BRINGING PEOPLE TO CHRIST AND CHRIST TO PEOPLE DECEMBER, St. Mark s Lion CHRISTMAS SERVICES

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1 St. Mark s Lion CHRISTMAS SERVICES Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24: 4:00 p.m., Children's Tableau & Holy Eucharist 7:00 p.m., Meditation Service 10:30 p.m., Full Choir Christmas Eucharist Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25: 8:00 a.m., Christmas Day Eucharist. spoken 10:15 a.m., Christmas Day Eucharist, spoken In this issue: Christmas Services Rector s Letter Brotherhood of St. Andrew hello Goodbuy Day School Christmas Concerts Upcoming Events Calendar Dear St. Mark s: RECTOR S LETTER The 2017 budget is ready. For the first time since 2007 that I am aware, we have added a funded staff position because we are GROWING! Well done! Staff reviews are being scheduled now. I look forward to celebrating the amazing accomplishments of our dedicated staff and, in some cases, because of your generosity, saying thank you with raises and/or increases in program budgets. Calendars for 2017 have been drafted and are ready for the annual meeting on December 4 at 10:15. Beverly and Kay are collecting and assembling the data you ll need for a snapshot of what can only be called a "Miraculous Year. We ll touch on some challenges we faced in the midst of this wonderful year but, in a way, they are all connected to what it means to be a thriving parish family. Many of you have received a letter from me since May with a Lion Sticker in it or perhaps you purchased one when they first appeared earlier this year. Either way, they are part of the celebration of this new chapter of our life together. In no way does this lessen our fondness for the marching, hallowed, winged, version we codified in Instead, this newer version builds on the centuries old one and connects us to every Christian in Glynn County. Because in every Christian there beats the heart of a lion. While the symbol of St. Mark is the lion, the image is not exclusive to St. Mark the evangelist. The Lion is also indicative of The Lion of the tribe of Judah. who is The Christ. There are more of us. We do not shy away. When we roar, darkness scatters, evil quakes, Christ is glorfied, and our world becomes a better place. (continued on next page) 1

2 What you are becoming is nothing short of a movement and it is wonderful to witness. Just in time for Christmas (thanks Ava for your work on this) you can get your Lion merchandise at A portion of all proceeds goes toward Evangelism and Hospitality! Put a LION IN YOUR PHONE!!! Last but not least, for our parish family, we now have our very own App! For smart phone users, simply go to the Apple App Store itunes OR for Google and Android users visit your App store and search for stmark and download this FREE app. It is the perfect tool for staying in touch. I ve attached a picture of my own home screen because it shows how the App icon looks (which is exactly like the merchandise and the sticker). You are invited to test the beta version of this free app. We ll see you at the Annual Meeting! Fr. Alan+ Members of St. Mary's Guild had a great time hosting the October Birthday Supper at St. Mark's Towers. If you are interested in joining our group for outreach, fun, food and fellowship, contact Debby or ask any of your friends in the photo! ONLY $10 per child. Space is limited. For details and to register, visit our Facebook page: A Celtic Christmas With Harry O Donoghue Monday, Dec. 12, 7:00 p.m. St. Mark s Episcopal Church General Admission: $15 Advanced Reserved Seating: $20 Reception to Follow Proceeds to benefit the St. Mark s Choir School

3 BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW St. Mark s Church Orig. Chartered 1879 BOSTON BUTT FUND RAISER...SOLD OUT!!!... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! The Brotherhood of St. Andrew would like to thank everyone who supported our Christmas Outreach project by purchasing smoked Boston Butts. We hope you all enjoyed your purchase!!!! Special thanks to: Cooking Team: Chris Smith, Alan Youngner, RV Cate, Terry Carroll, Will Whatley. Pick Up Day Team: Johnny Patelidas, Eddie Lambright, Greg Wellstead. SAVE THIS DATE!!!!!!! THE THIRD ANNUAL NIGHT ON BOURBON STREET LOW COUNTRY BOIL: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2017 Tickets go on sale in January!!!! COFFEE HOUR: The Brotherhood members and their wives have enjoyed facilitating several of the Fellowship/Coffee Hours after the 10:15am service this summer and Fall. It s a great way to support the church and meet people. If you would be interested in assisting that ministry please contact BJ Sellars at NEXT BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW GENERAL MEETING: The next General Meeting of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is Thursday, December 15@ 6:00pm in the Parish Hall. Dinner $5.00 donation. All MEN OF THE PARISH ARE WELCOMED TO ATTEND! Prayer, Study & Service!!!!! 3

4 A generous man will prosper; He who refreshes others will himself by refreshed -Proverbs 11:25 In October, the store held the 3 rd Quarterly Giving Back Day of the year. In addition to the +$10,500 tithing for the Church's Outreach Ministries this Quarter, we gave out $29,997 to 16 different Non Profit groups in Glynn Co. The following is a list of all the recipients, funds received, and the projects the money will be used for: 1. Blessings in a Backpack - $2,000 Provide food for 20 children during a 1 year period 2. Christian Businessmen's Luncheon - $250 Provide for guests at the monthly luncheon, which meets at St. Mark's 3. Coastal Georgia Area Community Action Authority - $1,500 Provide a heating & air system through weatherization assistance program 4. Coastal Outreach Soccer - $3, month soccer program for underprivileged youth Glynn Co 5. Communities in Schools - $1,500 Support high school site coordinators to assist student achievement and focus on learning 6. Faith Works - $1,248 Update computers and software programming 7. Friends of Brunswick Glynn Co Library - $1,000 Purchase electronic interface for library reading programs to encourage summer reading for kids 8. Golden Isles Fellowship of Christian Athletes - $2000 Purchase 150 Bibles for athletes 9. Golden Isles Youth Orchestra - $1,499 Purchase house bass 10. Grace House of Brunswick - $5,000 Weekly Trauma art therapy 11. Keep Golden Isles Beautiful - $2,000 Is trash really trash? Recycling program for 3 rd grade students 12. The Links Brunswick Chapter - $1,500 Expand horizons, promote global awareness, increase service learning opportunities 13. Morningstar Children and Family Services $2,500 Improve physical appearance of youth camp 14. No Kill Glynn Co - $1,000 Trap/ Neuter/Return feral cats 15. The Remedy Project - $2,000 Free addiction counseling, targeting homeless population 16. United Way of Coastal Georgia - $2,000 Supplies for 'Day of Caring' projects 4

5 Through Love Serve One Another -Galatians 5:13 A big THANK YOU you to our Volunteer of the Quarter, Chrys Graham! She was a great sport in receiving her recognition during the program. We initially lured her to the ceremony under false pretenses, leading her to believe we needed her to bring food for the event! Chrys comes in regularly 1 2 times a week and works in our book section of the store. We are so happy to have her smiling face around the store and really appreciate all the work she puts into the book section. This is a section that tends to get forgotten about, so we were lucky to have her join the team to tend to it and nurture this section every week. We have a large amount of customers who come in JUST FOR THE BOOKS so Chrys' work is important in helping to make sure they always have fresh 'stock' to choose from. Bargain Basement Annex Building We are now tentatively opening the Annex Building as a Bargain Basement from 10am to 2pm Fridays and Saturdays. Our ability to open the Bargain Basement regularly on this schedule is dependent on the help we have in terms of employees and volunteers on those days. Right now it is being made possible THANKS TO Jane Lafferty for running the cash register every Friday and Saturday, when she is able. We still aren't sure if this is something that we will be able to keep doing and whether or not it is financially worth the time, energy, and effort taken away from the main store to set up, break down, stock, and run the Bargain Basement two days a week. We will keep you all posted. As always, if anyone has some spare time to give (especially during the holiday season) we would love to hear from you and schedule you to come in and help out. We especially need the extra help on Friday and Saturday Mornings and Afternoons!! Do you know of any Civic Groups that would like to hear more about this Outreach Ministry? Contact the store and set something up!! Louisa Nightingale hello, Goodbuy St Mark's Episcopal Day School Update: December November was a special time to give thanks for all our many blessings at St. Mark's Day School! Our day school families came together on Wednesday, Nov. 16 for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. Our parents and grandparents contributed an abundance of delicious food! The children did an amazing job singing their Thanksgiving songs to celebrate the holiday. This year our day school families also showed their generosity by donating items to the St. Athanasius Food Pantry and to Foster Hope. December and the busy holiday season is now upon us. Our students are getting very excited to celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus! They have been discovering all the wonders of the Christmas story and experiencing the magic of the season. With Christmas quickly approaching, we are preparing for our annual Christmas Program on Wednesday, Dec. 14. The children have been working hard on learning their Christmas songs. We are so fortunate that Santa has found time in his busy schedule to join us for a special breakfast on Monday, Dec. 12. All of us at St. Mark's Day School would like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy holiday! Best wishes, Debbie Dougherty 5

6 ECW News Although Hurricane Matthew caused some disruption in our activities, ECW has been busy. During our October meeting a gift of $500 to St. Athanaius Food pantry was approved. We also reaffirmed our commitment to assisting our seminarians and our newly ordained. Members gathered Halloween treats for the children at Morningstar and baked cookies for the service at Morningstar. Fall has arrived and all ECW groups are busy. St. Mary s Guild prepared the birthday supper for residents of St. Mark s Towers on October 25. They provided dinner for the Street Beat teens on October 18 th and hosted the reception after the 10:15 service on October 29. St. Margaret s Guild prepared dinner for the Street Beat teens on the first Tuesday of the month and also assisted with their Thanksgiving dinner. ECW recently had the round oak table in the parish hall repaired and has purchased a table cloth for the table. We also purchased table cloths and table skirts for the round tables used for receptions. Members of ECW baked a variety of baked goods to be sold to benefit St. Mark s Day School during CoastFest on October 1. We were very pleased that $1,400 was raised for our Day School. We had a Wing Ding Doodle of a reception following the the ordination of Tommy Townsend and Donald Holland on November 16 th. With almost 300 people in attendance that evening, we were very grateful for all who prepared food for the reception. The ECW of Waycross provided the sweet treats, and they were delicious. During our November meeting we allocated additional funding for our outreach ministry to Morningstar Children s services. The representatives of the organizations represented by ECW meet on the 2 nd Monday of every month at 11:00 on the parish hall. All are welcome to attend. 8

7 Glynn Academy Concert Choir with Bella Voce 9

8 2016 VESTRY Term Expires Areas of Emphasis Senior Warden: Turner, Bill 813/ (c), (H) 2018 Evangelism Junior Warden: Smith, Chris (c) 2017 Hospitality VESTRY MEMBERS Bokker, Ava 479/ (c) 2016 Teen and Youth Broderick, Andy (c) 2016 Teen and Youth Buerstatte, Jeff Hospitality Curry, Kay (c) 2017 Stewardship Harrell, Mary (c); (H) 2016 Teen and Youth Perry, Bob (c) 2018 Evangelism Perry, Kelli (H); 404/ (c) 2016 Stewardship Sellars, BJ 229/ Hospitality Simpson, Rena (c) 2017 Evangelism Youngner, Alan (c); (H) 2017 Stewardship The Reverend Alan Akridge Rector Youngner, Sydneye Clerk of the Vestry Harrell, Wallace Chancellor of the Vestry Upcoming Events Calendar Saturday, December 18, Old Fashioned Children s Christmas Bazaar, 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday, December 12, 7:00 p.m., Harry O Donoghue Christmas Concert, followed by reception Wednesday, December 14, 10:00 a.m., SMEDS Christmas program Saturday, December 25, Christmas Day (See front page of this publication.) Please check your Sunday bulletins and the church bulletin boards for the weekly calendar. 10