformation Anniversary," on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 5-6PM PST. As Lutherans, we have 499 years of history, but on this day we will explore:

What was the Reformation, and what does it mean for Lutherans and ecumenical partners?
What is "Declaration on the Way," and why is it significant for Lutheran - Catholic relations?
What might ecumenical and interreligious relationships look like in the future, and what does this mean for our faith community?

Tune in to the live webcast on Oct. 27 by visiting ELCA.org/webcast, where a link to the recorded video will be made available after the broadcast. A live stream also will be available at Facebook.com/Lutherans. If you would like to submit a question to be considered during the live webcast, please send it to livinglutheran@elca.org and provide your name and your congregation's name, city and state.

This Fragile Earth: The Church Responds to Climate Change - October 22, 10:00AM
Join us at Church Divinity School of the Pacific on Saturday, October 22 for a day of theological reflection, discussion and worship as we explore the church's response to the crisis of climate change. Speakers will include Professor Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, professor of theological and social ethics at CDSP and Pacific Lutheran Seminary of California Lutheran University; former Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who is the current St. Margaret's Visiting Professor of Women in Ministry at CDSP; Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California; CDSP President and Dean W. Mark Richardson; and Rev. Mark Carlson, Director of Public Policy in California for the ELCA. Learn more and register online: http://cdsp.edu/news/this-fragile-earth-october-22-conference-at-cdsp/

Your gifts are needed now for Hurricane Matthew
Your support through Lutheran Disaster Response will bring God's hope and healing to those who have been affected by this hurricane. Our response already spans across several countries.

Lutheran Disaster Response works with trusted partners and companion churches that know the communities well and are prepared for recovery efforts. Coordinators are collaborating with local community leaders, civic organizations, ecumenical partners and
officials. Donate: https://community.elca.org/donations/hurricane-matthew

Eformation: Training for digital media ministry, November 12, Church of Divinity School of the Pacific
We would like to invite any members especially those who are interested in outreach evangelism and faith formation, of our congregation to this training to assist Stefani and Pastor Tita in improving our communication and other media tools as a faith community in the 21st century. Please talk/contact to Dr. Jennifer Snow or Pastor Tita Valeriano (valeriano@stmarks-sf.org).

Weekly Announcement Inserts
Please click the link below to see the inserts for this week.
Oct. 16 Inserts

FLOWER ARRANGERS NEEDED
Flowers at St. Mark's are arranged by volunteers and our small group cannot cover all the Sundays. We need you! Arrangers have badges for the SF Flower Mart and purchase flowers there (budget $50), bring the flowers to St Mark's and arrange them in St. Mark's vases. Expenses are reimbursed with receipts. If you are interested, please let the office know, or email Louis Gutierrez at twopugs98@yahoo.com or Sharon Reinbott atsharon.reinbott@gmail.com.

Produce Market on the Square every Wednesday
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.

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.

Worship Leaders This Sunday
Director of Music...Dr. Timothy Zerlang
Assisting Ministers...Barbara McCormick (9); Kyle Schiefelbein, Richard Boyle (11)
Lectors...Robert Rathmell (9); Richard Boyle (11)
Chalice Bearer...Nadine Robinson (11)
Acolytes...Linda Jackson, Katherine Lam
Sacristan and Altar Guild...Richard Boyle, Ed Chitty
Ministry of Welcome...Omer Voss, Amy Brendel (9) Larry DeSpain, Sarah Wentker (11)
Coffee Hour Chairs...Marie-Jose Baum and Kate Knickerbocker
Next Week’s Coffee Hour Chair...Barbara Bock

Prayers of the Parish

Cassie Allen
Debbie Brant & Ted Bernardi
Diana Bock
Natalie E. Bock
Riley Brooks
Jo Chadwick
Corrine Cottrell
Marilyn Desmond
Bonnie Elliot
Jack Heiter

Carolyn Johnson
Taylor Jones
Stephen Krefting
Arnold Lehmann
Beatrice & John Love
Margaret Massialas
Roderick Mobley
Stan Moeller
Lee & Irma Opitz
Ryan Parker
Cassie Pili
Marc Randall

Travis Schwartz
Matt Seiples
Tim Selander and family
LaVonne Strutz, mother of Geri Bailey
Mary Sukanya
Pastor Rebecca Swee
Dana Utz
Carl Velleno
Jerry Witherspoon
Brent Wolfe

For those affected by Hurricane Matthew

For all military personnel, especially Will Lehmann in Afghanistan

For the growing families of St. Mark’s, especially those who hope For and those who are expecting children

For the Kigali Parish 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 Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Algeria

For the Kindergarten Cynthia Espinoza in Paraguay

Every effort is made to keep the Prayers of the Parish current.
Please email lawrence@stmarks-sf.org to add, remove or update a name on the prayer list.