the saint mark messenger the newsletter of Saint Mark Presbyterian Church April 2012 Worship 9:30 and 11:00 AM Church School for all ages 9:30 AM www.saintmarkpresby.org Saying Grace… ...from Roy “John Calvin would be happy.” That’s what someone said to me after he looked at the nearly completed new sanctuary. “Why?” I asked. “It is contemporary with an elegant simplicity. Calvin would like that.” That is such a wonderful testimony to this new sanctuary that contains the elements of the original while bringing forward a new look for the future. This, too, speaks to a theological practice at the heart of the Reformed tradition: honoring the past while being open to change. The sanctuary renovation has been a long project over several years that involved more people leading the way than I can name in this column. The Legacy Campaign team helped us raise the first funds to get us to this point and they will be leading us to fund the completion in the coming years. This is a tremendously exciting time for our congregation! So … Come and see! This is our motto. Come and see what God is doing among us. Come and see the new sanctuary. The session has established this following plan for returning to the sanctuary for regular worship. • April 15: Open House (worship will be in the Fellowship Hall) • April 22: Two services of worship in the sanctuary • April 29: Celebration and Dedication of the sanctuary –Two services of worship (On the first Sunday of each month we will continue to have one worship service and Holy Communion.) As we move through Holy Week toward the great celebration of Easter, I hope you will join us in giving thanks and praise to God for this moment in our life together. Alleluia! Holy Week Schedule Sunday, April 1: Palm Sunday 9:30 AM Worship with Communion One Service Spirit and Service Sunday Thursday, April 5: Maundy Thursday 6:30 PM Worship service commemorating Jesus washing the disciples' feet 7:30 PM Maundy Thursday Worship Service with a light Mediterranean meal and Holy Communion…We will sit at tables in the Fellowship Hall, sharing a meal together that is woven into the worship service, including Holy Communion. We will conclude in the Memorial Garden, recalling Jesus's time in Dark Gethsemane. Friday, April 6: Good Friday 7:30 PM Ecumenical Good Friday Worship Service held at North Bethesda Methodist Church Sunday, April 8: Easter Sunday 9:30 AM Easter Worship with Holy Communion 11:00 AM Easter Worship with Celebration of Baptism 10:00-11:30 AM Continental Breakfast 10:30 AM Children’s Easter Egg Hunt (bring your Easter basket)
Transcript
the saint mark messenger
the newsletter of Saint Mark Presbyterian Church April 2012
Worship 9:30 and 11:00 AM Church School for all ages 9:30 AM www.saintmarkpresby.org
Saying Grace… ...from Roy
“John Calvin would be happy.” That’s what someone said
to me after he looked at the nearly completed new sanctuary. “Why?” I asked. “It is contemporary with an elegant simplicity. Calvin would like that.” That is such a
wonderful testimony to this new sanctuary that contains the elements of the original while bringing forward a new look for the future. This, too, speaks to a theological practice at the heart of the Reformed tradition: honoring
the past while being open to change. The sanctuary renovation has been a long project over
several years that involved more people leading the way than I can name in this column. The Legacy Campaign team helped us raise the first funds to get us to this point
and they will be leading us to fund the completion in the coming years. This is a tremendously exciting time for our congregation! So …
Come and see! This is our motto. Come and see what God is doing among us. Come and see the new sanctuary.
The session has established this following plan for returning to the sanctuary for regular worship. • April 15: Open House (worship will be in the
Fellowship Hall) • April 22: Two services of worship in the sanctuary
• April 29: Celebration and Dedication of the
sanctuary –Two services of worship
(On the first Sunday of each month we will continue to have one worship service and Holy Communion.)
As we move through Holy Week toward the great celebration of Easter, I hope you will join us in giving thanks and praise to God for this moment in our life together.
Alleluia!
Holy Week Schedule
Sunday, April 1: Palm Sunday
9:30 AM Worship with Communion
One Service
Spirit and Service Sunday
Thursday, April 5: Maundy Thursday
6:30 PM Worship service commemorating
Jesus washing the disciples' feet
7:30 PM Maundy Thursday Worship Service
with a light Mediterranean meal and Holy
Communion…We will sit at tables in the
Fellowship Hall, sharing a meal together that is
woven into the worship service, including Holy
Communion. We will conclude in the Memorial
Garden, recalling Jesus's time in Dark
Gethsemane.
Friday, April 6: Good Friday
7:30 PM Ecumenical Good Friday Worship
Service held at North Bethesda Methodist Church
Sunday, April 8: Easter Sunday
9:30 AM Easter Worship with Holy Communion
11:00 AM Easter Worship with
Celebration of Baptism
10:00-11:30 AM Continental Breakfast
10:30 AM Children’s Easter Egg Hunt (bring
your Easter basket)
April 2012 Saint Mark Messenger
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Local Mission
Rebuilding Together Montgomery County:
Building Day is April 28, 2012
It’s time to gear up for the 2012 version of Rebuilding Together in Montgomery County (RTMC). RTMC is a local
non-profit that identifies home owners needing help making their properties safe, comfortable and efficient. Every year one day is selected (this year it is April 28)
when a hoard of volunteers descend on their target and perform miracles. We have met our home owners for this year. Kennedy and Karlene McLeod have 4 children and live at 2501 Henderson Ave, Wheaton, MD 20902.
The walkthrough of the house with the owner and RTMC Area
Coordinator Jules O'Rear gave us a good idea of the tasks ahead of us. The house is a 2 story colonial with shingles on the top story. It is a
sound building and will easily benefit from our work.
What kind of volunteers do we need? Just about any skill level will be useful. A lot of yard de-cluttering and mulching would help the place. The fence and gate
building could use people with some experience at wood framing and fencing. We could use a lot of post-hole diggers. There is a significant need for people willing to work on high ladders to paint the shingles on the upper
story. Holy Cross has, in the past, provided the best home cooked lunch buffet you could think of. Rumor is they are willing to repeat.
The real requirement is for people that are interested in helping their neighbors, working well with others, and
willing to get dirty. There is a job for anyone and everyone.
http://www.rebuildingtogethermc.org/ “Come and See”
Saint Mark is a Bread for the World (BFW)
Covenant Church!
We have a history of being a special partner with Bread for the World as we work together to end hunger. What this means is that we understand that ending hunger is
central to Christian mission and we make specific commitments:
• to pray and learn about hunger,
• to give of our time to end hunger in our community,
the nation and the world, • to give of our resources to end hunger,
• and to participate in the annual “Offering of Letters”
campaign.
To fulfill these commitments, Saint Markers do the following: donate an annual special monetary gift to BFW; watch a video and participate in an adult and a youth END
HUNGER class; and write letters on behalf of the poor and hungry.
Sandy Champion and other volunteers will assist your
BFW learning and letter writing on Sunday June 3. More details will be available as the date approaches. In the meantime, go to www.bread.org to learn more about the
“Circle of Protection” and the four “mini campaigns”. IN THESE BUDGET CUTTING TIMES, let’s remind our congressional delegations to protect existing programs and tax benefits that are proven tools in the ongoing
effort to end hunger! Give the hungry a strong voice in Congress!
Lectionary for April
April 1: Palm Sunday
Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16; Ps. 118:1-2,19-29; Isa. 50:4-9; Ps. 31:9-16; Phil 2:5-11;
Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39
April 8: Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43 or Isa. 25:6-9; Ps. 118:1-2,14-24; I Cor. 15:1-11; John 20:1-18or Mark 16:1-8; Ps. 114;
I Cor. 5:6-8; Luke 24:13-49
April 15: 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:32-35; Ps. 133; I John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31
April 22: 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:12-19; Ps. 4; 1 John 3:1-7
April 29: 4th Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:5-12; Ps. 23; I John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
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Adult Education Classes April 15 - May 13 at 9:30 AM
“And God Saw that it Was Good,” a study of our world and God’s word using excerpts from the PBS films by Ken Burns The National Parks, America’s Best Idea. The
purpose of the course is to use clips from the film to learn more about our relationship with both the Creator and creation.
You are encouraged to attend all of the sessions if you can. However, the classes are designed so that each session is a discrete unit. Please join leaders Alison
Bennett and Angeline Butler for this hands-on experience that we hope will be engaging to the intellect as well as your spirituality.
Youth Group Fundraising
Thanks!
The youth of Saint Mark once again thank the congregation for its incredible, awesome, amazing
support! The fundraiser at Potomac Pizza added over
$170 to the summer mission trip coffers. And even better, the night out brought together SMPC members - new and long-standing; families, couples and individuals; friends of
members and members of the community who happened to stop by and were recruited to join the fundraising effort. Folks who had meetings at the church - the Book Lovers, the Haiti group - organized carryout to support the
youth. A successful evening by every measure – THANK YOU!
April Activities:
• Sunday, April 1: Spirit & Service Coffee/Snack Break
provided by YG Families 10:30-11:00 AM; 11:00 AM - YG help stuff plastic Easter eggs for Easter
Sunday; No Evening YG • Sunday, April 8: Easter/Spring Break No YG meeting
(Youth help with Easter Egg Hunt between services)
• Sunday, April 15: Youth Fellowship at
Saint Mark 5:00-7:00 PM
• Sunday, April 22: Earth Day Work Day, on Saint Mark
grounds (co-led by Property Ministry) 12:00-2:00 PM • Sunday, April 29: Tentative Presbytery-Wide Youth
Event 6:00-8:00 PM (Actual Time TBD) - Otherwise,
Youth Fellowship 5:00-7:00 PM
All Church Retreat
"Becoming a Sailboat Church"
Friday, Saturday or Sunday, May 18, 19 or 20 at the Claggett Center, Buckeystown, Maryland
Fellow sailors,
Have you noticed how the Spring winds are picking up? Come be a part of the Sailboat crew and watch the sails of our ship start to fill out. Join in the excitement. Pick up
one of our Retreat registration forms - available at the church or on the front page of our website. You can tailor your stay with Extended or Core Options.
We just want you there with us at this beautiful place! Here are a few schedule details.
•Extended Session Friday 5:30 PM - Sunday at 1:00 PM:
Friday Dinner: 6:15 - 7:00 PM and Evening programs
•Saturday:
Breakfast from 7:45 - 8:30 AM
Core Session (Saturday 9:00 AM – Sunday 1:00 PM) Saturday 5/18 begins at 9:00 AM with: Program for Adults led by Pastor Roy Program for Youth led by Pastor Leann
Fun for Children with the Rev. Maggie Hayward
Our own health guru, Jennifer Ferguson, has promised a surprise
Lunch buffet: 12 noon – 1:00 PM
In the afternoon there will again be programs for each group or alternative break out activities and free time
Dinner Buffet: 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Evening: Several choices including a campfire
•Sunday:
Breakfast Buffet: 7:45 - 8:30 AM Activities building to Worship Service Lunch Buffet: 12:00 Noon – 1:00 PM
Depart
Remember early registrations save $15 each so turn yours
in by Sunday, April 29! For more information contact Elizabeth H. Bono, [email protected]
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Parish Life
Easter Breakfast
10:00 to 11:30 AM Please join us for a Continental breakfast on Easter Sunday! As in
years past, there will be time for all to attend, so come early or stay late to enjoy the food and fellowship. If you can contribute food items (such as muffins, fruit salad, colored hard-boiled eggs, coffee cake,
donuts etc.), please email Lyn Hill [email protected] to volunteer to bring food or help that morning.
Many thanks to all who contributed in various ways to the Lenten suppers. Delicious food and good fellowship was
had by all!
Earth Day Activity – Faithfully
Picking up the Potomac
April 14, 9:00AM-12:00 Noon
For 24 years, people in the mid-Atlantic have been working to clean
up the Potomac River watershed, which covers 14,670 miles. You can learn more about it at http://www.fergusonfoundation.org/trash_initiative/potom
ac_profile2.pdf Please consider joining other people from churches,
synagogues and mosques around Montgomery County in "FAITHFULLY PICKING-UP THE POTOMAC" There are a number of sites recruiting volunteers now. http://www.fergusonfoundation.org/trash_initiative/rc_site
s.shtml Check out the Rock Creek Park link to see which sites are recruiting near you. Make a difference.
2nd Annual Alternate Transportation Sunday
Leave the car at home and Bike or Walk
(or Share the Ride) to Church Day!
May 6, 2012 (raindate May 13)
Bring a Friend! Mark your calendars for this fun Spirit and Service Sunday. Dress will be casual. The Welcoming Ministry
planning team will offer to arrange carpools and biking teams upon request. There are many details to make this event a success. If this effort speaks to your heart, please
call Alison Bennett to volunteer. Questions? Email at [email protected]
The Green Team and the Welcoming Ministry invite
you to an Earth Care Celebration of
Good Food and a Film
April 15, 6:30 PM in Macdonnell Fellowship Hall, we will
host a potluck supper, but not just any potluck will do.
We are asking you to be creative and bring a dish made
with only organic, or sustainable, or locally grown or
raised, or grass-fed in the case of meat, or any other
minimally processed foods. We will label all of our dishes
to show their bona fides. This will be as trash-free an
event as possible, and food waste will be saved for
composting. Dishes will be washed. Bring a Friend!
Following the meal, we
will screen the
controversial film
Food, Inc. (PG-13).
Filmmaker Robert Kenner
lifts the veil on our nation's
food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly
that has been hidden from the American consumer. We
have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop,
herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that
won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the
harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated
73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with
widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an
epidemic level of diabetes among adults. The film features
interviews with experts and reveals surprising and often
shocking truths about what we eat, how it's produced,
who we have become as a nation and where we are going
from here.
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One Great Hour of Sharing
Sharing resources, changing lives. Since 1949, Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians
through One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) to share God’s love with people experiencing need. Saint Mark will receive the OGHG offering at Easter.
Where does the money go?
The money received from the OGHS offerings goes to three assistance programs of the PCUSA.
1. The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), which supports projects in five program areas: • Direct food relief. PHP supports congregational
food pantries, soup kitchens and church gardens that provide fresh produce for those in immediate need in the USA. Internationally, PHP builds grain banks, provides local seeds to small farmers and helps establish food
sovereignty in developing countries. • Development assistance. PHP grants support food
enterprise and micro credit, community organizing, nutrition education and water projects, • Influencing public policy. PHP grants and
partnerships support advocacy for child nutrition
programs, welfare reform that provides real opportunity, foreign aid directed toward the needs of the poor, sustainable agricultural practices and the survival of family
farms, trade policies which protect the most vulnerable and debt relief for the poorest nations. • Lifestyle integrity. PHP encourages families, church
groups, and institutions to evaluate their own needs and
develop new ways of being more caring and sharing of the world's resources in obedience to the Gospel. • Education and interpretation. PHP provides
resources to educate the church about hunger-related
issues.
2. Self-Development of People (SDOP) which a ministry that affirms God’s concern for humankind by
working to empower economically poor, oppressed, and disadvantaged people and seeking to change the structures that perpetuate poverty, oppression and
injustice. SDOP establishes partnerships with groups in the US who meet the following criteria: 1) are oppressed by poverty or social systems, 2) want to take charge of their own lives, 3)have organized or are organizing to do
something about their own conditions, 4) have decided that what they are going to do will produce long term changes for their lives or communities, and 5) will control
the programs they own and will benefit from them directly.
3. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is the emergency and refugee program and focuses on the long
term recovery of disaster impacted communities.
Saint Mark Book Lovers
Book Lovers meet the third
Monday of the month at 7:30 PM throughout the year in the parlor at Saint Mark. Below is our list of
books for the coming months. Please join us!
• April 16: The Nineteenth Wife: A Novel by David
Ebershoff
• May 19: Unbroken, A World War II Story of
Survival, Resillience and Redemption by Laura
Hildenbrand
If Unbroken is not available in paperback and/or in the
library by May we will read the alternate
Alternate for May: Mansfield Park by Jane Austin
• June: Potluck Supper to choose books
for 2012-2013
Visit the Saint Mark website for the entire reading list!
Planned Giving
In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Luke 3:11
During your lifetime you have served the church with your tithes, your offerings, your time and your talent. A gift to
the church through your will serves as a testament to your heirs of your faith in God and the resurrection. It provides you with one last opportunity to exemplify what it means
to be a good steward, providing for others as God has provided for you during your lifetime. Through a bequest in your will you have the opportunity to leave a legacy that will positively impact the church long after your
lifetime while blessing future generations. To learn more about including the church in your estate
plans and how your legacy can supports its ministry, please contact members of the Planned Giving Committee—Lee LaRoche, Laura Brouse-Long, Tom
Champion, or Joe Piff—or the pastors.
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Easter Memorials
Lilies or pink hydrangeas to decorate the worship space for Easter may be ordered,
or Memorial Garden Fund contributions may be made, by submitting an order form and a check made payable to the church, marked “Easter Memorial.”
Please indicate in whose memory, or in whose honor, you wish the flowers or contribution to be dedicated, and whether you wish the flowers to be given to a shut-in, or
left in church for you to pick up after the 11:00 AM Easter service.
Contributions for flowers for delivery to shut-ins, or
contributions to the garden fund, qualify as charitable contributions. The contributions cover the cost of the flowers, with no cost to the church operating budget.
The balance goes to the fund for the upkeep of the memorial garden.
The Memorial Garden Fund is outside the regular church
operating budget. It is supported by direct contributions, inurnment fees, and memorial contributions at Easter and Christmas. The latter averaged $1,691 a year during
2009-2011.
Legacy Campaign
Status as of March 18, 2012 Pledged: $777,500
Receipts: $342,000
As we move back into our beloved, renovated sanctuary,
we prayerfully ask that you consider a special gift to the Legacy Campaign.
If you have any questions or need more information,
please contact Jon Spargur or Teresa Larson.
Saint Mark People
Kenzie Hopkins Fleisher was born March 12, to Stacia
and Jeremy Fleisher. The proud grandparents are Mary
and Tom Fleisher….congratulations to all!
Dear Members of Saint Mark, I want to thank all of you for your abundant blessings on my ninety-fifth birthday last week. I appreciated your calls, your cards, a beautiful pot of white chrysanthemums, a lovely visit with
Ellie Keil and even a call and card from our pastor Roy. This is an unusually caring and loving church. I hope sometime soon to be able to visit you although walking
has become difficult. Yours in Christ, Lucy Eastham
Spotlighting New Members
Welcome to our new members in March
Look for their photos in the atrium.
Jenny and Brian Hoshaw
Brian and Jenny live in Olney. Brian works at NIH and
Jenny was an elementary school teacher for 14 years, but
now she stays home with their 1-year old son, Luke.
They are friends of the Carr’s and that is how they found
Saint Mark. Brian and Jenny like the open, welcoming
community and the people at Saint Mark. They both said
they enjoy the sermon messages and lessons. Jenny likes
cooking, biking, and reading, while Brian likes ice hockey
and exercising.
Tom and Lisa Freeman
Tom and Lisa have been married 12 years and live in
Rockville. Their last church was in Raleigh, NC. Tom is an
IT systems engineer and consultant and Lisa is a
regulatory affairs scientist in the biotech industry. They
like that Saint Mark is friendly and welcoming and that we
are committed to community service. They first came to
Saint Mark for the funeral of a friend, and they were also
invited by Andy and Tanya Keller. They both like travel
and hiking, while Tom likes amateur auto racing and Lisa
enjoys scuba diving and reading.
Greg Carr
Greg and his wife, Jenn, moved to Montgomery County
about a year ago and first visited Saint Mark last summer
and really enjoyed the worship services. Jenn joined Saint
Mark in September. In March Greg was baptized and
joined Saint Mark. He said he has been most impressed by
the welcoming nature of the congregation, which they
both noticed the very first time they came for worship.
Greg is a postdoctoral researcher with the National
Institute of Mental Health in the Clinical Brain Disorders
Branch. Their group is focused on discovering what
factors lead to the development of schizophrenia and
improving available therapies for the disorder. He is also
an adjunct instructor in the Biology Department at Howard
University, teaching the Animal Physiology and
Neuroscience courses. They live in Silver Spring and are
expecting their first child in April. Greg likes to read
biographies and non-fiction and watch sports, especially
baseball.
April 2012 Saint Mark Messenger
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Address or eMail Change – Have you changed your phone, email, or home address? Have you added new family members to your household? Please update your information. Otherwise, we pay the postage on returned mail. Send an email to: [email protected] with your new information.
The next Messenger deadline is Thursday, April 19. Please send articles to [email protected] or put in mailbox #11 in the office.
Regardless of race, class, marital status, sexual orientation, ability or disability.
Here you can find a home for your heart and an opportunity to serve
Saint Mark Youth having fun bowling!
Saint Mark Presbyterian Church 10701 Old Georgetown Road,
