T HIS W EEK AT S T . M ARK ’ S SUNDAY, January 7 9:00a Worship 9:00a SUNDAY SCHOOL RESUMES Coffee sales 10:30a Worship MONDAY, January 8 6:00p Sanctuary Arts & Banners TUESDAY, January 9 1:00 Staff meeting 7:00p Glory Ringers—HS & adults rehearsal WEDNESDAY, January 10 FDL, CONFIRMATION, YOUTH GROUPS RESUME See the January Vineyard for the complete lineup 9:30a The Bread Wrappers 9:30a WVMTA meeting 1:00p Office volunteers 5:00p Roaring Ringers—gr 3-5 5:30p FDL—gr 1-5 & HS 5:30p Joyous Praise Bells—gr 6-8 6:00p Confirmation classes—gr 6-8 THURSDAY, January 11 5:30p Cub Scout meeting 7:00p AA meeting 7:00p Lion’s Voice Choir FRIDAY, January 12 6:30p Al-Anon SATURDAY, January 13 1:00 Nielsen recital 5:00p Worship Blood pressure screening 6:00p PADS dinner at Hesed House SUNDAY, January 14 9:00a Worship 9:00a Sunday School 10:30a Worship Blood pressure screening 11:45a Council meeting L OOKING A HEAD Mon Jan 15: Pastor Patrick’s first day Sat Jan 20 & Sun Jan 21: Pastor Patrick preaching Sun Jan 21: Budget forum after 10:30 service Wed Jan 24: Wednesday Worship Thurs Jan 25: Adult Fellowship planning meeting Sun Jan 28: Annual meeting Sat Feb 3 & Sun Feb 4: “Souper Bowl” Sun Feb 4: First Communion kick-off Discipleship God’s Work, Our Hands “I am the vine, you are the branches.” John 15:5 The Light shines for all people! The early church celebrated the visit of the Magi, Jesus’ baptism by John, and the Miracle at the Wedding at Cana all at once, on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. For the ancient people, these stories revealed just who this Jesus was: Jesus, the Light of the world, come for all people as God’s own— Beloved! He lived out God’s transforming and abundant graciousness . . . Water became Wine! More than enough! The Feast of Epiphany became a season, one that lasts until Ash Wednesday (February 14th this year). So, even though the Christmas cookies are all eaten, the tree is taken down, and the sweater is exchanged, we will still have the GIFT of ongoing love that welcomes, includes, and shines for all people. It’s happening! We’ve envisioned it. We’ve prayed for it. We’ve voted on it. And now IT’S HAPPENING! Our new Associate Pastor, Patrick J. Fish, begins his ministry with us on Monday, January 15. We know you’ll be eager to meet and greet him, along with his wife, Kate, and daughters, Noelle (Ellie) and Madelyn (Maddie). Pastor Patrick will be the preacher the weekend of January 20/21. Please join us for worship. Want a better year in 2018? Strengthen your resilience! Our Faith Community Nurse, Jean Clementz, has some great tips to strengthen our ways of adapting well to whatever life might bring us in 2018. The full article in the January Vineyard (pg 8), but here are a few highlights: Make connections. Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems. Accept that change is part of living. Move toward your goals. Take decisive actions. Look for opportunities for self-discovery. Nurture a positive view of yourself. Keep things in perspective. Maintain a hopeful outlooks. Take care of yourself. Circle these dates on your calendar Sunday, Jan 21—Budget Forum To prepare for the annual meeting, you are invited to attend a budget information forum after the 10:30 a.m. service. Sunday, Jan 28—Annual Meeting Our beginning-of-the-year meeting is a gathering to celebrate what we have accomplished in the past year, as well as a time to set goals and our budget for the New Year. All are welcome! Even if you are not a church member, this meeting is a great way to get to know more about what goes on. You’ll especially enjoy the year-in-review photos! The schedule for this Sunday is planned to make it easier for all to be involved: 9:00 a.m. NO SUNDAY SCHOOL 10:00 a.m. WORSHIP (only one service) 11:00 a.m. MEETING in the Sanctuary (activities for children in the Nursery/Community Room) 12:30 p.m. LUNCH (children will join us) Have church photos? Wednesday, Jan 10 is the deadline to send your 2017 photos for the annual report and year-in-review at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, Jan 28th. Please send your photos (high resolution preferred) to Sue Zillman at [email protected], or contact her for Dropbox or flash drive transfer. SAMPLE: St. Mark’s Rally Day Missing something? Adult Fellowship Planning Meeting Thursday, Jan 25, 10:30 a.m. If you’ve been missing St. Mark’s Adult Fellowship, come on January 25 at 10:30 a.m. to the Sanctuary Hall to help plan for the year. After the meeting, we’ll head over to Mother’s Restaurant to have lunch together. Installation date set! Sunday, Feb 11, 10:00 a.m. Please plan to join us for a festive service of Installation for Pastor Patrick Fish on Sunday, February 11, 2018 at 10 a.m. (There will be one service only that day.) Pastor Sarah Stumme, Associate to the Bishop for the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, will be our guest preacher and the installation officiant. This is also the Transfiguration of our Lord—Mardi Gras! Stay tuned for more details. Lunch will follow our festive service. Together we celebrate the Light of God’s Presence that claims us as Beloved and leads us down the mountain to Journey with Jesus to Jerusalem.
Transcript
THIS WEEK AT ST . MARK ’S
SUNDAY, January 7 9:00a Worship 9:00a SUNDAY SCHOOL RESUMES Coffee sales 10:30a Worship
If you’ve been missing St. Mark’s Adult Fellowship, come on January 25 at
10:30 a.m. to the Sanctuary Hall to help plan for the year. After the
meeting, we’ll head over to Mother’s Restaurant to have lunch together.
Installation date set!
Sunday, Feb 11, 10:00 a.m.
Please plan to join us for a festive service of Installation
for Pastor Patrick Fish on Sunday, February 11,
2018 at 10 a.m. (There will be one service only that
day.)
Pastor Sarah Stumme, Associate to the Bishop for the
Metropolitan Chicago Synod, will be our guest preacher
and the installation officiant.
This is also the Transfiguration of our Lord—Mardi
Gras! Stay tuned for more details.
Lunch will follow our festive service.
Together we celebrate the Light of God’s Presence that
claims us as Beloved and leads us down the mountain to
Journey with Jesus to Jerusalem.
January 6-7, 2018
Welcome!
We’ve been waiting for you! Our mission at
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church is to share Christ’s
abundant love with each other and the world. We are
called to reach out to persons of all ages and life
situations with Christ’s own hospitality and
acceptance, to invite you to be our companion on the
spiritual journey as we discover together the ways
that Christ is offering hope, healing, and a renewed
sense of meaning for our lives.
If you are not a member, we would love to talk with you about our ministry.
We invite you to talk to one of our pastors or stop at the Welcome Center near the church
entrance. May your worship experience here at St. Mark’s draw you closer to Christ and
his abundant love!
Worship Times: Saturday 5:00 pm & Sunday 9:00 am and 10:30 am
Staff Contact Information
Please call or email the appropriate St. Mark’s staff member if you have questions about the following areas of ministry. Please visit our website for more information about St. Marks.
Kristin Young Ext. 16 [email protected] Director of Worship & the Arts Sue Hilderbrand Ext. 24 [email protected] Director of Bell Choirs Kari Reiseck Ext. 22 [email protected] Director of Youth & Family Ministries
Don Friend (President), Charlie Brummet (Interim Treasurer), Rick Jansen (Property), Jeanne Flynn (Youth and Family), Julie Simpson (Stewardship), Lindsay Meyer (Small Groups), Heather Rehg (New Members), Carol Reiseck (Stewardship), Pastor Patricia Geiseman
St. Mark's Lutheran Church 27 South Edgelawn Drive Aurora, Illinois 60506
5:00 p.m. Dorothy Clarkson, Sarah DeRubis, Mary Kenner, Bob Korst,
Carol Lippert, Julia Taylor 9:00 a.m. Barb Barrett, John Carlson, Doris Clark, Danielle Easton,
Dean Jessick, Debbie Manson, Kay McKeen, Bruce Nicholson, Mark Perry,
Brad Powell, Joe Rangel, William Shipperley, Dennis Zielinski
10:30 a.m. Paul Bergh, Victoria Halsted, Linda McArdle, DeWayne and Linda
Schau, Jack Treadman Continuing Care: Bill Beattie, Johanna Brinkman, Richard Brinkman,
Laurie Dunn, Tad Dyer, Gary Francis, Joanne Jackman, Tom Jones, John Lange,
Bruce Lindgren, Mason McNamara, Terry Minor, Terry Mueller, Lauren Muscat,
Grant Oestriech, Bob Overstreet, Wendy Overstreet, Sharon Ross,
Bessie Sclavos, Lorand Szekely
Today’s Worship focus
Mark’s Gospel opens with the Baptism of our Lord, completely skipping the birth.
In this Gospel reading God claimed Jesus and called him, “Beloved.” Baptism
marked a new beginning as Jesus moved into his ministry.
God’s blessings through water, word, and Spirit bring life and growth for us. We,
too, are claimed as God’s own and Beloved. This weekend we can consider what
more God might be calling us to do in the New Year.
Baptism happens once, but the benefits are daily and eternal.
Next week’s Worship focus
Each of the readings for this weekend relates to call. Samuel’s call is to prophesy
to Eli with a message that is hard to give and to hear.
Paul’s message to the Christians at Corinth is a call to live out their freedom
guided by the community. Jesus calls followers, including Philip, who found
Nathanael and invited him to “come and see.”
We rarely talk about calls anymore unless we are teaching or preaching about
Samuel or Nathanael or Paul.
The Season after Epiphany is that occasion to reflect on God’s coming into the
world in Jesus, the Light of the world.
At St. Mark’s, we have called Pastor Patrick Fish to join us in ministry. Through
his abilities, gifts, and energy, we anticipate the Light will shine in new ways in
our life together. As we prepare for this time, may we all be open to the invitation
to “come and see.”
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Sharing Christ’s Abundant Love
with Each Other and the World
This “bowl” is a winner! “Souper Bowl” weekend will be Saturday, Feb 3 and Sunday, Feb 4 this year. Look for soup kettles in the Narthex after the services on Super Bowl weekend.
Don’t let people go hungry
January food drive for PADS Every January, our Outreach Team highlights PADS, and
our yearly collection of food items. Our goal is to collect
all the ingredients for our bi-monthly meal commitment at
PADS. Pick up a grocery list at the Welcome Center and drop items off in
the collection bin in the narthex. Or, if you prefer, use the PADS Food
Donation Envelopes at the Welcome Center, and our Outreach Team will
buy the items for you.
Dinner is on us at PADS Saturday, Jan 13
St. Mark’s has committed to six meals this year, and our
first dinner is Saturday, Jan 13. If you would like to help
out in preparing and serving, sign up at the Welcome
Center.
“Feed the Need” Sunday, Feb 18, 4:00—6:00 p.m.
Save the date! NOTE: Our time slot has been changed!
Feel like trying something new? The Lions Voice Choir and the Glory Ringers Bell
Choir invite you to consider joining them. Contact choir
If you purchased Proud Mama coffee without a lid, the lids have now arrived. You may pick one up at the coffee sales desk after worship. Thank you for your
