St. Mark Lutheran Church 141 Kruger St., Wheeling, WV 304-242-3466 R. Paul Schafer, Pastor Leslie Garrett, Organist/Dir. Of Music Grace Kennedy, Secretary Amy Hinkelman, Dir. Youth/Christian Ed. VOL. XV, NO. 9 E-Mail: stmark@wvdsl.net SEPTEMBER 2009 www.stmarkwheeling.org OUR MISSION: As disciples of Christ, St. Mark ministers that all may know the joy of Christ’s love through ministries of Welcoming, Growing, and Caring.

ST. MARK CROSSINGS

IT’S KICKOFF TIME There’s no question that many folks are once again excited about the kickoff of the football season this fall. It’s always good to see the teams take the field again and the competition heating up. For several years at St. Mark, we’ve been borrowing the football term “kickoff” and applying it to the start up of our ministries for the fall and winter seasons. “Kickoff Sunday” this year will be rolled in with Rally Day and will happen on September 13th. On that day our Sunday School year will kickoff with a congregational breakfast and class orienta-tions. In addition, everyone will be welcomed and encouraged to wear any team oriented regalia such as team jerseys, earrings, sports-oriented ties, etc. to promote their favorite teams, but more importantly, to highlight the new beginning of many ministries at this time of the year. Also this year, we will be focusing on Spiritual gifts during worship.

What are Spiritual gifts? They are special interests, passions, and abili-ties all of us have which are gifted to us through God’s creation and the Holy Spirit at work in us. Some Spiritual gifts include things such as administration, artistry, evangelism, hospitality, knowledge, leadership, listening, mercy, music, networking, prayer, service, shepherding, teach-ing, technology, and writing…and this is just a partial list. Join us at worship on September 13th as we learn more about Spiritual gifts and begin to discover how God has gifted each of us in unique and wonder-ful ways. It’s kickoff time again on the football field. But far more importantly it’s also kickoff time at church. It’s time for all of us to be renewed in our Christian vocation by considering what ways God may be calling us to begin again in ministry and service at St. Mark and in the larger com-munity. Let’s all consider how we might take the field this fall…the mission field that is.

Pastor Paul

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CONFIRMATION CLASS BEGINS Confirmation is a two-year educational program which prepares young people for Affirmation of Bap-tism and adult discipleship in the church community. Confirmation normally begins in the 7th grade, but older students who have not yet been confirmed are welcome in the class. One year of Confirma-tion class is dedicated to the study of the Bible. The other year of the class is dedicated mainly to the story of the Lutheran Church and Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. This year Confirmation class will begin on Rally Day, September 13th at 9:30 a.m. This will be a brief orientation session with Confirmation students and their parents. Students and parents will hear about the content of the class and will be introduced to the opportunities and expectations of the Con-firmation program at St. Mark. Students and parents will also hear about our upcoming plans for youth group ministry and will be invited to participate. We hope to see all of our 7th and 8th grade students this fall for Confirmation!

ST. MARK STEAK FRY AND GOLF SCRAMBLE This year’s Steak Fry will be held at Sonneborn Shelter located at the top of the hill going up past the Wheeling Park pool. The date is Sat-urday, September 5th. A golf scramble is being planned for Friday evening (the day before). Everyone is welcome to register for the golf scramble by contacting Ray Braun, Pastor Paul, or the church office at 242-3466. The scramble will be at the Wheeling Park golf course and will probably begin at about 5:30 p.m. On Saturday (September 5th) games like bocci (lawn bowling) and other activities will begin at 3:00 p.m.. Dinner will be at 5:00 p.m. grilling your own steak to eat with a baked potato and salad. We are asking for 4 or 5 volunteers to bring dessert. If you are willing to make something, please let Ray & Missi Braun know 242-6082. Tickets for the Steak Fry are $10.00/person. If you are interested in attending the Steak Fry or participating in the golf scramble, please call the office as soon as possible at 242-3466.

AUGUST 30th FAST FOOD SUNDAY

Wear your favorite team regalia to church and prayerfully consider bringing the dollar amount of a fast food meal as an offering for the “Tour De Revs” World Hunger emphasis. All checks for the “Fast Food Sunday” emphasis should be made out to St. Mark. A special envelope will be in the bulletin that Sunday, or place it in one of your own and mark it “Tour De Revs” World Hunger.

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OFFICIAL ACTS Funerals New Members Received John Jacob Dieckmann Rosaleen Heil Rosena May Riedel Greg Hoffman Weddings Joshua Louis Krumski & Allison Beth Coulter

WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY This fall the Wednesday Bible study will be focusing on the Gospel of Luke using a study called “Learning Luke” by Dr. David Tiede. Dr. Tiede is one of the best known New Testament scholars in the Lutheran Church. We will watch video presentations featuring Dr. Teide and a panel of pastors and lay leaders from various walks of life. Then we will discuss the presentations and biblical texts in our classroom setting. Each session will last about an hour. This year we will begin our study on Wednesday, October 7th at 12:00 Noon (Bring your lunch) and 7:30 p.m. in the Conference Room. We will have 6 sessions this fall and we will have 6 ses-sions in the early Spring. Please join us for this exciting study!

RALLY DAY!! This year’s Rally Day celebration will be held Sunday, September 13th. This is a wonderful day to celebrate the new beginning of our year of Christian education. We thank Amy Hinkelman and all of our teachers and helpers who make Christian education such an edifying experience at St. Mark! On Rally Day this year we are once again planning to hold a breakfast for the congregation in the fellowship hall and have the stu-dents meet their teachers and see where their classes will be held. Mark your calendar now. This will be a day not to miss!

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APPALACHIAN OUTREACH CHRISTMAS 2009

Some of these people have never received a Christmas present before. One way we can all help is by filling Shoeboxes. We filled 116 last year and if we can fill 150 this year they can reach more people in more counties. If you are traveling and staying in a hotel or motel, please save the shampoo, soap and toothpaste they give you, as they are perfect items to put in the Shoeboxes. This is something you can do all year. You can also watch the newspaper ads at the drug stores as sometimes they are cheaper than the dollar stores. If you pick up these items all year long it makes it very easy to fill the shoeboxes. We have plenty of empty shoe boxes so take as many as you think you can fill.

Financial donations are also welcome and our volunteers will buy the items and fill the boxes. These items should be for men or women. PLEASE mark your filled boxes with an (M) if for a man or (L) if it is for a lady. If possible please wrap the boxes with Christmas paper. No fancy bows. Please put a Christmas Card in each box as some of these people have never re-ceived a Christmas Card. The following items are suggested: cheap hand towel (to line boxes) Razors & blades Shaving cream Combs after shave Hair brushes lotions perfumes tooth brushes/paste Mouth wash soap deodorants shampoo/conditioners Socks band aids hosiery 2010 calendars Pens cosmetics pencils jewelry Stamps note pads corn plasters playing cards, dominoes, etc. Magnifying glasses nail clippers nail polish St. Mark is known for being a very giving and caring church. Let’s see how many people we can make happy this Christmas. We need these boxes back by October 25th. Please pick up your boxes and a copy of the items you need to fill them with. We will have a better Christmas this year knowing we have helped our friends in need. Thank you for what you did last year and what you are going to do this year. Ann Gyekis Women of the Church Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will be supporting this project again this year.

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SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS 1— Elliott Ellison, Howard Lotz, Serena Marshall 2—Freda Pelley, Jim Robinson 3—Stacy Simon 4—Jeff Bowman, Matt Lewis 5—Mary Ellen Knauss 6—Jack Heil, Jason Wood 7—Cheryl Simon 8—Dave Ellison, Wesley McAbee, Connor Otte 9—Kim Tustin 12—Brennan Huls 13—Lila Dumas, Kelly Kriner, Frances Walter 14—Marilyn Companion 15—Michael Sacco 16—Elizabeth Jonas, Steven Knollinger, Deke Stein 18—Grant Crawford, Marc Lewis 19—Wendy Pierce 20—Roy Crews, Leslie Garrett, Amy Taylor 21—David Stead, Kelly Robinson, Jerry Vargo 22—Todd Schmidt, Adam White 23—Amy Hinkelman 24—David Jackson, Doug Knollinger 27—Pat Garrett, Julie Naumann Richmond 28—Brandon Watkins 29—Jackie Shay 30—Michele Jackson

SEPTEMBER WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

9—John & Harriett Weidner 16—Ryan & Jennifer Jewell 17—Jay & Yvonne Jacobs 18—Ray & Melissa Braun 19—Allen & Kim Tustin 20—Ed & Jewell Peyton 21—Brian & Vicki Crawford 25—Mike & Wendy Bogers 27—David & Michele Jackson 29—Jack & Carmen Heil

ACOLYTE TRAINING Acolytes are very important Assisting Ministers for worship on Sunday mornings at the 10:15 service. Acolytes light and extin-guish candles, pick up offering plates, and assist with Holy Communion. Acolyte ministry is open to all young people who have completed First Communion instruction. It is a require-ment for our Confirmation students. Acolyte training this fall will be held during the Sunday School hour at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 20th. We would like to have both our new acolytes and our returning acolytes attend the training ses-sion. See you there!

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FOOD FOR OUR SHUT-INS

We are going into our tenth year since we started this

program, and this means we have delivered between

four to six thousand meals. All of these meals have

been prepared by the Hlad Market on 29th Street and

delivered to St. Mark Church at a cost to us, which is

much less than normal, but the additional cost is ab-

sorbed by the Hlad Family. We thank the Hlads and

appreciate their gift to this program.

One of the benefits from this program is that Ann

Gyekis calls each of our food recipients over the week-end before the day of delivery. By doing

this, she finds out if there are other needs for these shut-ins. In some cases this is the only contact

the shut-in might have with the outside community.

To deliver this many meals, we have had many faithful workers from St. Mark, and some of these

have been delivering since the beginning of the program in 2001. They are: Ann Gyekis, Dick &

Mary Anna Strickler, Bill and Tom Ackerman. Faithful relief workers at the present time are: Amy

Hinkelman and Rob Davis. Anyone with an hour to spare every two weeks, it would be a pleasure

to have you volunteer your time to help with this program. Just call Ann at 243-9652.

ELM GROVE COMMUNITY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Community Lutheran Partners will be working with the churches in the Elm Grove community to develop a disaster preparedness plan. During the month of September, informational flyers will be in the bulletins of the churches and temple talks will be offered. In October, members of the churches interested in working on a plan will gather for a covered dish luncheon and short training session. During the Fall and winter months, the churches will offer classes which will help the congregations define their disaster ministry. Classes will include First Aid and CPR, CERT (Community Emer-gency Response Team) training, AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) fundraising and training, Red Cross Shelter training. We will be working with the county to develop a plan that will serve the residents of Elm Grove community should another disaster hit the area.

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ALTAR FLOWERS

6—Dave & Dorothy Harman in memory of Dorothy’s mother, Bertha Dieckmann at her birth date 9-5 John & Harriett Weidner in honor of their 61st Wedding Anniversary 9/9/47

13—Bill Dumas in honor of wife, Lila’s birthday 9/13 Helen Petri in memory of husband, Joe (died 9/13/78) Alvin & Carolyn Schafer in memory of Carolyn’s mother, Patricia Wack (died 9/17/04) 20—Helen Mendel in memory of husband, Irvin at their Wedding Anniversary 9/19 Ellen, Ken, & Laura Kriner, Devin, Gavin & Jacee Glass in memory of Jeremy Glass Marcy Porter in memory of husband, Jim at their Wedding Anniversary date 9/25 27—Helen Petri in memory of daughter-in-law, Jo Ellen (died 9/28) Jackie Shay in honor of her Family Shelby & Joshua Garrett in honor of their parent’s birthdays, Leslie 9/20 and Pat 9/27

NEW CHAIRS FOR THE FELLOWSHIP HALL Thanks to Jackie Shay for her very generous contribution to St. Mark for the purchase of 24 padded chairs to complete what we needed to have all the chairs in the Hall the padded style. Jackie saw the need for these chairs on our “Wish List” and we thank her for the chairs and for us to be able to remove one of the items from our list.

STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND

It’s time again to give our young people scholarships to help them with their col-

lege finances. We have been fortunate in giving out one hundred forty seven

scholarships since the initiation of this program. These funds are being made

available through the generosity of many of our members. Some of these funds

have come from outright gifts, but others have come through the envelope you

have in your packet of envelopes. We thank all of you for making it easier for

some of these young to attend college. Our funds are getting low, so any contri-

bution will be appreciated.

Any student wishing to participate in this program must stop by our church office in person, and pick

up an application and have it returned to the church by September 30. The number of requests will

determine the amount we can give to each student.

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Dr. Marva Dawn serves the global Church as a theologian, author, musician, and educator under Christians Equipped for Ministry and as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. A scholar with four master's degrees and a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics and the Scriptures from the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Dawn has taught for clergy and worship conferences and at seminaries throughout the world. She is also well–known and highly appreciated as a preacher and speaker for all ages and sometimes contributes to worship by means of her musi-cal gifts. She is the author of more than fifteen books and is happy married to Myron Sandberg; they reside in Washing-ton State. For more information on Marva Dawn, please log onto www.marvadawn.org. For more information on LAKESIDE 2010 and the Lutheran Chautauqua**, please contact Pastor Paul or Sherri and check out St. Mark’s website for photos from 2008 For more information on Lakeside,OH, log onto www.lakesideohio.com **Lakeside is approximately 4 ½ hours from Wheeling. It is located on Lake Erie and is only ½ hour from Cedar Point. Lakeside is a gated community and is a won-derful place for families to vacation. There is an ice cream parlor on every corner, a quaint movie theatre, a peer for fishing on Lake Erie, and each evening there is a family friendly program.

SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 26—JULY 3

LAKESIDE 2010

GUEST CHAPLAIN: DR. MARVA DAWN

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AND NOW, A NOTE FROM YOUR PASTOR’S WIFE:

As many of you have heard, I assumed the position of Executive Director for Community Lutheran Partners on July 1, 2009. I am now in charge of helping congregations in the West Virginia – Western Maryland Synod develop social ministry programs. CLP’s mission statement is “To enable and support congregations of the WV-W MD Synod and others in service to their neighbors.” The programs in which I offer training fall into three areas: Disaster Preparedness and Response; Health ministry; and Social and Economic Justice. The WV-WMD Synod has around 65 congregations. Now, the reason for this note. I have made it my mission to visit with ALL the congregations of the synod by December 2010. This means my church family at St. Mark will not be seeing me (and some-times Robert) very often on Sunday mornings for a while. I will, however, serve out the rest of my term as Elder and still help coordinate the youth ministries at the church and in the conference. St. Mark has agreed to donate space to CLP for my new office so you can find me there during the week. If you stop by the old nursery, you will see it taking shape. If, for any reason, you need to reach me, my email address is clp@clp-online.org. My phone is 304-312-4222. Please do not leave messages for Pastor Paul on this number. It is for CLP business only and I will not be relaying messages to him that are left at this number. I do have several favors to ask the family of St. Mark during this time.

• Please keep me in your prayers as I travel throughout the synod.

• Please keep the congregations of the synod in your prayers as we work together to develop minis-tries to serve God’s people.

• Please keep Community Lutheran Partners in your prayers. Please keep my family in your prayers as we work to figure out our schedules. God’s Blessings, Sherri

ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH

ANNUAL TURKEY DINNER

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009 3:30 P.M. TO 7:00 P.M.

50% of the proceeds from the dinner

will assist charities beyond the auspices of St. Mark.

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Rally Day September 13, 2009 8 AM Worship and Leader Installation 9AM Tailgate Breakfast 10 AM VBS Rome highlights video

10:15 AM Worship and Leader Installation

JOIN THE JESUS TEAM! Everyone is a winner on the J-Team! Help us kick-off the new sports and Sunday School season with a tailgate breakfast and fun for the whole family. Learn about our new Sunday School classes and this year’s sports theme as we learn more about putting into practice St. Paul’s lesson to the Hebrews, “Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us… by keeping our eyes on Jesus.” Hebrews 12:1. There will be games, crafts and prizes as we rally around our team captain Jesus Christ. Wear your favorite sports team colors and shirts as we kick-off a fun new year. ATTENTION GRILL MEISTERS: If you would like to help grill sausages for the tailgate break-fast or help set-up awnings, tables & chairs please contact Amy Hinkelman.

THE TEAM

Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us… by keeping our eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1

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DESSERTS FOR “MEALS ON WHEELS”

St. Mark is to furnish desserts for this great organization for the week of September 20th. Needed are bundt cakes, cakes (9X13), cupcakes and cookies (no nuts or icing). Monetary donations will gladly be accepted. Please call the church if you can help or com-plete the insert in the Sunday bulletins. Please leave your baked goods in the church kitchen on Sunday morning, September 20th. Thanks!!

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CROSSROADS

St. Mark Youth in Ministry

2009 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING "Jesus, Justice, Jazz" New Orleans, LA

Well, we are back from New Orleans! We all had an amazing time – the food, the fellowship, the

learning and the service.

Our service project was Habitat for Humanity. We helped build a house in the Musicians’ Vil-

lage. It was sobering to see all the devastation that still exists in and around New Orleans from

Katrina. The people of New Orleans were grateful to know that they were not forgotten.

We had a great time worshiping and serving with 35,000 other Lutheran Youth and leaders from

all over the country. The highlight of the weekend was on the last day when the mayor of New

Orleans came to the Super Dome and thanked everyone at the LYO gathering for coming to New

Orleans and making a difference. To top that off, Bishop Hansen read a letter from President

Barack Obama thanking everyone for the good works that were done.

The whole gathering was something that Gary, Justin, Tammy and I will never forget. We thank

the congregation for the support and prayers. We feel blessed that we had the opportunity to at-

tend and represent St Mark. —-Gary Roesser

Area-Wide Youth Group: The area-wide youth group met for its back to school bash on August 23 at Foggy Bottom. A group of approx. 25 youth had a great evening of fellowship. Our next event will be held in October. The group will be involved in a service project in the area (New Martinsville, Moundsville, St. Clairsville or Wheeling). More details will be coming in September. This group is open to all youth in the 6th grade thru the 12th grade. Youth Sunday: It’s time to start planning Youth Sunday. This year it will be held on Oct. 25. A youth leader will soon be contacting you. We will need readers, prayer leaders, musicians, power point people, and so on…There will be something to do for youth of all ages. Monday Evening Youth Gatherings: Summer’s almost over and that means it’s time for our Monday evening youth gatherings to resume. A mailing will be arriving soon with dates and times. All youth in the 6th grade thru 12th grade are encouraged to attend.

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THIS ‘N THAT SPECIAL THANKS TO RAY BRAUN who is stepping down as St. Mark’s softball coach. Ray will continue as a player but will give up his coaching duties beginning next year. Thanks Ray!

The new address for Kara Jarrett Shaw, one of our seminarians is—20836 Frazho Street,

St. Clair Shores, MI 48081. She will be doing her internship there, so if you would like to send her a note of encouragement, please do so.

CONGRATULATIONS to Richard & Jessica Charnock at the birth of a new baby boy, Riley Charnock; and to Brian & Sara (Robinson) Lutz on the birth of their new baby girl, Alexandria Lutz. CONGRATULATIONS to Jim Glaser who got a hole in one on the 10th hole of the Crispen Golf Course while playing on Sunday, August 16th! Now you may wonder about getting a hold in one while playing on Sunday, well, it just so happens that Jim is a very faithful weekly worshipper at our Wednesday evening worship service. Moral of the story? If you can’t come to church on Sun-day, try our Wednesday evening service at 6:30. We can’t guaran-tee you’ll get a hole in one, but we can guarantee an evening of meaningful worship. Anyway, congratulations Jim!!! WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR a month of the “Crossings” newsletter in honor of, in thankfulness for or in memory of someone? Please call Grace and let her know. The months of November and December are available. We ask for a donation of $100, which helps with the postage, paper and print-ing expenses. IS YOUR GIVING CURRENT? Our anticipated “Giving” through July 31, 2009 was $99,167. “Giving” received totals $100,807! Everyone is to be commended for their generous giving. Total income-to-date is $133,027. Total spending-to-date is $148,536 resulting in deficit spending of $15,509. The July church financial statement is posted on the first floor bulletin board for those interested. ELCA Church-wide Assembly: For information on the recent Church-wide Assembly held in Minneapolis, see Pastor Paul or log on to the ELCA.org web-site. Book Study— on “The Shack” will be held on Tuesday, October 13th, 10:00 A.M. in our Conference Room. Everyone is invited . If you haven’t read it yet, several of our members have and it comes highly recommended. Any questions, please call Loretta Craig 304-233-0336.

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ST. MARK EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

TURKEY DINNER VOLUNTEER SHEET Below you will find a list of the various jobs we need to fill for a successful Turkey Dinner. Please help us by volunteering for one or more of these jobs. We must know if we will have sufficient help.

The date of THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009 has been set aside for this activity. Please re-turn this form to the church office: Place in the Offering Plate on Sunday morning or mail in to the office. An early response to this request is greatly appreciated. I WILL BE WILLING TO HELP AS FOLLOWS: ____ CASH DONATION— Unable to work or bake pies or turkey ____ Bake Pie(s) ____ Number Fruit/Pumpkin Pies I will bake ____ Number Frozen Pies I will buy from Church & bake (Please have pies at church by Noon on Thursday, Oct. 22 ____ Sunday after church (Oct. 18) pick up Turkey for Baking (bring back Tues., 9 A.M.) ____ Monday, 9 A.M. help with Bread Cutting ____ Monday, 6 P.M. help with Dressing Preparation ____ Tuesday, 9 A.M. help with Turkey de-boning ____ Tuesday, 1 P.M. help with preparing Gravy ____ Tuesday, 6:00 P.M. help with slicing of Meat ____ Tuesday, 6:30 P.M. help with packaging Dressing ____ Wednesday, 9:00 A.M. help with packaging of Dinners ____ Wednesday, 1 P.M. Help with Clean-up & Miscellaneous ____ Thursday, 9 A.M. help with Cole Slaw preparation ____ Thursday, 10:30 A.M. help with Cranberry packaging & Miscellaneous ____ Thursday, 3:15 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. help in Kitchen or Dining Room ____ I can be here the entire above time ____ I can help during this time _______________________________ ____ 6:30 P.M. help clean-up after dinner NAME _________________________________________ PHONE ______________________ PLEASE READ AND RETURN THIS INSERT FOR VOLUNTEERING YOUR HELP AT OUR TURKEY DINNER. WE NEED EVERYONE’S HELP!

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St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church NONPROFIT ORG 141 Kruger Street, Elm Grove U S POSTAGE Wheeling, WV. 26003 PAID WHEELING WV PERMIT NO. 44 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

SEPTEMBER 2009 ST. MARK CROSSINGS