Making Our Mark S E T U P A N A D V E N T W R E A T H SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS R E A D L U K E 2 B E F O R E G I F T O P E N I N G

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1 S T. M A RK L U T H E R A N C H U R C H December 2013 Making Our Mark S E T U P A N A D V E N T W R E A T H WATCH CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS IN YOUR JAMMIES FOCUS ON THE BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS CALL RELATIVES WITH CHRISTMAS GREETINGS R E A D L U K E 2 B E F O R E G I F T O P E N I N G GIVE MORE THAN YOU GET B U Y A G I F T F O R A C H I L D L E S S F O R T U N A T E EACH EVENING, OPEN A DOOR OF AN ADVENT CALENDAR V I S I T A L I V I N G N A T I V I T Y SUPPORT A HUNGER CHA RITY BAKE A SPECIAL TREAT AND VISIT AN ELDERLY RELATIVE OR CHURCH MEMBER WHO NEEDS ENCOURAGEMENT BAKE A BIRTHDAY CAKE FOR JESUS CONTINUE FAMILY TRADITIONS AND CREATE NEW ONES

2 P a g e 2 M a k i n g O u r M a r k St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Pastor Walter A. Wietzke 550 West Seventh St. St. Paul, Minnesota secretary@ saintmark.info Website Sunday Worship 9:30 am Holy Communion is celebrated the 1st Sunday of each month Fellowship / Education Hour after service Have a question? Concern? Office: (651) Boutique Thanks Thanks to the many folks who gave of their time and talents to make the Boutique a big success! All the homemade goodies and treats were very appreciated! Thanks to all of you that came down and ate in the café along with some shopping from the vendors. Your support makes us a great church that can do some great big things in our community and beyond! Executive Committee President Tom Schroeder V. President Alan Stage Secretary Bev Kisch Financial Secretary Nancy Redlin Committee Chairs Education Lisa Weicht Property Ron Fogel Evang/Mission Robin Martinson Worship Will Brueggemann Stewardship Church Staff Alyssa Fitzgerald Bonnie Jellinek Will Nissen Martin Brueggemann Holly Goldschmitz& Kath Hillier Carol Gall & Janet Blair Christian Ed Music Bookkeeper Choir Director Secretary Custodians

3 D e c e m b e r P a g e 3 How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world. William Shakespeare- The Merchant of Venice As we take advantage of the steeple repair, the cross will be coming down for restoration and enhancement. By adding light, the cross will become St. Mark s little candle shining it s beam over our neighborhood as a beacon. A standing lighted cross makes the statement that this sacred place is in The City for Good. A sign: Of attraction and welcome, Of mercy and reassurance, Of integrity and hope. Especially when weary and in the dark, seen from afar. This little light of ours reveals and holds us to the character of who we are and want to be... At each Baptism, a candle is lit proclaiming: Let our light so shine before others that they may see our good deeds glorifying our father in heaven May the Light of the World give you Christmas Peace, Pastor Walt Let Our Light So Shine

4 P a g e 4 M a k i n g O u r M a r k St. Nicholas Day Raffle- Dec 6th Be sure to join us for a great evening on Friday, December 6th at 6:00pm as we wrap up our Raffle fundraiser with a party! Thanks to all of you that have sold many raffle tickets over the past few weeks and we wish you all the best of luck during the drawing! Tickets can be purchased right up to the drawing at 8pm. Reminder to everyone to turn in their ticket stubs along with their money collected and unsold tickets by the evening of the 6th to be included in the drawing. Hot Dish Potluck For the meal at our St. Nicholas Day Raffle party, we will be having a hot dish pot luck dinner. We are asking all attending to bring a favorite hot dish and maybe a sweet treat to share. We will eat our fill and have a great time playing a bunch of games together! Fun and Games Come for the pot luck and stay for the fun and games! Games for all ages will be provided but feel free to bring a family favorite from home to share! Some of the suggested games we will have are: Scrabble Yahtzee Apples to Apples Cribbage Chutes & Ladders Candyland Uno Decks of cards

5 D e c e m b e r P a g e 5 Brew Club The second gathering of the St. Mark Brew Club was held on November 9th at Tom Schroeder s house. More than 18 members participated in brewing a German Schwartzbier ( black beer ), and tastes were shared of the club s Dunkel Lager brewed at our August meeting. We also toured the historic 1857 saloon building on Smith Avenue, under restoration. Whether you re an experienced brewer or just curious to watch, this is a great gettogether for our church and community. We meet again in February, so please contact Tom Schroeder if you re interested: Roof Update Construction on the roof and spire is moving quickly! Much of the roof is already reshingled, and soon work will begin re-cladding the copper spire. In the process, we will be removing the bronze cross, the halo of which will be goldguilded in brilliant, 24-karat gold leaf! That, together with new color accents on the base of the cross and spot lighting from below will give St. Mark a new shine! We want to thank local architect John Yust for generously donating his time and goldgilding skills to this project.

6 P a g e 6 M a k i n g O u r M a r k The Gathering Women of St. Mark December 19th 7:00-8:30 Bring your November issue of the Gather (or copies of the study will be on the bulletin board ). Join us as we meet new and interesting women of the bible, and the women of our own church. December we will be in the Good Company of, the widow of Zarephath, a trusting follower. Note change of location. Robin Martinson house 2863 Aglen Roseville MN Christmas Decorating Join us as we deck the halls for Christmas on Wed, Dec. 4th 12-4pm & Thurs, Dec 5th 9am-Noon. Bring your Christmas Cheer and your tallest friend! The Mitten Tree Through out the winter season, many children and families are in need of warm outer wear. If you have new or like new hats, mittens and scarves to donate, we have people who are in need of them. Please bring your items all through December to place on the Mitten Tree during the Offering time in service.

7 D e c e m b e r P a g e 7 Christmas Services Children s Program 4th Sunday of Advent Christmas Eve Christmas Day First Sunday of Christmas December 15th December 22nd Candlelight & Communion Communion December 29th Service at Service at Service at Service at Service at 9:30am 9:30am 5pm & 10pm 10am 9:30am Please remember these members with visits, cards and your prayers this holiday season. Don Carlson 166 Erie St. St. Paul, MN Donna DeMike 6617 Stratford Rd Woodbury, MN Ruth Elmstedt 6971 Crosby Ave E IGH, MN Doris Gobley 1145 Hudson Rd #106 St. Paul, MN Arlene McGuire 514 Humboldt Ave #228 St. Paul, MN Ann Miller 6181 Upper 35th St No #5 Oakdale, MN Florence Reynolds 330 So Exchange #464 St. Paul, MN Marlys Schafer Falcon Ct No WBL, MN Vivienne Stanz 2000 Oakdale Ave #225 West St Paul, MN 55118

8 P a g e 8 M a k i n g O u r M a r k Sun Mon Tue 1 1st Sunday of Advent 9:30am Consecration Sunday Service 10:30am Fellowship & Children Practice 11:30am HOPE 8 2nd Sunday of Advent 9:30am Service 10:30am Fellowship & Children Practice, MAT Meeting 11:30am HOPE pm AA 6pm AA 15 3rdSunday of Advent 9:30am Children s Christmas Program 10:30am Fellowship 11:30am HOPE 16 7pm Council Meeting 17 6pm AA 22 4th Sunday of Advent 9:30am Service 10:30am Fellowship & Children Practice 11:30am HOPE pm Loaves & Fishes 24 5pm & 10pm Christmas Eve Services 29 9:30am Service 10:30am Fellowship 11:30am HOPE Have a safe New Years Eve! 6pm AA

9 D e c e m b e r P a g e 9 Wed Thu Fri Sat am Bible Study 6pm Confirmation 7pm Choir 7pm Bible Study 6-8pm St. Nicholas Day Raffle Party 10am-12pm Children s Practice 10am Cookie Baking 11 8am Bible Study 6pm Confirmation 7pm Choir 18 8am Bible Study 6pm Confirmation 7pm Choir 12 7pm Bible Study 19 7pm Bible Study 7pm Robin s am-12pm Children's Dress Rehearsal 7pm Sq.Dancing 25 10am Christmas Day Service 26 7pm Bible Study TBD December 2013

10 P a g e 10 M a k i n g O u r M a r k Dec Acolyte Usher Reader Fellowship 1 Mary Alice Geib The Schroeder Family, Cook Family Tom Schroeder OPEN 8 Kahele Goldschmitz Bloom Family Bill Bloom OPEN 15 John McGuire Eileen Ellis Fran Hillier OPEN 22 Elsa Schroeder Linda Robinson Bonnie Jellinek OPEN 29 Devin Vibar Larry Raasch, Dorothy LaFrooth Joyce Crozier OPEN Financials YTD Total Giving Budget October Month End YTD Contributions Received October Month End YTD Net Positive or Negative $103,333 $87,827-15,506 Christmas Service Volunteers For the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, we are looking for families and individuals to volunteer for the Ushering and Acolyte responsibilities for the three services. Please see the sign up sheet in the Narthex and sign up your family for the service you would normally attend on Christmas. For the 5pm Eve Service, we need 4 ushers, 2 acolytes For the 10pm Eve Service, we need 6 ushers and 2 acolytes For the 10am Day service, we need 2 ushers and 1 acolyte.

11 D e c e m b e r P a g e 11 Mission Planning Mission Action Team (MAT) meeting Sunday December 8th 10:45am. Do you want to be a part of a team that.doesn t meet monthly enjoys giving money out to change the life of others.. The Mission Action Team is for you. We are going to be meeting after church on December 8th to discuss where the funds from the African Basket and Widows Jar go for 2014!. Also discussions about some of our current and future African Ministries and other mission opportunities. Please join us if this sounds of interest to you. Please bring your ideas with you. Robin Martinson, Council Representative for Mission/ Evangelism. Funds from the African Basket and Widows jar Lyngblomsten Spirit of Giving The staff at Lyngblomsten wants to make sure each person gets a little gift for Christmas. Some residents don t have any family. How can you help? The request is for cash or gift cards. This is way an appropriate gift can be purchased for the residents. Other ways to help... Lyngblomsten is having a bake sale. On Saturday December 7th, join us in the kitchen at 10:00am. We are going to bake up some cookies to donate. If you don t have time on Saturday consider mixing up a batch of cookie dough, we are calling it Dough ready to go and bring it down and we will bake it up. Since we have a large oven should go pretty fast. See Ellie Slama or Robin Martinson for more details. for Nov and Dec. are going to the West 7th Boys Club helping families during the holidays that live in the West Seventh area.

12 P a g e 12 M a k i n g O u r M a r k SHOEBOX UPDATE Thank you to everyone who participated in Operation Christmas Child. It is a new record.116 boxes. Thank You for all the donation, both cash and items for the boxes. You are changing the lives of so many children. Thank you for your generosity. Make It Simple Be sure to join us for worship on Sunday, December 1st as we wrap up our Make It Simple stewardship program. All members will have an opportunity to hand in their pledges for the coming year and also (if they choose) write a Covenant Card to themselves about what they will try to change in the coming year to make their lives simpler and more meaningful. Following this service there will be a warm, special food-treat downstairs designed to usher in the Advent season!

13 D e c e m b e r P a g e 13 Children s Christmas Program Christmas is coming! That means it s time to practice for the Christmas Program! Sunday rehearsals will be after service, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am in the Sanctuary. Saturday rehearsals will run from 10 am to 12 pm. A snack break will be provided around 11 am. If you are interested in helping provide snack or simply helping with crowd control, any and all help would be appreciated! Saturday rehearsals will take place on December 7 and December 14 before the final performance on Sunday, December 15 during morning service. Happy New Year: Take Two Middle and High School Students! This event is for you! To finish up your holiday break, we re having a lock in! Arrive at St. Mark around 6 pm on Friday, January 3rd 2014 to celebrate New Years Eve all over again! We ll have dinner at St. Mark, head to Riverview Theater for a movie, come back to play some games and make some dessert before counting down to midnight! Festivities end shortly after midnight so make sure to let your parents know that pick up time is just after midnight! Cost: $5 for movie ticket Christmas Outing for families The Stepping Stone Theatre is putting on its own rendition of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! After putting on our own Christmas Pageant, let s go enjoy another pageant together! The performance is Saturday, December 21 at 2 pm at the Stepping Stone Theatre in St. Paul. Parents go get your last minute Christmas shopping done while your kids enjoy the show OR come along and get in the Christmas spirit together! Tickets cost just $10 if we can gather a group of 6 or more! Please contact Alyssa at AFitzgerald001@LutherSem.edu if interested!

14 P a g e 14 no one in our Will Brueggemann stars in Little Shop of Horrors Central High School located at 275 Lexington Parkway. Tickets may be purchased at the door. The performances will be held on Friday and Saturday December 6th and 7th, 7-9 PM and Sunday December 8th 2-3 M a k i n g O u r M a r k community needs to go without a meal on the day before Christmas Eve Loaves & Fishes for Christmas Become a part of something great! Loaves & Fishes works with volunteers at 13 dining sites to serve over 1,700 meals each day of the week to those struggling with hunger and food insecurity. With you on our St. Mark team, we can make that number grow and ensure that no one in our community needs to go without a meal on the day before Christmas Eve. Please make time and have your family participate in this worthwhile event to show the true meaning of Christmas while giving your time to feeding others. We meet at St. Matthew s Catholic Church from 3pm-7pm to cook, serve and clean up a filling meal to many folks during a cold time of year. An hour or even two of time will be most appreciated!

15 D e c e m b e r P a g e 15 Happy December Birthdays Dec 1 Lori Geib Dec 2- Doris Gobley Dec 8- Harley Thompson Dec 14- Carol Syring Dec 16- Bill Bloom Dec 18- Dane Breimhorst Dec 22 Pat Hosley, Gary Seline Dec 23- Joyce Crozier, Bev Kisch Dec 24 Divine Togba Dec 25- Kendra Ford Dec 26 Miguel Bueno Dec 28- Zoe Breimhorst Dec 31- Emily Stage Warren & Myra Larson s recent visit to a mission in Las Canalas, Mexico where they gave out 120 handmade quilts.

16 S t. M A r k L u t h e r a n C h u r c h 550 West Seventh Street St. Paul, MN Phone: Fax: secretary@saintmark.info I n t h e C i t y f o r G o o d We re on the web!