A Message from Father Jesse.

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Olivia McCormick
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531 West College Avenue, Jonesboro, AR 72401 November 2015 A Message from Father Jesse.

1 531 West College Avenue, Jonesboro, AR November 2015 A Message from Father Jesse. If the Easter Vigil is my absolute favorite church service of the year, our All Souls Requiem Mass is a close second. These are the two occasions in which I tend to lose myself in the liturgy and lose all track of time. I always look forward to our Allhallowtide at St. Mark s. We mark this season with three major events: All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day, and the Commemoration of all Faithful Departed (also known as All Souls). It is a solemn time in which the church invites us to pause and think deeply about life and death, both our own, and of those whom we have lost. Most of us including myself do not like to consider death. Our culture seems determined to keep us distracted and convinced that we will live forever, and we value youth and beauty to a fault. Even our funeral traditions, where we embalm and apply makeup to make the person look like they did when they were alive, help us to deny that death is an inevitable part of living. Our first reaction to death is always a defensive one: we mock it, and convince ourselves it cannot hurt us. I believe this reaction to death is what plays itself out in our Halloween traditions here in the United States. Yes, these traditions have many origins from centuries past, including Samhain and Mexico's Day of the Dead, but they have all come together in our modern culture as a fun-filled evening where we dress up as "scary" things, and eat lots of candy. We celebrate, in a way, our ability to taunt and avoid death. Yet death is unavoidable, and soon a crack in the facade of denial appears. Perhaps it is when we experience the loss of someone we love, or we encounter a health issue of our own that forces us to consider what we had hoped to avoid. I believe that at this point we often begin to consider the life and legacy we want to leave behind. How do we want others to remember us? Perhaps we begin to look for positive examples on which to model our lives. The church moves from All Hallow's Eve to All Saints Day, the celebration and remembrance of the canonical saints in our tradition to which our church owes a great deal. These saints provide examples of a godly life that we would do well to imitate. It is in part thanks to their witness that we have our hope through Jesus Christ that this life is not the end, but that after our death we have eternal life. Continued on next page

2 Finally, after taunting death, and considering our own life and legacy, we must also admit that when we lose someone we love, it pains us deeply. Avoidance in this matter will only result in the lack of healing and the frustration of the grief process. When someone we love dies, it leaves an emptiness in our hearts that cannot be undone; that is what it means to love. Life will never be the same again without that person. It is at the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed (All Souls) that the church comes together to grieve those who have gone before, and whom we miss dearly. It is a safe space to feel sad, to cry, to pray, and to be grateful for the time that we are given here on this earth. All Souls is the opposite of Halloween: no longer deceiving ourselves in our ability to taunt and void death, here we try and accept death, honor those who are not here, and consider our mortality. St. Mark's participates in this holy season with three events: October 28 6pm - Trunk or Treat. Bring your kids in costume to collect candy from the trunks of cars at the church parking lot November 1 - All Saints Sunday. We gather and celebrate the Saints who have led faithful live and left positive examples for us today. We will baptize four new people into the faith on Sunday morning at 10am. November 2 7pm - All Souls' Requiem. A Requiem Mass, high and solemn. Come to grieve and remember loved ones in a chant and incense filled service. The Requiem is performed by the St. Mark's Choir. You are welcome to join us on your journey of faith, life, and death at St. Mark's. "O Almighty God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, who by a voice from heaven didst proclaim, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: Multiply, we beseech thee, to those who rest in Jesus the manifold blessings of thy love, that the good work which thou didst begin in them may be made perfect unto the day of Jesus Christ. And of thy mercy, O heavenly Father, grant that we, who now serve thee on earth, may at last, together with them, be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." (BCP 486)

3 The willingness to abuse other bodies is the willingness to abuse one s own. To damage the earth is to damage your children. To despise the ground is to despise its fruit: to despise the fruit is to despise its eaters. The wholeness of health is broken by despite. - Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America The adult Christian education class continues on Sunday mornings at 9am. Pro-tip: you don t start off a theological study of food and faith on the above quote and expect a lot of excited participation. I went for it anyway. It was fitting, really, because we were examining the concept of sin last week. No matter if you re relating sin to food or faith, it tends to be a bit of a downer for thirty minutes of a Sunday morning. But think of how unusual this is: folks from all walks of life giving thirty minutes to observation of the nature of human character and who we deeply are, to explore the meaning of our creation stories, and (most difficult of all) to look for even a few minutes at the environmental toll of human greed and despite and what it means for us, for our children, and for our children s children. This is difficult conversation that one would rather not entertain, and once entertained, can lead to abject despair. The great Christian conjunction is but the turning from what was expected into the inconceivable nature of resurrection that is impossible to imagine and yet is the substance of our hope. We ended with one group member sharing his knowledge about sustainable farming practices that are changing the picture of our food systems; he outlined an actual return to the garden from which Adam and Eve were sent. It s a return to community and to our rightful place as stewards rather than despots. We are a people who have the ability to end on the note of resurrection. Sin, brokenness, is not at all appealing to acknowledge, but we have the Christian conjunction that can carry on the conversation past our trained cynical responses. We are meant to put ourselves into the roles of the disciples in the Gospel of Mark s story about the rich young man. "They were greatly astounded and said to one another, Then who can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.

4 Blessing of the Animals... Exchanging the Peace

Hurray for Generous Hearts It doesn t seem possible that another year is nearly over. It has been a wonderful year for St. Mark s, and all of the community support for those less fortunate shows this.

This has been a good year for Helping Neighbors.

5 Hurray for Generous Hearts It doesn t seem possible that another year is nearly over. It has been a wonderful year for St. Mark s, and all of the community support for those less fortunate shows this. The Church Health Center, Helping Neighbors Food Pantry, and Two Saints Kitchen and therefore the less fortunate in the community - have been blessed by our efforts and contributions. This has been a good year for Helping Neighbors. Due to produce contributions during the summer by USDA, we were able to give healthy foods in the parking lot each week and brought in additional people to receive food who had no idea we were even in existence. This is the time of year when many of our contributions slow down, and the number needing food grows. Much of this is because of the holidays when school children don t attend classes, so they re at home needing extra food to make up for loss of meals at school. We always give extra food during the days off, but that means we need more canned spaghetti and fruit, canned chicken and tuna, Peanut butter, and other items which children can open and eat by themselves. Keep the need in mind when you shop at the grocery store each week and add an extra item or two to your grocery basket. Let s see our food contributions grow during the rest of this year. Blessings, Barbara Well, another fall has rolled around, and planning has taken place to try to put the annual Community Thanksgiving meal together for the Jonesboro area. Last year we served 1,870, so this year we re planning to feed 2,000 people, serving from 10:30-12:30 or whenever food is gone. In addition to food, the Church Health Center will be there to set up and do blood pressures and the Blanket Brigade will be distributing blankets to the homeless. This Thanksgiving meal doesn t take place only to feed those who are hungry - our goal is to feed the homeless, the hungry, and the lonely. Take my word for it we have a lot of people come in who would have to spend the day by themselves and just don t want to do that. We re anticipating that $3,600 will be needed to purchase food items. Our church is being asked to contribute $350-$400 to help purchase cranberry sauce. Our Episcopal Church Women group has already donated $100, so I m asking for an Jonesboro Community Thanksgiving other $300. You can make a check payable to St. Mark s with the designation at the bottom Community Thanksgiving. The church will then send a check for the amount we ve raised. We also need 10 pies and 2 cakes from each church so everyone can end the day on a sweet note. The pies and cakes can be dropped off at St. Bernard s Auditorium between 12-5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve or around 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. If you would prefer, you can drop off the items at St. Mark s after lunch on Wednesday and they will be transported to the auditorium. Please don t drop off anything which requires refrigeration, and make sure the container is disposable, as we have no way to wash and return pie or cake plates. If any of you feel that you would like to volunteer to work or just come and visit with those eating, please do so. It is a very rewarding experience. Blessings to all of you who help make this wonderful event happen each year.

ECW Men s Club Men s Club will meet at 6:30 ECW will meet at 9:30 NOVEMBER 19 NOVEMBER 14 Join us for dinner and cards for Two Saints Thank you to everyone who helped make St.

It was awesome to see the creative ways trunks of vehicles were decorated. Several adults joined in the fun by dressing up in costumes to pass out Halloween treats to the children.

6 ECW Men s Club Men s Club will meet at 6:30 ECW will meet at 9:30 NOVEMBER 19 NOVEMBER 14 Join us for dinner and cards for Two Saints Thank you to everyone who helped make St. Mark s Fall Festival festivities so successful. Children had a great time Trunk or Treating from St. Mark s parking lot while dressed in their Halloween costume. It was awesome to see the creative ways trunks of vehicles were decorated. Several adults joined in the fun by dressing up in costumes to pass out Halloween treats to the children. I appreciate everyone who made Trunk or Treat a memorable evening for the little princess and super heros who participated in Fall Festival. Thanks to everyone who provided food items or helped out during Fall Festival. Thanks also to Gary Latanich for stepping up to grill hotdogs, David and Mindy Worlow for providing paper products. Without the help and support of our families this event could not be possible. May you all be blessed richly for the good you do for others.

7 We have good news to report on the Shrimp Boil. It was very successful, both financially and from the stand point of fellowship. Our accountant, Amber, reports that we had ticket sales totaling $9,645 and expenses of $4,422, leaving us with a profit of $5,223. I would like to especially thank Mike Cobb who was able to reduce our food costs by about $1,500 compared to previous years. In the hallway leading into Saint Mark s Hall, on the bulletin board, are some shrimp boil pictures. Take a look and you may see your self. If you still have ticket money to turn in, please do so at your earliest convenience. Again thanks to everyone for a successful fund-raising effort. I look forward to doing this again next year. Gary Christian Education Our elementary Christian Education sessions are going smoothly. Through prayer, sharing scripture stories, crafts and other activities children are learning that they are part of the community of St. Mark s and part of the family of God. We are thankful for how faithful parents have been in bringing their children to Wednesday Christian Education sessions and appreciate the folks who have volunteered November 30 to provide meals. 9:00 am Dates that families might want to mark on their home calendars are Wednesday, November 25 no Christian Education sessions due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. Sunday, December 20, is the date selected for our annual Children s Christmas Pageant. More information about the pageant will follow as we get closer to that date. We encourage all school age children in grades 1 st -6 to be active participants in St. Mark s Wednesday evening religious education program. For more information about our ministries for children contact Rose Mary ( or rosemarylatanich@gmail). Two Saints November Schedule Nov 7 Team # 1 Nov14 Team #2 Nov 21 Team #3 Nov 28 Team #4

November Birthdays 11/01 Jill Davis 11/01 Emma Sairls 11/02 David Worlow 11/06 Stephen Replogle 11/07 Jane Gill 11/07 Micki Gott 11/11 Sara Land 11/11 Heather Epps 11/11 Rowan Pringle 11/12 Sarah

11/18 Oscar Gilbert 11/20 Jacqueline Boyd 11/22 Rusty Guinn 11/22 Georgia Guinn 11/23 Marie Nester 11/23 Jeri Lyn Mays 11/23 Brandon Johnson 11/24 Erika Cohen 11/28 Tracey Perkey 11/30 Deb McInturff

8 November Birthdays 11/01 Jill Davis 11/01 Emma Sairls 11/02 David Worlow 11/06 Stephen Replogle 11/07 Jane Gill 11/07 Micki Gott 11/11 Sara Land 11/11 Heather Epps 11/11 Rowan Pringle 11/12 Sarah Heern 11/12 Terry Barnett 11/14 Yvonne Nipper 11/14 Ryker Robinson, III 11/15 Marie-Jose Patton 11/16 Jim McInturff 11/16 Robin Anderson 11/16 Ruth Scroggin 11/17 Tara Gary 11/18 Sue Westenreider 11/18 Oscar Gilbert 11/20 Jacqueline Boyd 11/22 Rusty Guinn 11/22 Georgia Guinn 11/23 Marie Nester 11/23 Jeri Lyn Mays 11/23 Brandon Johnson 11/24 Erika Cohen 11/28 Tracey Perkey 11/30 Deb McInturff November Anniversaries 11/14 Stephen and Frannie Replogle 11/25 Ryker and Candace Robinson 11/29 Matt and Tracy Parker St. Mark s Day School October was a great month at St. Mark's Day School. The Halloween costumes are packed away, the leaves are changing, and the cooler weather makes it so much fun to play outside! School pictures will be taken the 5th and 6th of this month. November reminds us of the many reasons we have to be thankful! We have a beautiful church for our children and fantastic teachers. We are blessed to have the plans for the baby house and the ability to make this a reality for our school. We have a record enrollment of 141 children and that does not include the baby house yet. School will be closed November 25th - 27 th for Thanksgiving. As always, thanks for your continued support and have a wonderful November! Peggy

9 Upcoming Events... November Nov 2 All Souls Requiem Mass Nov 5 Theology by the Pint Nov 8 Coffee with the Rector Nov 8-11 Clergy Conference Nov 14 ECW Nov 16 Vestry Meeting Nov 19 Men s Club Nov Thanksgiving (Office Closed) Nov 29 First Sunday in Advent Fifth Sunday Breakfast Financial Update October Year to Date Pledges and Offerings Received $ 28,258 $ 250,892 Needed to meet budget 26, ,847 Budget Surplus (Shortfall) $ (1,593) $ (16,955) Actual Expenses Paid $25,485 $ 256,673 Actual (Shortfall) ($2,773) $ ( 5,781) Loan Balance $168,469

531 West College Avenue, Jonesboro, AR November 2018

531 West College Avenue, Jonesboro, AR 72401 November 2018 A Message from Fr. Joshua The Missive It has been a joyful last few weeks around here. Just a few days ago during the Shrimp Boil and Trunk-or-Treat,