. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH

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1 FEBRUARY 2018 THE VOICE OF ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH BY ROBIN KOROM Council President Welcome 2018! Your new Executive Officers and Church Council were officially installed by Pastor Breum on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 during the first evening of the 3 Days of Prayer event. I am very excited about having such a wonderful group to work with this year. Thank you to all who voted for this team to serve. We pray regularly for God to lead our service in accordance with His will for our church. A special thank you to Barb Ewert for once again putting on the 3 Days of Prayer event. I know many hours of her time go into putting that event together. To have that time to spend in fellowship and prayer is very special to many in our congregation. The Council has 5 areas which will be the primary focus for this year: To ensure that SMLC has an Evangelism Focus To strengthen multi-generational congregational life Facilities Planning and improving Improve our educational programs and opportunities Properly staff the Church to meet the needs of the congregation and to professionally support that staff and our pastor. This month I want to update you on our Evangelism Focus initiative. During 2017 Pastor Breum attended an evangelism workshop. He has some great new ideas that he will be rolling out to the Council, Committees and eventually the Congregation over the next several months. Jeff McKenzie has been working with Pastor on this initiative and I think we are going to see some exciting new opportunities for everyone to be part of an Evangelism Focus at St. Mark. I will leave it to Pastor Breum to share more with you but ask everyone to be prayerful about Evangelism in 2018 and consider how you might join this movement! Matthew 9:37-38: Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest 1 Peter 3:15: But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, As Pastor has been reminding us through his recent preaching, there are many ways to evangelize, some feel very comfortable sharing the Good News with others, some not so much, that is ok. Remember, even the quiet demonstration of leading a Godly Christian Life can bring others to Christ. (Continued on page 3) CHURCH EVENTS FEBRUARY February 14th: Ash Wednesday 5:30PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM: Worship Service February 18th: Youth Lock-in 7:00PM: Drop Off 7:00AM: Pick Up February 21st: Lenten Worship Service 5:30PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM: Worship Service February 23rd-25th: Quake Conference 3:00PM: Drop Off at St. Mark February 25th: Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon 12:00PM: Luncheon Begins February 28th: Lenten Worship Service 5:30PM: Soup Supper 7:00PM: Worship Service ARTICLE DEADLINE The deadline for the March Voice is Thursday, February 15th. articles to Deb@smlc.info & Stmarkcommunications@ gmail.com. 1

2 MEET THE TEAM VICE PRESIDENT Gary Edwards ST. MARK COUNCIL PRESIDENT Robin Korom (847) CONGREGATION SECRETARY Mary Jane Niles FINANCIAL TREASURER Brock Millsop BOARD OF ELDERS Brad Gundlach Chris Luetke Ed Rosquist BOARD OF TRUSTEES Gary Edwards Dale Kumpula Brock Millsop Gary Olson FINANCE Gary Edwards Pam Preston Lynn Wetterberg Jill Winling EVANGELISM Chris Luetke Judy Dunfrund Lori Jenkins Walter Klein Joni Wasmund PASTOR Terry Breum ST. MARK COMMITTEES PARISH EDUCATION Ed Rosquist Karen Gerold Lori McKenzie Jane Milani CONGREGATIONAL LIFE Gary Olson Mary Anderson Polly Eastberg Deb Zuchowski Terri Selz CHURCH ADMINISTRATOR Deb Zuchowski CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COORDINATOR Todd Stickney STEWARDSHIP Gary Edwards Pete Bolender Laurie Kerns Carl Norlin WORSHIP & MUSIC Brad Gundlach Charlie Burke Barb Ewert Rebecca Gundlach Tabra Gomski BOOKKEEPER/HR Sharon Schranz NURSERY COORDINATOR Deb Heide Dear Friends, Praise the Lord! It is good to begin the day with those three words. We may not feel like thinking or saying those words and yet it is still a healthy thing to do. By speaking the words of worship and adoration toward the Lord God you are deliberately setting your mind on God the first moment you awake. The next phrase in Psalm 106:1 states, Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good. I know God wants us to give thanks in all circumstances, even when things are going wrong as they often do. We can give thanks because we know that no matter what happens, God will bring good out of it. I think we get discouraged when hard things happen to us and we have no idea what God is doing in our lives. This is where faith enters the picture. Faith gives to you the inner security, confidence, and assurance that God is alive and well and is working in all of your circumstances for your good and God s great glory. God knows exactly what He is doing in your life, even when we don t have a clue. This is why it is good every day to begin with words of worship toward God, Praise the Lord. The Christmas Eve services were absolutely spectacular. Yes, we did something new and different. For the 4:00 service we sang Christmas Carols accompanied by the band. With well over 400 in the service the singing was out of this world. We could all sense the joy of the Lord as we celebrated His birth. I hope we do the same thing next year. Thank you for all of the Christmas gifts you lavished upon me and my family. I am working on all the thank you notes. Please forgive me if you do not receive a thank you note. There were some unlabeled gifts and there were a few gifts that somehow the card got separated from the gift. I do apologize for this. Lent is right around the corner. We are praying for God s truth and goodness to be with us in abundance. Yes, God s truth and goodness is already with us in abundance but for some of us, we do not see it as clearly as we would like too. Hopefully during Lent the fog will lift and we will see evidences of God, His truth and goodness, as close to us as the nose on our faces. Here are the four spiritual disciplines to do during Lent. Please pick three of them. 1. Please read the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is different than that other three Gospels and focuses primarily on Passion Week, the last week before Jesus died on the cross. 2. Please attend a Sunday school class during Lent. Each class has room for you to attend. Each class will welcome you when you come and it is okay to come for a few weeks, even if it is only for a few weeks. 3. Please invite a person to attend one of the Easter services. 4. Have a prayer partner during Lent and pray with that person at least six times. God Bless, Pastor Breum FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR BREUM FINANCIAL SECRETARY Patrice Sutton PatriceS@comcast.net YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRIES COORDINATOR Josiah Frusti josiah@smlc.info ORGANIST/TRADITIONAL MUSIC COORDINATOR Collin Crowl Collin@smlc.info MAINTENANCE ASSISTANT Jim Schaufel Please feel free to attend the committee or council meetings! All meetings are open to the congregation. (President s Notes continued) Matthew 5:16: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Let s all be a light for others this year. In His service, Robin Korom 2 3

3 MISSOURI MUSINGS BY BOB YARBROUGH SAVE THE DATE! Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon February 25th 12:00PM Fellowship Hall Keep an eye out in the Announcements for more information! Once a week I put in some time with the vacuum and mop bucket. Since I was a janitor for three years during high school, I m pretty good at cleaning floors. I often reflect on how many Bible teachings are mirrored by lessons learned from housecleaning. For example: 1) It s a fallen world. I don t care how carefully you vacuum or how thoroughly you mop, when you get done and survey your work, you will find a piece of dirt or lint or a hair on the floor somewhere. It s tempting to throw up your hands and say, What s the use of cleaning? There s still dirt! But that would be silly. Removing 99.9% of the dirt means you don t despair when you see the 0.1% you missed. Bible lesson: Jesus said to [Peter], The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean (John 13:10). In Christ, believers are completely clean. Jesus blood has washed away our guilt. Yet, our feet do get dirty. We do wrong things or fail to do the right thing. So we take heart in Jesus perfection and cleansing on our behalf and frankly confess our sins when we stumble. We don t say, Why struggle against sin, or why pursue holiness, when I m never going to be perfect in this life? We own up to our wrongdoing and seek God s strength in growing in holiness. As Hebrews 12:14 puts it, Strive... for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 2) Light exposes what is hidden due to darkness. A few years ago I realized I liked cleaning floors better on a sunny day than on a cloudy day. The reason: the sun shows dirt which the darkness of a cloudy day hides. When it s cloudy, you can vacuum and think you ve got it all. But then the sun streams through the window. Now you see the truth: what you thought was clean is still littered with bits of grass, food crumbs, pet hair, and whatever else lurks on your floors. Bible lesson: When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible (Ephesians 5:13). Also: God is light (1 John 1:5). We may think our lives are pretty decent. But then we glimpse God s perfection. Or we realize how modest our spiritual attainments are. Or we are shown how weak we are in faith, or in the ability to resist temptation. Our lives look fine... until we are exposed by the light of God s word. Jesus nailed it: Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light (John 3:19-20). By coming to the light and doing what is true, not fleeing from the light, we can grow in godliness. A verse from Proverbs is very important here: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy (28:13). Don t flee from God s light! 3) The secret to a clean house is: don t let it get dirty! When dirt is neglected, it gets ground in, piles up, and seemingly breeds more dirt. I have learned to clean the floors every week, no matter how clean they look, because after about seven days I know that they need attention, whether they look dirty at first glance or not. Bible lesson: God gives us deep motivation for keeping our inner house, our hearts, clean: When [Christ] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure (1 John 3:2-3). Don t ignore the dirt inside but let God remove it through confessing our sin, forsaking it, and replacing it with what pleases God. I would write more, but you ll have to excuse me. It s time to vacuum again. BAPTIZED INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD AT ST. MARK IN JANUARY Kenzie Lynn Baird and Sienna Mae Baird Daughters of Amanda & Thomas Baird Nathaniel John Frusti Son of Josiah & Brooke Frusti Benjamin Lee Filer Son of Katie & Brendan Filer Cole Arnold Ball Son of Michelle & Alex Ball May the guiding presence of God be with these children, their parents and their godparents as they grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Mark your Calendars! COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP EVENTS Flyers available at smlc.info/events. These events are a fun, easy way to contribute to the mission of St. Mark! Just dine in, carry out, or visit the drive through. A portion of your sale benefits our mission here and abroad. February 13th March 13th April 10th February 15th March 15th April 19th 4 5

4 SOUP-ER BOWL Sunday, February 8th is our annual kick-off to collect soup for the food pantry! Please help us collect soup (or any non-perishable food item) for C.O.O.L. (Christian Outreach for Lutherans) Food Pantry in Ingelside at Trinity Lutheran Church. We will be collecting soup for the entire month of February. Soup is a good choice because it provides a whole meal. As you do your weekly grocery shopping, please add a can of soup in your cart for the food pantry. We are hopeful each member/family could contribute at least one can of soup. Other non-perishable food items are also needed. The list is on the poster in the narthex. Place your contribution in one of the yellow barrels as you enter church. Our economy is still struggling - many are out of work or have had pay reductions. Home foreclosures and short sales are still being filed. Please help! Hunger Statistics in Lake County 1 in every 6 Americans face hunger. In Lake County over 50,000 people in Lake County live below the poverty line. 1 out of every 5 children in Lake County Illinois are food insecure. 1 out of 10 Illinois residents do not have regular access to enough safe, nutritious food for an active and healthy life. 78 of people live pay-check to pay-check Questions? Contact Lynn Johnson SIGN UP TO SERVE! The Gospel is enacted through the local church all across the world. The church is us: people who love Jesus serving others by teaching Sunday School, greeting visitors, holding babies, praying with others, pouring coffee, or leading small groups. In this, God changes us. Serving in the local church is a vehicle to discover how we are made and how the Lord can use us. Serving provides us the opportunity to know more about how we are created: our likes and dislikes, what we can do well and what we cannot. God fills in the picture for us. We discover more about ourselves and how He is growing us while He uses us to meet the needs of others. We learn best by doing. -Amanda Thompson, Newspring Church COFFEE HELPERS: Please sign up on the cork board next to the coffee window in the Fellowship Hall! Volunteers are still needed for the first and third Sundays of each month, and substitutes are needed as well! Please contact Gae Michal at (847) for more info. SENIOR CHOIR: Do you sing? We need your voice in the Senior Choir! Rehearsals are on Wednesday nights at 7:30PM. Contact Wendy Weidner at (262) to learn more about this ministry! ALTAR GUILD: Altar Guild is looking for someone to take over communion set up for the third weekend of every month. The process takes about an hour. Please see Judy Dunfrund or Wendy Lord for full details. WHAT S ON THE SHELF? ST. MARK LIBRARY BOOK CORNER Teenage girls and soccer moms. Housewives and corporate executives. Young professionals and those who are retired. No matter their professions or responsibilities, women of all ages and all walks of life often struggle with an all-consuming issue: self-image. We as Americans are continually obsessed with the grass-is-greener, anything-else-is-better-than-what -we-have philosophy. And that is never truer for women than when it comes to our bodies and our self-images. The media and the world around us tell us that we should be perfect in every way. But this kind of scrutiny and obsession with perfection leaves women feeling unloved, unattractive, frustrated, and even depressed. CARING CASSEROLE: Caring Casserole is looking for a 3rd committee head! You would be responsible for calling your committee members to arrange a meal and then you would deliver the meal. If you need more info, call Lori McKenzie at (847) SOUP SUPPER VOLUNTEERS: PADS VOLUNTEERS: Peg S. is needing coverage for the PADS laundry! Please call Peg at (312) Volunteers are also needed for PADS sessions on Friday nights (until April 27th). Consider donating your time to help the homeless this winter! WELCOME TEAM GREETERS: YOUTH CHAPERONES: We are in need of leaders for our mission trip to Toronto (June 23rd-30th). Please consider donating your time and investing in the youth of our church! If you have any further questions, please talk to Josiah Frusti. FOOD PANTRY COORDINATOR: In writing The Real Me: Being the Girl God Sees, contemporary Christian singer and songwriter Natalie Grant is on a mission to especially help young women deal with this struggle and to find acceptance in how God created them. And this struggle is something that Natalie understands fully. She gives the reader an inside look at her own struggle with image issues that led her on the path to bulimia. In acknowledging her pain and sharing her struggle, she offers practical help and hope to women of all ages. You can find this book under call number GRA. Volunteers are needed to help with this years Lenten suppers. We need volunteers to help with bringing soup/dessert to share, and also helpers for set up and clean up. Please contact the church office for more details. Smiling faces are needed once a month to serve at either of our Sunday morning services. Contact Joyce Mol at jmmol@aceweb.com or (847) to sign up! Not much time is required. Write articles, organize soup drive in February and back up teams to deliver food to Ingelside location. For more info, contact Lynn Johnson at (847)

5 YOUTH GROUP NEWS FEBRUARY CALENDAR 4 Youth 6:30PM 11 First Communion Class Begins (For 5th 9:15AM 18 Leader 5:00PM Lock-in 7:00PM 19 Lock-in 7:00AM 23 Leaving for Quake 3:00PM 25 Returning from 12:00PM A QUICK NOTE FROM Josiah Our congregation and youth have spent time devoted to the gift of prayer over the past month. When is the last time you had an honest conversation with God? The unique thing about our God and His nature is that he desires to hear from you. He wants your prayers, your requests and worries, as well as your thanks and praise. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion... - Eph. 6:18a This excerpt was taken from our weekly devotional blog. It is updated every Thursday and posted to the St. Mark Facebook page. Follow this link for more details: HIGH SCHOOL LOCK-IN February 18th 7:00PM-7:00AM Are you ready for twelve hours of non-stop games, food, movies, worship and fellowship? Me too! February 18th marks our yearly High School Lock-in from 7:00PM to 7:00AM. Don t miss out on a night of replacing sleep with memories that will last a life time at no cost to you. Check out your youth bulletin board for more details. HOW CAN I HELP? Looking to get involved with youth or family ministry, or wondering how you can volunteer your time? We have many opportunities available: mission trip chaperone, high school Sunday school teacher, lock-in chaperones, VBS volunteer, children s messages and Youth Group leader or snack provider are just some of the many ways you can donate your time to St. Mark s youth and families. FIRST COMMUNION Attention 5th graders! Josiah Frusti will be teaching a special seven week series on Communion during the Sunday school hour. This will be in part with your regular teaching. Parents are more than welcome to attend the classes as well and hear about the importance of this sacrament. Classes start February 11th and end March 25th. CHILI COOK-OFF Stay tuned for information regarding the Chili Cook Off Fundraiser for our Mission Trip! Mark your calendars for March 11th from 5:00PM-7:00 PM. We praise God and thank our Father for providing the Lutheran Church for Missions in Christ with the spiritual vision for 3 Days of Prayer. We will continue to pray that St. Mark Lutheran Church will make the Lord its priority. We pray that each member: grow in the faith through worship, Bible study, prayer and obedience; develop a personal relationship by seeking to know Christ, not just to know about Him, make it a priority to seek God s will, listen to His voice and obey His guidance each day; and the Holy Spirit protect us from all evil and distractions and help us fulfill our mission; sustain and grow St. Mark Church as a house of prayer. minister to Pam and Charlie Burke in their Tuesday evening prayer meetings. These petitions we ask of you, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Amen. But I give myself unto prayer. From Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Psalm 109:4 Lying tongues were busy against the reputation of David, but he did not defend himself; he moved the case into a higher court, and pleaded before the great King himself. Prayer is the safest method of replying to words of hatred. The Psalmist prayed in no cold-hearted manner, he gave himself to the exercise--threw his whole soul and heart into it--straining every sinew and muscle, as Jacob did when wrestling with the angel. Thus, and thus only, shall any of us speed at the throne of grace. As a shadow has no power because there is no substance in it, even so that supplication, in which a man s proper self is not thoroughly present in agonizing earnestness and vehement desire, is utterly ineffectual, for it lacks that which would give it force. Fervent prayer, says an old divine, like a cannon planted at the gates of heaven, makes them fly open. The common fault with the most of us is our readiness to yield to distractions. Our thoughts go roving hither and thither, and we make little progress towards our desired end. Like quicksilver our mind will not hold together, but rolls off this way and that. How great an evil this is! It injures us, and what is worse, it insults our God. What should we think of a petitioner, if, while having an audience with a prince, he should be playing with a feather or catching a fly? Continuance and perseverance are intended in the expression of our text. David did not cry once, and then relapse into silence; his holy clamour was continued till it brought down the blessing. Prayer must not be our chance work, but our daily business, our habit and vocation. As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer. We must be immersed in prayer as in our element, and so pray without ceasing. Lord, teach us so to pray that we may be more and more prevalent in supplication. 8 9

6 CHURCH CAMP INCENTIVE PROGRAM REGISTRATION BEGINS FEBRUARY 25TH Does your child love being outdoors? Does he or she enjoy swimming, boating, hiking, archery, horseback riding, making crafts, singing fun songs, and making new friends? Did you know they can do ALL of that while developing a deeper relationship with Jesus and praising His name? The Parish Education Committee has created an incentive program to help your child, grades 2-12 (effective for the school year), earn money towards their church camp fees! Basically, your child will have the opportunity to perform various service projects for the church. Each task is worth a specific amount of points which transfers into dollar amounts. Your child will be able to earn up to, but not more than half, of their camp fees (not to exceed $250 per camper). Children must register in order to be eligible for the program. The program will kick-off on Sunday, February 25. Look for Karen Gerold at the Church Camp info table to sign up. A list of incentives and their point values will be handed out at that time. DEADLINE TO TURN IN ALL POINTS: MAY 6TH. FINANCIAL SPONSORS NEEDED! As with any program, financial support is always needed. If you feel called to donate to the Church Camp Incentive Program, please write Church Camp Fund on your check or offering envelope. Your gifts will be truly appreciated! Please contact Karen Gerold at or kgerold@wi.rr.com for more information. LENTEN SERVICES WEDNESDAY NIGHTS: FEBRUARY 14, 21 & 28th, and MARCH 7, 14, 21st During the season of Lent we observe a period of fasting, repentance, moderation & spiritual discipline in order to prepare for Easter. We will gather to reflect on Christ s life, his sacrifice, and his resurrection. In order to make it easier for everyone, especially families, to come and worship we will be serving a soup and sandwich supper on each of the Wednesday nights from 5:30-6:45PM. Soups and desserts will be donated and the sandwich fixings and drinks will be provided. A free will donation will be taken. This is a wonderful time of fellowship and good warm food. Moms (and dads) this is one night you don t have to worry about getting supper for your family! Come to church and have your family fed physically and spiritually. Be sure to come and join us for food, fellowship and worship! If you would like to volunteer to bring soup or to help serve on one of the Wednesday nights, please sign up in the narthex. Save the Date! 2018 RUMMAGE SALE August 9-11, 2018 The Holidays are over, all decorations put away and unwanted presents returned. It s too cold to do anything outside, so now is a perfect time to start your yearly decluttering collection for the Rummage Sale! This year we are all going to relax and have fun. So pour that cup of tea or glass of wine and start on your closets, then the cupboards, then the basement, etc. You have six months to do this, but don t wait until the last minute. We will start collecting at church in mid-july. The sooner you bring your treasures in, the sooner we can get them set up. More info as we get closer, but for now relax and start decluttering. As usual we will need lots of computer paper boxes, so if you can get these from work, please do so and just pack your donations in them. Questions? Call Laurie Kerns at (847) Don t worry- Sue didn t resign- she is just being a snowbird and should be back soon! MARCH 11, 2018 CHURCH CAMP SUNDAY MARK YOUR CALENDARS! CAMP TIMBER-LEE will be here on March 11th during the Sunday school hour to share the amazing things that God can do in your child s life in just one week at camp! Children who will be going into second grade through grade 12 in the fall will be going to the sanctuary to hear about the exiting camp opportunities. Campers who have been to Timber-lee in the past are invited to wear their favorite Timber-lee t-shirts and share some of their personal camp experiences. PARENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND! PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY Did you know St. Mark has a prayer shawl ministry? What is it? The prayer shawl ministry is available to everyone. If you have an acquaintance, friend, relative, or neighbor who is in need of prayer, the shawls are reminders that we are not alone and it tells the recipient that someone is praying for them. It is especially nice when going through treatments of some kind, as it fends off the chills and provides encouragement at a difficult time. There is a supply of shawls available to choose from that are handmade by people at St Mark who either knit or crochet. There is a sign-out sheet to be completed so that we are not taking multiple shawls to the same person in need. The sign-out sheet is found in the bin with the shawls. For those interested in making shawls, there is yarn available for you to use in the closet where the shawls are stored off the balcony. Please take a look at what is there and you are welcome to use it to make your next shawl. Thank you for using your gifts to participate in and supply this ministry

7 VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL JUNE 18-22, 2018 It s the time of the year again to start planning VBS! This year VBS is June 18th-22nd from 9am-noon, and the theme is SHIPWRECKED. We will spend a fun-filled week playing games, learning about God s word, and how we are all Rescued by Jesus! There are many different opportunities to help out when planning this year s VBS. I hope that you pray and God moves you to help in any way that you can. Below there is a list of different jobs that we need assistance with. Type and information for The VOICE and the weekly bulletin Help make the food donation sign Make signs for church doors announcing dates and times of VBS Help create and/or distribute flyers to businesses in the area that have community bulletin boards Make copies of training manuals Station leaders Crew leaders (must be entering the 7th grade) Please contact me (Kayla W.) at (262) or at my (preferred): WeidnerKM22@uww.edu. Mark your calendars for March 17th and 18th because those are our VBS sign up days!! Volunteer sign up will be in the narthex. If you already know what position you would like to help with, please feel free to shoot me an or give me a call! March 2-4, Marriott Lincolnshire March 23-25, Oakbrook Hilton Register at Marriage is a lifelong adventure of growing together through every age and stage of life. The happiest couples are those who commit to learning skills that help them weather difficult seasons and deal confidently with relationship challenges. This two-and-a-half day romantic weekend getaway is a time to be together as a couple to invest in and strengthen the foundation of your marriage, no matter how firm or fragile it is. By getting away from the distractions of life, you can fortify your most important relationship and work toward building memories together, for decades to come. Marriage is a lifelong adventure of growing together through every age and stage of life. The happiest couples are those who commit to learning skills that help them weather difficult seasons and deal confidently with relationship challenges. This two-and-a-half day romantic weekend getaway is a time to be together as a couple to invest in and strengthen the foundation of your marriage, no matter how firm or fragile it is. By getting away from the distractions of life, you can fortify your most important relationship and work toward building memories together, for decades to come. For questions or additional information, contact Gary Edwards at gedwards@db3broadband.com. IT S TIME FOR THE ST. MARK PACKING EVENT! It is a sad truth that at least 6,200 children die of starvation every day,* but we can make a difference! The Bible says, For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. (Luke 12:48 KJV) We are also told that our good works should be a light that glorifies God! The 3,600 plus meals that will be provided through our Sunday-schoolers offerings are a great start! Come on out, support our youth, fight starvation, and be that light that glorifies God! BASIC EVENT INFORMATION: Saturday, March 10th from 11:15AM-1:30PM CARPOOL FROM CHURCH: Drivers needed! Arrive by 10:30 am Leave by 10:45 am MEET US AT THE SITE: (742 E Park Ave, Libertyville, IL 60048) Arrive by 11:15 am Culver s Afterward: 1:45PM - 2:30PM (803 E. Park Avenue, Libertyville) Return to Church: 3:00PM (Approximately) SIGN UP AT SMLC.INFO/FMSC (Access Code: 1248) Save the Date! WOMEN S CONFERENCE SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 St. Mark Lutheran Church and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church invite you to a Women s Conference on Saturday, April 21, 2018! Join us as Jane Rubietta presents, Worry Less So You Can Live More. Exchange your worries for delight in God and God s delight in you. The retreat will be held at St. Mark Lutheran Church for women seventh grade and up. Registration begins soon! 12 13

8 THE WORD ON WORSHIP CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP CORNER By Todd Stickney, Contemporary Worship Coordinator RHYTHMS OF GRACE The Osbornes have been leading worship in various churches for the past 12 years. Beginning in Yuma, AZ, Shawn and Karen started a praise band while assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station. They started another praise band while in Pearl Harbor, HI and led worship at Pearl Harbor Memorial Chapel for four years. Shawn and Karen have also filled in at Village Church of Gurnee a few times. Since she was five-years-old, Shawn and Karen would bring Lydia to sing on occasion in order for her to build confidence and experience. She has proven to have an incredible ear for music. Seth (the quiet Beatle) never showed interest in singing or being in front of a crowd. However, he really enjoys the technical side of production and has demonstrated a real talent for making the rest of the group sound good. Rhythms of Grace is a name taken from a favorite Hillsong song with the same title. Rhythms of Grace leads worship on the 5th Sundays. Left to right: Lydia Osborne, Seth Osborne, Karen Osborne, Shawn Osborne Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 not-for-profit membership organization of Christians. Our purpose is to serve our members- which today total nearly 2.4 million- by guiding them to be wise with money, live generously and change lives. We succeed when our members, their families and their communities thrive. We value our relationships, so we will be trustworthy in character and competence, act like owners and treat our members as owners, and strive to live balanced and generous lives. Thrivent Choice Dollars can provide St. Mark Lutheran Church with monthly electronic grants from Thrivent as our members direct Choice Dollars to your organization. Members need to direct their Thrivent Choice Dollars annually by visiting If you are going through a difficult time and need a fellow Christian to talk and pray with, the Stephen Ministers in our church can help. We are not professional counselors, but we have gone through several months of intense formal training just for this. To date, we have had numerous people go through this program in a time of need. We are not there to solve problems- we pray for God to do that. But sometimes having another person go through the hard times with you can be comforting. If you would like to find a match with a Stephen Minister, please call one of the Coordinators: John Florip ( ), Judy Dunfrund ( ), or you may call the church office to be connected to one of the Stephen Ministers in the congregation. Everything is kept in strict confidence. A ministry of the Outreach Committee, St. Mark commits a staff of 9 volunteers on the third Wednesday of each month at the Open Arms Food Pantry in Antioch. Hours are 4PM- 6PM. If you are interested in volunteering, sign-up on the sheets provided on the Social Ministry Board in the Fellowship Hall. To learn more, please contact Terri Selz at (847) Our sincere thanks for all of your prayers, comforting words, hugs and support as we celebrated the life of our son, Patrick. Your thoughts and prayers have been comforting and sustaining and a powerful reminder of God s healing power and love for us. We are blessed to have you as part of our lives. -Blessings to all, Barb and Cliff Ewert I want to say thank you very much for your cards, visits, thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement for the healing of my hip. I m so blessed to have a wonderful family and and a wonderful church family. Thank you again. I appreciate everything. -Phyllis and Len Nelson If you have an immediate need for our help and support, please contact John or Gloria Brda at (847) or Gloria@gloriabrda.com. You can also connect with Nancy Ericksen, Jeff and Lori McKenzie or the church office for more information. We offer rides to doctor visits, quick shopping errands that you can t manage yourself (picking up a prescription, a ride to the post office, etc.) Not sure if we can help? Give one of us a call and we ll talk about it! ST. MARK SAINTS C.O.O.L. Food Pantry needs BREAKFAST ITEMS for the month of February! COOL gladly accepts donations of shelf-stable food items that have not reached their expiration or best by date. Also, items not packaged individually inside a box must be in an unopened container