Sunday, October 1, 2017
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
8AM Rite I Holy Eucharist
9AM Youth Groups do not meet
10AM Rite II Holy Eucharist & Sunday School
The Rev. Skip Vilas will join us this morning while Father Rick is away
Sanctuary HVAC
The HVAC work for the Sanctuary has been completed!Stewardship
Our Stewardship Campaign Kickoff, “Bring in the Harvest on our journey to generosity” begins this Sunday, October 1.
This is a wonderful time to reflect on what St. Mark’s and our ministries mean to you. Where do you see Jesus at St. Mark’s? We’ll be hearing from some of our parishioners over the next few weeks and this Sunday Lea O’Shea will tell us what St. Mark’s means to her.
Come to coffee hour for some delicious soups – we even have Karen Morley’s famous beef and bean soup - and pick up your pledge commitment letter. Thank you so much for your continuing support to St. Mark’s and our ministries – you truly make the difference.
Save the date for our Stewardship Celebration Brunch in Advent on Sunday December 3. A time to show our gratitude for all you do for St. Mark’s
Click here to view "Journey to Generosity"
"Alpha" Coming to Father Rick's "Forum" this Fall
Beginning on October 8th and running through mid-December, we will introduce Alpha during the Sunday Forum sessions.
Alpha is a series of discussions exploring the Christian faith, typically run over eleven weeks, including a weekend retreat. Each session looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. Alpha has been attended by millions in countries all around the world, and anyone is welcome.
Sign Up Here.
Altar Guild Members Needed
Currently our Altar Guild committee consists of only three people - very dedicated people, but still only three.
As a volunteer, you would be asked to show up on your scheduled Saturday to set up the altar for the 8am service on Sunday and then arrive on Sunday prior to the 10am to prepare it for the second service. After the 10am service, you will be expected to clean all vessels and take the linens home to wash and press. Anyone one of us would be very happy to talk you through the process of setting up the altar, the care of the linens, and other details.
We are an equal opportunity organization – everyone is welcome, men and woman alike.
Serving in the Altar Guild is a ministry that can only be carried out with a song in one's heart.
Please contact Jeanne Wyatt, Anne Post, or Lauren Walker for more info.
Serving in the Altar Guild is a ministry that can only be carried out with a song in one's heart.
Please contact Jeanne Wyatt, Anne Post, or Lauren Walker for more info.
Ushers Needed
We are in need of additional ushers for our Sunday services. It is an easy responsibility and we put together our monthly schedules based on your availability to avoid any conflicts. Please contact the office or Jim Martucci directly if you are interested and can help out. All are welcome to serve. Thank you.
smARTS - 9/27 thru 11/15
Join the smARTS team on Wednesdays as we create craft and art toshare with the St. Mark's community and those in need of some love, guidanceand inspiration in their daily lives. Join us as we diligently work to createart full of faith and love for all to enjoy! No special skills are needed wewill help you find your creative niche!
See you there, 4:00 - 5:30 Wednesdays.
Giving Gardens at the Ross Farm
"We have now harvested 1700 lbs of fresh produce from our Ross Gardens, and our Fall plantings are thriving! Come join us this week for our harvest sessions: Sat (9/30) 9-11 am, Mon (10/2) 4-6 pm, and Wed (10/4) 4-6pm, weather permitting
Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for St. Mark's next assigned week beginning October 21, and our church partners would welcome your help during their assigned weeks if you keep an eye out for notices of dates and times."
Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for St. Mark's next assigned week beginning October 21, and our church partners would welcome your help during their assigned weeks if you keep an eye out for notices of dates and times."
Buildings & Ground Projects
One of this year’s goals of the Buildings and Grounds commissions is to complete many items on our “to do” list. If you have not seen it yet, there is a poster on the Parish Hall wall near the kitchen that lists all the items that we are trying to complete. To complete these items, we need your help.
- Each item has a rough estimate of what the cost would be to complete the item.
- Some items need to be done by a contractor, some can be done by a work party, and some can be done either way.
- Each item needs an owner to coordinate the parts of the item to completion. This could involve getting estimates from contractors and working with the contractor to complete the item. It could be getting the necessary materials to do the item and organizing a work party to complete the item.
What you can do:
- You can volunteer to fund part or all an item.
- You can volunteer to be the owner of an item to make sure it gets completed.
- You can volunteer to help the owner of the item.
So please look at the list and let me know if you can help any of the above ways.
Best way to initially contact me is through email ngraff011@gmail.com. Then we can discuss details and your thoughts on the project.
Thanks,
Norm Graff
Art Studio
Come and join us for painting or other arts and crafts on a Tuesday in the Arts Studio downstairs. We usually arrive at around noon and finish by 4:00pm. Come for as long as you like. We work on our own paintings, have a great time together and help each other out. For more info contact Jenny Phillips 908-451-9638.
Box-Packing Day
On Sunday morning, October 22, our Sunday School kids and teens will once again work together on an Outreach issue. In April, we held Seed and Feed Day to work on activities focused on hunger in our community, followed by Community Hope Day in May, when we highlighted the challenges of homelessness in our local veterans community. With this third joint community service Sunday, we will focus on international relief, working together to fill “Christmas for Children” boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. These boxes travel all around the world to benefit kids in great need, so what a great message for our kids to think about as the holidays approach. How can you help?
We would welcome donations of toys (not war-themed), small pieces of new clothing, hygiene items, and crafts and school supplies, suitable for a girl or boy in these age ranges -- 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14 yrs old. All donations need to fit in shoe-sized boxes. Please do not donate liquids, chocolates or other perishables, breakables, fruits and drink mixes, or medicines and vitamins.
We would also appreciate monetary donations to purchase these items, so watch for our basket at our picnic and in the Narthex throughout September and early October.
Of course, if you would prefer to fill a box yourself, we have them available. Many thanks, as always, for your support of our kids and outreach programs!
Thank you from the Rummage Team
Thank you St. Mark’s for another successful Rummage Sale. Your donations were fantastic, your help invaluable, and your baked goods delicious. Throughout the week, so many of you graciously assisted us, and we shared great fellowship.
We are pleased to announce that the Fall 2017 Rummage Sale netted over $10,000. The yearly Spring and Fall Rummage Sale total is about $23,000 – our best effort yet! As this is one of St. Mark’s biggest fund raising activities, everyone should be very proud of the success it has achieved.
Again, many thanks. Your participation was greatly appreciated.
Harry, Kit and Annabelle