Saint Mark THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF. 2nd Sunday of Advent December 10th, 2017

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1 Saint Mark THE CATHOLIC 2nd Sunday of Advent December 10th, 2017 CHURCH OF Mission Statement Rooted in the Word...Nourished by the Sacraments Guided by the Holy Spirit...We, the people of St. Mark, are united in our desire to serve those who are in need, to give our gifts and talents to build the Kingdom of God by imaging Jesus Christ. Established Kempsville Rd. Virginia Beach, VA Phone: Fax: Website: Parish Office Hours Monday-Thursday: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.. LITURGY SCHEDULE Saturday: 5:30 p.m. Sunday: 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Tuesday & Thursday: 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: 7:00 p.m. Check inside bulletin for possible changes. Nursery available for 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. Masses. PARISH STAFF Rev. Anthony Mpungu... Pastor Michael Johnson & John Kren... Deacons Mike Johnson... Pastoral Associate Mary Ellen Cussen... Parish Bookkeeper MJ Sargent... Parish Secretary Michael K. Williams...Director of Music... Laura Ishmael... Pianist Marlene Games... Nursery Supervisor Brian Gridley... Maintenance / I.T. Coordinator George Dillon III.. Parish Council Chairman William McMican... Finance Council Chairman RELIGIOUS FORMATION STAFF Sharon Katzman..... Director of Religious Formation Rachel Rudman... Coordinator of Religious Formation Fe Guzman...Youth Minister Arleen Spenceley... Administrative Assistant RELIGIOUS FORMATION OFFICE HOURS Monday-Wednesday 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Sunday 9:30a.m.-2:00 p.m. Phone: Fax: sharon@stmark-parish.org BAPTISM: Celebrated the 1st weekend of the month except during Lent. Contact Religious Formation Office for Baptism classes prior to the Sacrament. MATRIMONY: Couples required to give 6 months notice before planning a wedding in the Parish. Please do not set date before contacting the Priest. MINISTRY TO THE SICK & HOMEBOUND: If you know someone who cannot attend Mass or desires a visit or the Sacrament of Anointing, call the Office. RECONCILIATION: Celebrated 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month at 4:00 p.m. Advent Reconciliation service on Thursday, December 14th at 7:00pm. COLUMBARIUM: Parishioners interested in procuring a Columbarium niche, call the Parish Office.

2 MASS INTENTIONS & DAILY READINGS MON 12/11 IS 35:1-10; LK 5:17-26 SUNDAY REFLECTION from Father Anthony TUES 12/12 8:30am DOT BURLAMACHI + NICHOLAS J. DARDANO, JR. + RV 11:19A;12:1-6A,10AB; LK 1:26-38 WED 12/13 7:00pm SALLY RECTOR + PEGGY RYBARCZYK + THOMAS TRAIL (INT.) IS 40:25-31; MT 11:28-30 THU 12/14 8:30am AURORA BALINO + PEGGY RYBARCZYK + IS 41:13-20; MT 11:11-15 FRI 12/15 IS 48:17-19; MT:16-19 SAT 12/16 5:30pm LILLIAN SELESTOW + ALICE CORTESE + SIR 48:1-4,9-11; MT 17:9A,10-13 SUN 12/17 8:30am RUSSEL, ENOLA & TOMMY RIVET + 10:30am AUGUSTO RAMIREZ + NICASIO MALABANAN + JOHN JAY & DOMINADOR TORIO + IS 61:1-2A, LK 1:46-48,49-50, THES 5:16-24 JN 1:6-8,19-28 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT! I welcome you to this Second Sunday of Advent, the season that prepares us for the coming of our Lord. We reflect on the prophecy of Isaiah regarding a messenger that would be sent to announce the coming of the Lord. This messenger is none other than John the Baptist, the voice that cried out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." John the Baptist was more than a prophet. He had the voice and spirit of God within him. He spoke with courage and his message was strong because it was about how soon the Messiah would come. His message gave people the hope and consolation that they needed. Now that we have come to the second Sunday of Advent, let us make use of every opportunity, so that the Lord may find us ready. Let us straighten the paths that need to be straightened as we learn from the humility of John the Baptist. Happy Sunday! MEET OUR NEW BISHOP! Pope Francis has named Auxiliary Bishop Barry C. Knestout of the Archdiocese of Washington as the new Bishop of Richmond. Installation Mass for Bishop-designate Barry C. Knestout, 13 th Bishop of Richmond, will be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart on Friday, January 12 th at 2 pm. Nancy Tennin, Mark Larson, Evelyn Malana, Katie Sluder, Micah Pulvermacher, Kayla Soccio, Paula Silvia, Florabel Larson, Shawn Perine, Brian Sunderland, Patty & Alton Russell, Aurora Balino, Anna Wilson Names will remain on the Prayer List for one month, after which they will be entered into the Parish Book of Intercessions, the intentions of which are prayed for each weekend during all the Masses.

3 THIS WEEK AT ST. MARK DECEMBER MON 10:00am 7:15pm Food Pantry RCIA TUE 8:30am DAILY MASS 9:30am Bible Study 7:30pm Bible Study WED 10:00am Food Pantry 6:30pm Rosary 7:00pm DAILY MASS 7:30pm Music Ministry Christmas Party THU 8:30am DAILY MASS 7:00pm Advent Penance Service FRI 9:30am Mom s Group 10:00am Food Pantry 7:30pm K of C Business Meeting SAT 4:00pm Reconciliation 5:30pm WEEKEND MASS SUN 8:30am WEEKEND MASS 10:30am WEEKEND MASS 12:00pm St. Mark Angels Rehearsal 6:00pm Y3S & Teen Formation 2 FINANCIAL BOX SCORE FISCAL YEAR JULY- JUNE NOV. 26 OFFERTORY YEAR TO DATE Family Count: 1234 Families Using Envelopes: 325 Families Using Online Donation: 59 NEEDED YEAR TO DATE EXCESS/ SHORT Offertory $11,239 $325,682 $347,600 (21,918) NOVEMBER TOTALS Food Pantry $127; Debt Reduction $41; Future Capital $140; Poor Box $118; Haiti $10 SAVE THE DATES: FEBRUARY 21-28, 2018 On line sign ups go live on January 5, For more information, please contact Karina Turkiewicz or Judy Wood at or stmarkcast@gmail.com. Justice & Peace FOOD PANTRY: This week the Food Pantry is in need of Pork & Beans. Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the Solidarity misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good. -The Social Concerns of the Church (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis) Pope John Paul II 1988 CHRISTMAS FOOD BAG DISTRIBU- TION Members of the Justice & Peace Committee will be passing out brown grocery bags after all masses this weekend. It is our hope that most parishioners will be able to take a bag or two, fill it with the requested items and return it next weekend. We will distribute them on Sunday, December 17 th at 12:30pm. Thank you in advance for supporting the ministry. REMINDER Our Justice & Peace Committee will NOT meet in December. Our next meeting will be Monday, January 15 th, 7pm. Please join us and bring a friend as we work together to live out our Justice & Peace Mission Statement: As a faith-community within the Catholic Church of St. Mark, the Justice and Peace committee, using our gifts and talents, desire to image Jesus Christ by fostering the values of Jesus Christ and to promote the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church. PLARN We will take a break from our PLARNING gatherings for the rest of December. We will begin meeting for the new year on January 4, Join us Thursday mornings from 9:30-11am as we turn unwanted plastic bags into bedding for the homeless. No crocheting experience needed! To all who donated plastic bags for our Plarners; your response has been amazing; we are full for now- THANK YOU! For more information on PLARN contact Chris McGrath at mcgrathcm24@gmail.com or THANKSGIVING FOOD BAG UPDATE Thank you to all who helped collect, sort and distribute our Thanksgiving food bags. A HUGE thank you to all who donated needed items for our Thanksgiving Food Bags. A special thank you to our friends and family at Rose & Womble and Cox Communications who donated food bags to help us meet the need. Our community of St. Mark was able to provide 195 families in need with a Thanksgiving dinner. THANK YOU! ANNUAL CHRISTMAS GIVING TREES The Giving Trees are in the Commons brimming with Angels and Stars to help our community in sharing their blessings during this season of giving. Please take time to select that perfect Angel or Star. Each should have a tag explaining who the gift is going to and any special instructions. All donations must be returned by 11am on Sunday December 17th. If you have any questions or would like to help in this ministry, please contact Pat Bernier at

4 DECEMBER 10, 2017 ST. MARK PARISH NEWS THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10TH AT 7PM! Come together in prayer this Advent Season to prepare our hearts and minds for Christmas through song and scripture. The Festival of Lessons and Carols is a service of Scripture and song that dates to the late 19th century. In this service, we listen to nine Scripture lessons which recount the Fall, the promise of a Messiah, the Incarnation, and the Great Commission to preach the Good News. Each lesson is followed by a carol or song that reflects on the lesson's message and a brief prayer. ADVENT PENANCE SERVICE This Thursday, December 14th at 7pm in the Sanctuary LITURGICAL MINSTERS NEEDED Lectors and Ushers for our community Advent Penance Service on Thursday, December 14th at 7pm. Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Key Ministers, Lectors and Ushers needed for our Christmas liturgies. Signup sheets are in the commons. PLEASE NOTE A MASS TIME CHANGE! On December 13th, Mass will be at 8:30pm instead on 7pm. THANK YOU! The Religious Formation office would like to thank all of the parishioners who volunteered to help with One Starry Night. This event could not have been successful without the dedication and service of our volunteers. Thank you to our actors and registration team for being so welcoming and offering such a wonderful experience. A huge thank you to those volunteers who came out to help set up for the event the week before, especially the Knights of Columbus council for volunteering to help with setup and clean-up. And last but not least, thank you for visiting Bethlehem on December th PARISH DIRECTORY NEW DATES! Many of you have inquired about an opportunity to have family pictures taken after Christmas. January 3 and 4, 2018 Wednesday and Thursday are now additional days. 30 sign-ups total for the two days are required for the sessions. Sign-up will be again on-line ( booknowlifetouch.appointment-plus.com/y6n0ny3k/) OR by contacting MJ in the office. If you had your family had its picture taken already the new image will be used in the directory. As a result the arrival of the Parish Directory will be delayed. THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS GIVING TREES The Giving Trees are in the commons brimming with Angels and Stars to help our community in sharing their blessings during this season of giving. Please take time to select that perfect Angel or Star. Each should have a tag explaining who the gift is going to and any special instructions. If you have any questions or would like to assist please call Pat Bernier at All donations must be returned by the morning of December 17 th ANNUAL MARCH FOR LIFE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. The K of C have found a charter bus with open seats to participate in the Annual March For Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, January 19, Cost is $30 per person which includes bus fare, snacks and drinks on the trip up & back. The bus will depart from Church of the Ascension, 4853 Princess Anne Rd, Virginia Beach, VA parking lot at 6:30am and return approximately 9pm. We will stop for dinner on the way home Cost for dinner is at each riders own expense. Come join us in an active show of faith and support for the Right To Life! If you are interested or would like more information please contact Dave Michalak dmich15@yahoo.com or Joyce Gridley justiceandpeace@stmark-parish.org 2017 SIMBANG GABI The Office of Asian Ministry invites you to join the Filipino Community for a nine-day novena to the Blessed Mother. Simbang Gabi, which means Mass at Dawn, is a journey of spiritual preparation to welcome and receive the Child Jesus. The kick off mass will be Saturday, December 9, 2017, 5:30pm at Church of Redeemer, 8275 Meadowbridge Rd., Mechanicsville. The first day of the novena will be Friday, December 15 at various locations. Please see the flyer for more information. You can also visit our website at for a full schedule. Please come out and support our Filipino Brothers and Sisters. For more information please contact Devin Jones, Office of Asian Ministry, asianministry@richmonddiocese.org or (804)

5 2 nd Annual Christmas Raffle Drawing is next weekend! Tickets Are $100 Each Tickets can be purchased after all Masses and in the church office Monday Thursday